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II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION <br />The proposed action is to offer for competitive lease 1011.64 acres of <br />B Seam coal reserves in the Jumbo Mountain Tract as requested by <br />Mountain Coal Company. There are two alternatives associated with <br />this EA: Alternative One - the proposed action is to lease the Jumbo <br />Mountain Tract and Alternative Two - No Action is to deny the lease <br />application. The preferred alternative is to lease the tract. <br />There are two possibilities under Alternative One. If Mountain Coal <br />Company was the successful bidder, the coal lease would be developed <br />from the existing operation (West Elk Mine). If another party was the <br />successful bidder, two scenarios are possible. Either the lease would <br />be developed by Mountain Coal Company or a new portal could be <br />constructed. <br />Because the coal seam outcrops on the tract, it is conceivable that a <br />new operation with portal and surface facilities could be constructed <br />on this tract. After reviewing the.geologic and engineering <br />conditions, it was determined that there was little potential for <br />creating a "stand-alone" tract. The Upper B seam splits to the south <br />of the proposed lease tract and the splits have a higher aeh content. <br />Because there would be no potential for expanding the lease tract for <br />additional coal reserves, it doesn't appear to be economically <br />feasible to construct surface facilities for 10 million tons of <br />reserves. Therefore, this EA does not consider the possibility of a <br />"stand-alone" tract where new facilities would be constructed to <br />develop and mine 10 million tons of coal. <br />A. Alternative One - Prouosed Actio <br />The proposed action is to offer for competitive lease 1011.64 <br />acres of federal coal, the Jumbo Mountain Tract, containing <br />approximately 10 million tons of minable reserves. The coal <br />reserves are in the B seam of the Mesaverde formation. Leasing <br />the coal would prevent the bypass of federally owned coal. <br />The tract lies to the west of a block of existing federal coal <br />leases held by Mountain Coal Company; the existing leases are <br />operated as the West Elk Mine. Production from the West Elk Mine <br />was approximately 1.4 million tons in 1992, 716,000 tons in 1991 <br />and averaged 560,000 tons between the years from 1989 to 1990. <br />The B seam would be mined by underground longwall mining methods. <br />Continuous miner units and shuttle cars would be used as the <br />means of extraction, with a belt conveyor for transportation of <br />the coal to the surface.' Coal would be transported by conveyor <br />from the portal to the rail loadout located on fee lands off <br />Highway 133 east of Somerset. <br />There is no anticipated surface disturbance on the tract. All <br />mine facilities are located off the Jumbo Mountain Tract and are <br />already permitted.by CDMG on fee and federal lands. <br />Production is anticipated to commence on the tract by mid 1994 if <br />Mountain Coal Company is the successful bidder. The production <br />Page 4 <br />