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1nr18: 9.1 17:2J '6`.02 ^_:51(355 i~'ONr,. P.aSTORI( DC tI <br />x oD nPvcrsi nOo .~:'~7~_. ^III III III III IIII III <br />PL46F NF1LT Tp: <br />.]e LMInOX XOV$E O,ACE eUILLiMG <br />wn$niNCTON. OC x0e I Ob]OS •~ <br />Ixoxl azs-mee <br />COMMITfFE ON •PPfl0PflN1TIDN5 ~oTCgCegg of ttje Z~niteD ~tate~ <br />~ou~e of ~ieptegentatibes <br />October 18, 1994 <br />The Honorable Bruce Babbitt <br />secretary <br />U.S. Department of the Interior <br />1849 C Street, NW <br />Washington, D.C. 20240 <br />Dear Mr. Secretary: <br />moo_:no= <br />^ ]]2 FA$T Hc00WElt. euiTf io <br />PNLIeN~i. A2 ISOO. <br />lao» zee-0ssl <br />^ x.a2 E OeO.OW.v <br />lUC$CN, 1Z eE 119 <br />leoxl uz_me <br />^ ]el w. 7.rN ETXEFr WiTf ~ V <br />wre..i esae. <br />leoxl r]e.am <br />I a~.u writing to express my concern over a situation in Colorado <br />involving a dispute between the State of Colorado, the office of <br />Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), and the Kerr <br />Coal Company. <br />The issue at hand is OSMRE~s contention that the Kerr Coal Company <br />has failed to return areas disturbed by surface mining in Jackson <br />County, Colorado to approximate original contour. The specific area <br />in question is 1200-foot strip within the 1.9 miles of reclaimed <br />area. While both the Colorado Division of Mines and Geology and the <br />U.S. Bureau of Land Management found that the reclamation is <br />satisfactory, OSMRE has issued a Notice of Violation and begun <br />assessing fines to Kerr. <br />Of concern to me is the failure of OSMRE to issue a Ten-Day Notice <br />to the Colorado Division of Mines and Geology pursuant to section <br />521 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 <br />(SMCRA). As you may know, Section 512 requires OSMRE to issue the <br />notice, and to consider the State's response to such notice, prior <br />to the issuance of a Notice of Violation. While an exemption from <br />this procedure can be made in instances where there is adequate <br />proof that imminent danger or significant environmental harm exists, <br />it is readily apparent neither of these situations applies to the <br />Kerr. case. <br />Arbitrary actions such as this, which run contrary to SMCRA, serve <br />to undermine the credibility of OSMRB. I respectfully ask that you <br />review this situation to determine why established procedures were <br />not followed and engage in ~, dialogue with the State of Colorado and <br />Kerr to bring a resolution to this dispute. <br />I thank you for your time and prompt attention to this important <br />matter. <br />Sincerel ~~~ <br />Ed Pastor <br />Member of Congress <br />PniNrEC ow NEe.tLte wu <br />