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SHORT-TERK COAL LEASE APPLICATION C-27iC3 • The proposed federal action is to lease 1.25 million tons of coal on approximately 300 acres of federal coal reserves lying in the E sear on a tract in Gunniscn County, Colorado for underground mining (sce figure I-3). • This tract of federal coal reserves lies approximately 4 Hiles east of the town of Somerset, Colorado (see nap 1). In addition, it lies adjacent to and east cf existing federal and private leases of t,'estern Slope Carbon, Inc. (.15C). The tia;ak's nest East !fine f,uneerground) is currently producing from these leases. The existing facilities and operations at the Hawk's Nest East ifine are discussed in chapter 2. Backcround A short-term coal lease application (C-27103) for a 345.04-acre tract including the area descr;bed above :ras submitted by t1SC cn August 2, 1973, t0 the Stdte D7reCtOr, Eureau cf Lar,G ';anacement (ELt•I), Denver, Colorado. That application was reviewed in consultation with the Or'fice of the Area ~^,ininy supervisor, Conservation Division, U. S. Geological Survey (USES) and found to qualify under the bypass criteria of the existing short-tera~ leasinc program as de~ir.ed by fire rune 14, 1978, count decision in i~RDC vs Ruches. On February 14, 1979, ':!SC modified the original lease application to include only fire presently proposed 300 acres. This ~~,ocir"ication did not affect the qualifications • of the application under the short-term criteria. In the short-tear lease application .:SC indicated that the coal reserves in the 300 acre tract mould become an ;sclated un:.i^eable bloc!; unless they sere extracted by the ongoing operation at the Haf+;;'s '';'est ' East P1ine. Therefore, ':SC is proposing to extend existing underground mine rrorr,ings onto this tract and to mine the reserves it the E sea;a as a part of their ongoing Har+k's (lest East ifine. The coal is presently marketed to Colorado Fuel and Iron, Pueblo, Colorado. Supplemental infor~:~ation was requested and received frog S;SC. That infor;aation does not ccr.stitute a forr,~al mininc plan as required try 30(CFR): 710. I1 or 741.11, but does illustrate one plan for developing the coal reserves on this tract should a dec;sien be :~aee to lease tl;e area. It will be used in preference to a more general mining ;,tan in order to develop an impact analysis for the proposed action. This does not imply that the applicant will be given a preference in the event a lease sale is held, nor does it imply that the plans of the aoplic:ant will be approved by the Cffice of Surface twining (OS^1) if '.:SC obtains the lease. Any plan which is ultimately submitted r,:ust co.aply with ail applicable federal regulations before it can be approved. If a sale were held and another company obtained the lease, that cerpany i,wst •