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Biological Assessment <br /> Federal Coal Lease Modification(COC-62920)and Federal Mine Permit(CO-0106A)Revision and Renewal <br /> production has occurred—and is currently occurring—on land obtained through federal leases, <br /> fee owners, split estate, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and (beginning in 2007) a State of Colorado <br /> lease. The King I Mine operated continuously from 1938 until 2009 from a single mine portal <br /> location south of La Plata County Road (CR) 120. The reserve that makes up the King II Mine <br /> was discovered in 1998 and lies north of CR 120. The King II Mine surface operation and portal <br /> was constructed in 2007, approximately 2 miles southwest of the King I Mine on the north side <br /> of CR 120. The operation is in Section 36, Township 35, Range 12, New Mexico Principal <br /> Meridian (NMPM) on CR 120 approximately 6.5 miles west of State Highway (SH) 140 (see <br /> Appendix A, Maps A-1 and A-2). <br /> The existing King II Mine operations are currently within a 1,311.69-acre federal coal lease <br /> (COC-62920) and a 640-acre state lease (CO-3388), as shown on the project area map <br /> (Appendix A, Map A-2). All surface facilities at the King 11 site cover approximately 25.5 acres, <br /> with an underground mining operation of approximately 565 acres. GCC has applied for <br /> modification to the existing federal coal lease to expand the leased area for underground <br /> operations at the King II Mine site by 950.55 acres, also shown on Map A-2. No new surface <br /> facilities are proposed at the King II Mine for the proposed lease modification. <br /> Coal from the King II Mine is favored for its high heating value (12,300 British thermal units per <br /> pound) and its low sulfur, ash, and alkali content. It is sold off site in the southwest U.S. and <br /> Mexico and used to manufacture cement. There are also small-volume sales to regional steam- <br /> powered railroads and to a local concessionaire for home heating. <br /> In 2016, La Plata County (LPC) issued GCC a Class 11 Land Use Permit(LUP) (Project#2012- <br /> 0089)that included a Road Improvements Agreement limiting coal-truck traffic along CR 120 to <br /> between 80 and 120 loaded trips per day for various phases of road improvements that GCC <br /> agreed to make as part of their LUP. Based on each loaded truck carrying approximately 28.5 <br /> tons, the maximum anticipated annual production that can be hauled from the mine to buyers in <br /> the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico is approximately 1,067,040 tons per year after the <br /> Phase 5 road improvements are completed in 2022. Average annual coal production at the <br /> King 11 Mine has been approximately 629,785 tons per year over the last 7 years of operations <br /> (refer to Table 1-1 in the EA). <br /> Ultimately, the actual produced, transported, and combusted coal would be dependent upon coal <br /> markets, alternative fuel markets (i.e., natural gas, tires, petcoke, industrial waste), and the coal <br /> supply at the mine. For this BA, a worst-case scenario of maximum allowable production limit of <br /> 1.3 million tons per year(limit is per CDPHE air quality Permit No. 09LP0202F, Final Approval <br /> —Modification 1, Condition No. 2, dated 9/3/2013) and transport is assumed. <br /> 1.2 Consultation History <br /> On February 26, 2015, the OSMRE submitted a formal Section 7 consultation to the U.S. Fish <br /> and Wildlife Service (USFWS)in accordance with the ESA, as amended (16 USC 1531 et seq.) <br /> July 2017 <br /> 5 <br />