PERMFILE56951

• Permit No: C1981044
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: EXHIBIT 04 AVF EXEMPTION REQUEST
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

below the "F" seam. The Eagle Mine No. 9 which has operated
under permit from the State of Colorado since March 24,
1977, extracts coal from the "P" seam--a seam above the "F"
seam mined in Mine No. 5. The planned Eagle Mine No. 8 will
mine the coal in the "H" seam which is stratigraphically --
located between the "F" and "P" seams now mined by Eagle
Mines No. 5 and 9, respectively.
Although the 6, 7, and 8 mines are planned for the "E," "C,"
and "H" seams, respectively, mining operations in those
seams has been occurring for a long time. For example, as
long ago as the 1930s the Fields Mine operated in the "E"
seam. The Wise Mine and Wise Hill No. 2 Mine operated in
the "C" seam in the 1940s and 1950s. Similarly, the Leo
White and the Baker Mines operated in the "H" seam during
the 1930s as did the Wise Hill Nos. 3 and 4 Mines in the
1970s.
All of the above described Eagle Mine Complex is within the
"Lease Boundary" identified on Exhibit "A" hereto and is
either within the area identified on that exhibit as being
the "Adjacent Area" to the alluvial valley floor, or is
within the area identified as "Alluvial Valley Floor."
The Eagle Mines Nos. 6, 7, and 8 are an integral part of
Empire's objective to develop a facility production rate of
2.8 million tons per year and to construct a unit train
loading facility and general mine facility complex as set
forth in Exhibits F and P. Since these planned mines are
located stratagraphically below and above the existing
mines, mine coal in the same geological formation as the
existing mines, are to be serviced by a single coal handling
and loading facility, and are all an integral part of the
Mine Operations Plan adopted by Empire prior to August 3,
1976 and January 1, 1977, this grandfather exemption
includes all of the aforementioned seams and activities
which comprise the Eagle Mine Comples "mine operation."
Although Congress did not delineate what criteria would
indicate the exact extent of a surface coal mining operation
that would be exempt, Empire believes that the following
indicia should be used for this purpose:
1) Whether the operation has a defined lease
boundary.
2) Whether the cesource has been explored to
delineate its size extent.
3) Whether a geological evaluation of the potential
• reserves has been conducted.
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