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the drill pad at a staging area approved by the Forest Service in compliance with CEL stipulation (a)(7). Fuel and lubricating liquids for operations at the drill pad will be brought in for immediate use only by ATV. In the event'of any conflict or inconsistency among various representations of this decision the controlling authority shall be in the following order of precedence: narrative description in this Decision Notice, narrative attachments to this Decision Notice ,the map attached to this ROD, the descriptions of Alternative 1 in the EA, maps in the EA, appendices in the EA. This decision will be implemented through issuance of this Decision Notice, and the GMUG's subsequent concurrence on adding these activities into BRL's Colorado State approved mine permit. Forest Service regulations require that the proponent secure any additional State or Federal permits as required by law. ~" During this EA process, concerns were raised by the public regarding the disposition of =;the historic Hubbard Canyon road, which is currently managed as a foot and horse trail by the Forest Service (EA, page 3-3). We will be issuing a separate Decision Notice ,responding to this issue. III. RATIONALE FOR THE DECISION This decision was made after cazefully considering the contents of the EA, public involvement, and the supporting project record. Some of my key considerations are as follows: Relationshin to Purpose and Need The purpose and need of this project is to consider allowing activities on iheNa6onal Forest that are associated with coal mining and continued development of federal coal reserves. The activities proposed include drilling coal exploration holes to further delineate federal coal reserves, drill and install GVBs to respond to the need for methane gas liberation from an underground mine operating in an existing federal coal lease, consider access needs for on-going monitoring of GVBs and ground water monitoring locations, and evaluate stipulations on the federal coal lease. These considerations are given to ensure worker safety, and ensure continued development of leased federal coal reserves (EA, Section 1.2). This decision supports the Purpose and Need for this project. Relationship to Other Alternatives Considered Alternative 1 (Proposed Action with the Elimination of Exploration Hole IP99-18, see EA, Section 2.2) was selected because it best fits the purpose and need for the project, while keeping resource impacts minimal as detailed in Chapter 3 of the EA. The EA