REV03942 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

tMENT OF ,~ QpP ..",.;;.. . 6 s o United States Department of the Interior N O ~ a OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING ~'4gce ~_se"" Reclam atinn and Enfrn cement Rrooks Tote rs 10?U 15th Street Ucnver. Colorado 8040? March 29, 1994 Mr. Keith L. Rose Assistant Field Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services, Western Colorado 529 25 1/2 Road, Suite B-113 Grand Junction, Colorado 81505 Dear Mr. Rose: ii iiiiiiiiniiii 999 TAKES ~ PRIDE INS AMERICA ®~ ~ RECEIVEG MAR 3 0 1994 Division Crv~ion ct Pninerais a ~eacn~ The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) received a request from the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) to initiate formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the permit revision of Bear Coal Company's (BCC), Bear Mine No. 3. The revision addresses adding new permit area and coal reserves west of and adjacent to the existing Bear Mine permit area. No additional surface disturbance is associated with this revision. This memorandum incorporates by reference previous biological assessments prepared by this office for the Bear Mine as provided for by 50 CFR § 402.12(g). On November 15, 1985 USFWS issued a Biological Opinion on the original biological assessment for the Bear Mine (copies attached). That opinion stated that with the submittal of the contribution by the company to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the action was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered fishes of the Colorado River. The contribution was based on the annual water depletion estimate of 5.3 acre feet per year. BCC's water consumption from a single metered well in 1992 was 19.5 acre feet for producing 513,000 tons of coal. Future production until the mine shuts down in three years, is 500,000 tons per year. Evaporation from BCC's sediment pond is estimated to be 1.1 acre foot per year. The total annual water depletion volume is 20.6 acre feet per year.