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N ~ NE PA COMPLIANCE COLORADO WESTMORELAND INC. RIGHT-OF-WAY APPLICATIONS FOR ORCHARD VALLEY WEST MINE Page -4- r ~'(: bitterbrush, big sagebrush, pinyon, Utah juniper, true mountainmahoga- ny, stiff goldenrod, mountain pepperweed, cheatgrass, bedstraw and elk sedge. No threatened or endangered plant or animal species are known to exist in the area. As identified in the Uinta-Southwestern Utah Coal Re ion Round Two Final EIS, October, 198 t e area s nterme- diate to crucia deer and a winter range and actual densities vary with the severity of the winter. The site is part of the Steven's Gulch grazing allotment. The area has been inventoried for cultural resources and none were identified. Suspected Indian game blinds on the Fry Mesa ridge were test excavated and found to be insignificant, Soils of the access road and telephone line were identified in the USDA, Soil Conservation Ser- vice, Soil Surve of Paonia Colorado, January, 1981, as Delson very stoney oam, 20X to OZ s opes, ese soils are deep and well drained with an 8" thick dark brown very stoney loam surface layer, Subsoil is reddish brown stoney clay and about 34" thick. The substratum is pale brown very stoney clay loam about 60" in depth. In addition to Delson very stoney loam, the 46 KV powerline would cross three soil types: Cerro stoney loam, 10X to 35X slopes; Del son stoney loam, 3X to 20X slopes; and Torriorthents-Rock outcrop, sandstone com- plex. Del son stoney loam differs from Del son very stoney loam in that it is generally found on less steep slopes and contains fewer stones. Cerro stoney loam soils are deep, well drained, with a 6" surface layer of brown stoney loam, a 25" subsoil layer of reddish brown clay and a 60" thick substratum of pink gravelly clay loam. Torriorthents soils are well drained, have a loamy, very stoney surface layer and underly- ing layers are sandy loam with a high content of rock fragments, The areas of the road, telephone line and powerline are rated as YRM Class III. The terrain of the area is already disrupted by the "Slouch Road", Steven's Gulch Road and CWI's existing powerline. The area is in the background from major points of observation. IV, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES A. PROPOSED ACTION The proposed expansion of the "Slouch Road" including road sur- face, cuts and fills, from Steven's Gulch Road to the Lease ~C-37210 boundary, would disturb less than three additional acres of public lands and loss of vegetation. The largest fill would extend approximately 110' downslope. Cut materials not utilized for road fills will be included in the fill constructed at the Orchard Valley West Mine bench, No side cast construction tech- niques, resulting in damage to downslope vegetation, will be