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<br />Kerr commenced this proceeding by appealing ALJ Child's <br />July 22, 1994, decision denying extended temporary relief to the <br />Interior Board of Land Appeals (the Board).' <br />B. STATEIiENT OF THE FACTB. <br />The mine commenced operation sometime prior to the passage <br />of SMCRA. Ex. No. A-22. Coal was extracted from an open pit <br />known as the Marr Strip. Ex. No. A-22. <br />In 1980, the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />(DMG), pursuant to the Colorado regulatory program (the Colorado <br />program) approved by OSM under SMCRA, issued a permit to Kerr. <br />Tr., 50. The permit included an approved plan for mining and <br />reclamation. Tr., 41, 49. The mining plan called for the pro- <br />gressive extraction of coal from several additional open pits-- <br />namely, the 720 pit, Pit No. 1, Pit No. 2, and Pit No. 3, <br />respectively. Tr., 50-52, 131-33, 468-69. <br />Pit No. 1 was 35-acres in area. Tr., 143, 270. It was <br />comprised mostly of Federal lands owned by the United States and <br />managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Tr., 70; Ex. No. G-7. <br />Kerr obtained rights to mine coal, also owned by the United <br />States, from the Federal lands by a Federal coal lease. Tr., 70, <br />72; Ex. No. G-8. <br />' The Board's authority to review and finally decide ALJ <br />Child's July 22, 1994, decision is set forth at 43 C.F.R. <br />§ 4.1101(a)(6). <br />2 OSM was not, under the Colorado program, involved in the <br />review or approval of the permit. Tr., 49, 53. <br />3 <br /> <br />