2021-03-22_PERMIT FILE - M1980038

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before the term of the permit expires. In order to keep producing gravel out of this pit,the permit acreage would need to be expanded. To do this,Dolores County would have to submit a proposed action to the BLM showing their proposed expansion area. Upon receipt of the proposed action,BLM would work with the County to refine the proposal,which would then become the proposed action for the preparation of an Environmental Assessment(EA)to be prepared by BLM Staff. If the EA indicates that the proposed action,or alternatives can be completed without significant impacts to the environment, a decision could be signed by the BLM Field Manager to approve the mine plan and expand the free use permit area.Note that during our call with the BOCC, BLM had indicated that we would like the county to dig some additional test pits prior to evaluating the mine plan. Upon further discussion,we have decided that we could process the EA to include excavation of test pits(if needed) and mine expansion at the same time. Disappointment Pit The Disappointment Pit, located in San Miguel County, dates back to 1980 and it was developed in association with the now defunct Centennial Mine in the nearby Joe Davis Hill area. Ebberts Construction was the permitted operator under a series of commercial negotiated mineral materials contracts. The most recent permit expired in June of 2019,having had little if any production in the previous five years. When the contract expired, ownership of all stockpiled materials reverted to the BLM. When BLM issued the last Ebberts contract in 2014,BLM used a NEPA permitting tool called a "Categorical Exclusion"(CX)which requires less analysis than an Environmental Assessment so is normally less extensive. However,to qualify for a(CX) a mineral materials site cannot result in more than 5 acres of disturbance,BLM can quickly issue a free use permit to Dolores County to access existing stockpiles within the approved area identified in the 2014 CX. To approve the removal of additional materials even in the current boundary of the pit and expand the area of the pit, an EA would need to be prepared. The process for expanding the Disappointment Valley Pit would be very similar to the process outlined for an expansion of the Black Snag Pit. Currently, Ebberts Construction holds the mine permit from the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety(CDRMS). The county would need to contact the CDRMS and Ebberts construction to accept the reclamation liability for the site and have the CDRMS permit transferred over to the county. BLM and DRMS do not require reclamation bonds from local governments for free use permit pits, however the county can still be held liable for the cost of reclamation if the mine is left un-reclaimed. Once the CDRMS permit has been assigned to Dolores County, Ebberts construction could request the CDRMS release their bond. This letter serves as concurrence from the BLM for the CDRMS to transfer the permit and release Ebberts construction from reclamation liability once the permit and reclamation liability has been transferred to Dolores County. Transfer of the CDRMS permit would occur according to applicable State of Colorado rules and regulations and may require permits from San Miguel County as well. In the meantime,BLM would process a new free use permit to Dolores County for the existing stockpiled material. It is BLM's understanding that San Miguel County has requested that they be able to purchase gravel from Dolores County at cost of production, on an as-needed basis since the pit itself is located in San Miguel County. This is allowable because both Dolores and San Miguel Counties are local governments, however any purchase or exchange would need to be done strictly at cost,without a profit being accrued by either party, or any commercial sales. The exact arrangements of such an agreement would need to be worked out between the counties and would not be part of the permit.