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existing operations" are considered acceptable bidders at the lease sale <br />• (4Jashington Office Instruction demo 78-431, Change 1). There are no <br />adjacent existinc operations except the Orchard Valley Kline. CI•JI would <br />be the only qualified bidder at the lease sale, and the impacts of Their <br />proposed operation are analyzed in chapter 3. <br />Delay the Action Alternative <br />This alternative is intended to examine the results of holding a <br />lease sale for the tract at a later date and not as a response to this <br />short-term lease application. <br />. The possibility exists that if these federal.coal reserves are not <br />leased at this time, that a decision could de made to include the sa~~~e <br />area in a ]ease offered at a later date under another coal leasing <br />program. In that event, either Colorado ~4!estmoreland or a second <br />company (not C41I) might obtain the lease during the course of the sale. <br />If a second company were to obtain the lease it could be aresumed <br />that CIJI a;ould ct_eir:pt LO negotiate ~•rith the company concerning r,rining <br />of the lease reserves through the existing surface facilities of the <br />Orchard ;'alley Pine. If those negotiations ~•rere successful, the erects <br />• r•rould be largely the same as if Colorado 'rlestmoreland had obtained this <br />.later lease. it is difficult to quantitatively describe these impacts <br />because there is no way to determine the size of the mining oeeration <br />• r that trould be planned for the near lease or the time at ~:~hich this near <br />mining operation irou7d begin. Hc;;ever, briefl}~ these ir-.pacts ;,gold <br />include not only those listed above associated vrith the closure of the <br />Orchard Valley dine in 1980 but also those incidental to the opening of <br />a new mine. <br />_ If ChII ~•rere not able to successfully negotiate with the company <br />that had obtained the lease it is probable that they tirould then fully <br />exploit the coal reserves in the D seam on the existing federal lease <br />C-25079 and all of the recoverable reserves lying in seams on the i20 <br />.acres of the private lease. Reclamation or` the total 132 awes cf <br />existing disturbance at the mine site r:ould occur according to the <br />existing reclamation plans which have been aaproved by OS!•1 and the <br />Colorado t•iined Land Reclamation Board. in addition, a ne~:~ mine ~•rould <br />have to b2 opened for the ner,~ lease. Again, it is only possible to <br />briefly describe these impacts because there is no way to anticipate the <br />size or timing of the new mining operation. <br />• <br />~, <br />