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n September 13, 2007 the Board issued an order granting Appellants' request to bring this appeal and directed the parties to conduct pre-hearing activities. The parties stipulated to a proposed scheduling order that sets forth a briefing schedule and sets the matter for hearing at the October 17, 2007 meeting of the Board. The parties have sought resolution of this matter without further delay and have agreed that uranium mining operations will not resume until the appeal is resolved. The proposed scheduling order was adopted as an order of the Boazd. As contemplated by scheduling order, the present brief sets forth the basis for the MLRB to set aside the final DRMS determination and based on the undisputed facts regarding the presence, exposure, and disturbance of toxic and acid forming materials at the SM-18 uranium mine, to reinstate the original DMO determination and direct the preparation of an EPP. III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The SM-I8 mine is a federal uranium mine located in the Western Colorado portion of the Uravan Mineral Belt. Uranium mining in the Uravan Mineral Belt has been in operation since the 1950s and has been the source of notorious and severe impacts to human health. See Bamson v. United States, 816 F.2d 549 (10th Cir. 1987)(finding the United States immune from suit by survivors of deceased uranium miners working to supply United States with uranium from Western Colorado mines)(cert denied 484 U.S. 896 (1987)); see also Begat' v. United States, 591 F. Supp. 991 (D. Ariz. 1984)(affd, 768 F.2d 1059 (9th Cir. 1985))(denying relief to Navajo uranium miners). The SM-18 uranium mine is operated by Tomcat Mining Corporation, which, according to federal agency records, took over the operation of the SM-18 mine on or about February 2, 2005. Federal agency records also indicate that the SM-18 mine is part of a 916 acre Department of Energy ("DOE") tract leased to Cotter Corporation on or about 1996 for a term of 10 yeazs. The term of the 19961ease has expired and based on information and belief, no valid lease exists for the SM-18 mine. As set out above, the DOE will offer the leases based on a competitive bidding process and additional public input on site specific NEPA processes. The timeline for offering the leases for competitive bidding has not yet been disclosed by the DOE. Cotter Corporation also operates the Canon City Uranium Mill where the ore removed from these mines would most likely be shipped for milling. Once removed from the mine, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ("CDPHE") has jurisdiction over the licensing of [he transfer, sale, and processing of the uranium ore pursuant to the delegation of authority under the federal Atomic Energy Act ("AEA"). See C.R.S. §§ 25-11-101 et seq. (Radiation Control Act). Likewise, anAEA-based license must be obtained from the CDPHE before any heap leach, in situ leaching, or any other uranium processing activities may be conducted. Id. The Department of Energy is engaged in an ongoing clean-up and decontamination of numerous uranium mines and milling sites in the Uravan Mineral Belt. The DOE has paid Cotter to clean up and reclaim many federal mines in Western Colorado. Exh. 4 {Royalty Documents).