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assumed that These permits vrould be approved. It also assur„ed that <br />r--~ production from the five currently inactive federal leases in the Idort^ <br />Fork Valley ;rould not be significant before 1985. In addition, beca;:se <br />• no ne;r Bureau-initiated federal coal leasing is anticipated in theriorth <br />Fork Valley before 1983, new coal production as the result of a no;; <br />• federal coal leasing program ;+as assumed to be insignificant by 1985. <br />Finally, if private coal reserves are dependent for develcpmer.t on a re,; <br />• federal coal leasing program production from the private coal ;;as no: <br />included in the analysis. !lone of these assumptions are ~,~ant to i~..~l~ <br />that any of ±he actions pending fcr decision are certain r.or does this <br />TE/EA provide e m•fronniental assessment for any of those actions. <br />The follo;ring are existing or projected mining operations in tf;e <br />North Fork Valley: <br />Colorado Westmoreland, Inc. (see the Land Use Section of Chapter 2) <br />- Flestern Slope Carbon, Inc. (see the Lard. Use Section of Chapter 2). <br />Sunflower Energy Corportation <br />In 1977, Sunflo;+er Energy Corporation reopened ±he Blue P.ibbon ..ins <br />northeast of Paonia, Colorado on the Delta-Gur,niscn County line. The <br />company has proposed to mine 70,GO0 tons of coal annually by <br />conventional roor, and-pillar methods. At full production 20 persons <br />would be employed. At that rate of production, the reserves vrill be <br />depleted in 10 years. Sunflc;~~er Energy uses C41I's unit train loadout <br />facilities. <br />United States Steel Corporation <br />U. S. Steel currently operates, the Somerset !fine at Se: ,erset, <br />- Colorado; this underground mine has been the largest producer in the <br />North Fork Valley since 1903. U. S. Steel has projected that the <br />production from the Somerset .fine should continue at the current 90,000 <br />• tons, of coal annually for at least 20 years. Ho;+ever, the company is <br />considering developing another per*_-al to mine private coal reserves of <br />the D and E seams; neither seam is ruined presently. <br />Bear Coal Company <br />Bear Coal Company is Curren±ly producing approxin~ately 240,000 tcr,s <br />annually from the fiear Rine located in Gunnison County i mile east of <br />Somerset, Colorado. The operation employed 55 persons in 1977 and <br />produced 220,000 tons of coal. If a mining permit for AR CO's Pot. <br />Gunnison t;o. 1 l~line is approved, production at the Bear !•iine tirould s*_op <br />in 1981. <br />:• <br />