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Doc Date:1211112001 <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />~j~C; 2.04 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR SURFACE OR UNDERGROUND <br />MINING ACTIVITIES - MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR <br />INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES <br />2.04.1 Introduction <br />This section of the permit revision provides in detail a complete and <br />accurate description of the environmental resources that either have <br />been or may be impacted or affected by the underground mining operations <br />and surface activities incidental thereto, conducted or to be conducted <br />by the Bear Coal Company. As stated in the Introduction to this permit <br />revision, underground mining activities have been and are being <br />conducted at the site and adjacent areas; therefore, a description of <br />the pre-mining and environmental resources in the area of previous and <br />existing mining is based upon historical records and recollections of <br />knowledgeable parties, and through correlations and comparisons with <br />undisturbed environmental resources. <br />This permit revision is not for a new mine in virgin country. The Bear <br />Coal Company has been in operation in this area for over 47 years. The <br />Division and OSM have evaluated baseline environmental information for <br />this area in a previous permit application by Bear Coal Company <br />submitted on February 16, 1981. The environmental information in this <br />earlier submittal is applicable to the revision. <br />The area adjacent to the existing Bear Coal Company facilities and the <br />coal seams above the ones being currently mined by Bear Coal Company <br />have been included in the Mt. Gunnison permit application filed with the <br />Division and OSM by ARCO. The planned maximum annual production at the <br />Mt. Gunnison Mine will be almost ten times greater than the annual <br />production of the Bear Coal Company. Because of the large areal extent <br />of the ARCO mine, most of the environmental data found in the Mt. <br />Gunnison permit application will relate to the operations of the Bear <br />Coal Company. <br />• Additional information regarding the area can be found in the Final <br />West-Central Colorado Coal Environmental Impact Statement. <br />2.04-1 <br />