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• <br />Background <br />An ongoing viable coal industry is important to the economy <br />of Western Colorado, and in particular Northwest Colorado. The <br />20 million ton-per-year industry generates more than 8,000 direct <br />and indirect jobs in Western Colorado, with approximately 908 of <br />the production and jobs in the 5 Northwest counties of Delta, <br />Mesa, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt. It is also important to our <br />region that these coal mine operations be conducted on a sound <br />environmental basis. It was because of this importance in our <br />region that the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado <br />formed a Coal Issues Committee to provide a forum for City and <br />County officials to discuss and deal with regulatory, <br />legislative, economic and environmental issues related to the <br />coal industry. <br />area - Retroactive regulations by the Federal Off <br />surface riming. <br />During our site tours it became clear that, despite the <br />outstanding results of the reclamation efforts, there appears to <br />be an unnecessary and punitive problem currently facing the coal <br />companies due to a retroactive and arbitrary regulatory change by <br />the Federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM). OSM is attempting to <br />penalize the coal companies for the development of extra (and <br />award winning) stock water ponds on their reclamation sites. <br />Although the State Mined Land Reclamation Board(MLRB) and <br />State Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) have "primacy" for <br />enforcement of reclamation standards, OSM has oversight <br />authority. OSM can threaten to take away state "primacy" and <br />force either the MLRB or DMG to enforce arbitrary federal <br />interpretations of state regulations even if the state disagrees <br />with the rulings. This appears to be the case in regard to the <br />extra stock water ponds that have been constructed in addition to <br />the required sediment control catch basins at the mine sites. <br />Two of the mines visited have put in these extra stock <br />waterponds that may provide water for livestock, enhance wildlife <br />usage, and help prevent erosion and sediment run-off. The <br />retroactive and punitive OSM ruling has deterred the other mine <br />(Colowyo) from putting in any extra waterponds. The OSM ruling <br />appears to be hurting reclamation efforts instead of helping. <br />Since a primary postmining land use is for grazing of domestic <br />livestock the OSM rulings are adversely affecting the ability of <br />the mining companies to implement this use. <br />It appears to us that this may be a classic example of <br />federal bureaucracy trying to establish federal control over a <br />program better left to the control of the state. <br />