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Summary <br /> The Review Process <br /> GCC Energy, LLC submitted an application for a permit renewal on February 18, 2022. The <br /> application was considered complete on February 28, 2022. The Division sent a preliminary <br /> adequacy letter to the operator on May 31, 2022, providing an update to the reclamation cost <br /> estimate and requesting updates to portions of the permit application package (PAP). <br /> GCC Energy provided responses to the Division's adequacy letter on July 25, 2022. To allow <br /> adequate time for the Division to review GCC's responses,the proposed decision date was <br /> extended to August 26, 2022, and then to October 31, 2022. <br /> Description of the Environment <br /> The King Coal permit boundary can be seen on Map King II-001 and other maps in the PAP. <br /> Land Use (2.04.3) <br /> The area known as "Hay Gulch" has historically been a source of coal production. Numerous <br /> abandoned underground mines exist throughout the Hay Gulch drainage. The King Coal <br /> Mine is now the sole active coal mining operation in Hay Gulch, and in La Plata County. <br /> Historically, the valley floor of Hay Gulch has been used for grazing and production of hay. <br /> The surrounding uplands have been used primarily for rangeland (grazing), with a secondary <br /> use of wildlife habitat. The area is sparsely populated. More information concerning land <br /> use can be found in Sections 2.04.3 and 2.05.5 of the permit application package (a.k.a. <br /> permit). <br /> Cultural and Historic Resources (2.04.4) <br /> The valley known as Hay Gulch has been settled since the late 1800s, deriving its name from <br /> the fact that the U.S. Cavalry once stationed at nearby Fort Lewis obtained hay for their <br /> horses from the valley. The Hay Gulch Cemetery is located within the permit area, on a low <br /> ridge west of the King II access to County Road 120. The cemetery was utilized from the <br /> 1880s to the 1920s and was fenced in 1976. Construction of the Hay Gulch Irrigation Ditch <br /> was begun from the La Plata River in the late 1800s. By the 1960s, it had been extended as <br /> far as the tributary valley occupied by the King II Mine surface facilities. <br /> Cultural resource inventories were prepared for the King I Mine in 1980, 1994, and 1997 and <br /> for the King II Mine in 2005 and 2014. No cultural or historic resources eligible for listing <br /> on the National Register of Historic Places or significant archaeological sites that may be <br /> affected by surface disturbance (including subsidence) were identified in the surveys. <br /> Cultural and historical information is found in Appendix 3 of the PAP. <br /> 4 <br />