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• SHORT-TERti LEASE APPLICATION C-27103 <br />Other O~::ner Alternative <br />This alternative is intended to examine the irrpacts~that v,ould <br />occur if another mining cornpany, not !•lestern Slope Carbon, Inc,., (::SC) <br />were to obtain the lease during the lease sale and mine the area. The <br />two circumstances under ~:~hich this v+ould occur ~rouid be (1) if another <br />mining operation in the _ar2a could mine the tract as part o` their <br />ongoing mining operation or (2) if it were economically feasible for a <br />ne~•r mining operation to be set up .to er,tract only the reserves on this <br />tract. Under these circumstances another coal company could attempt to <br />"outbid" I•lSC at the lease sale and obtain the tract. <br />At this time there is no other mining operation in the area r•rhich <br />could mine the coal on the tract as part of its ongoing operation. in <br />addition,.the USGS has determined that it ~•:ould not be econorr,ically <br />feasible for a ne~•r mining operation to e>aract the coal. <br />Delay 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. This would require that !•6C return to <br />~ mine tha area at a later date, that another operator set up a ne:r mine <br />• to e>;tract the coal, or that another operator mine the coal as part of <br />his mining operation. <br />The USGS has determined that if this tract is not mined as a part <br />of IdSC's mining operation at this time that retreat room-and-pillar <br />. mining or' the present Wining area ti;~ill render the applied-for lands <br />• inaccessible from the current Wining area. In addition, the USGS has <br />determined that there are insufficient recoverable reserves in the E <br />seam in the applied-for lands to justify expenditures to set up a new <br />mining operation. <br />Finally, there are no other mining operations +•rhich could extract <br />this coal as part of their operations. <br />t`io Action Alternative <br />If a secretarial decision ~•rere made not to offer these federal coal <br />reserves for lease the impacts identified as resulting from the proposed <br />action would not occur. This would mean that there would be no surface <br />disturbance to the proposed lease area from either subsidence or the <br />construction and maintenance or" the ventilation shaft. <br />• <br />