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federal lands within the State o(Colorado. !n September 1982, put'suttnt to Section 523(c) of SMCRA, CDMG entered into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of the Interior authorizing CDIv1G to regulate surface coal miriing operations and surface effects of underground mining on federal lands within the state. Pursuant to the cooperative agreement, federal coal leaseholders in Colorado must submit permit application packages to both the CDMG and OSM for proposed mining and reclamation operations on federal lands in the State. The CDMG reviews the packages to ensure that the permit application complies with the permitting requirements and that the coal mining operation will meet the approved permanent program's performance standards. The OSivf. BLM, and other federal agencies review the permit application package to ensure that it complies with the terms of the coal lease: the requirements of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (1viI.A); the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and other applicable federal laws and their attendant regulations. The OSM recommends approval, approval with conditions. or disapproval of the MLA mining plan to the Assistant Secretary -Land and Minerals Management. Before the MLA mining plan can be approved, BLM and the surface-managing agt:ncy (if other than BLM) must concur with this recommendation. Permits and approvals are required by the CDMG, OSM, BLM, and the surface-managing agency (if other than BLM) prior to mining coal on federal lands. The CDMG enforces applicable permit requirements and performance standards during [he mine's operation and has primary authority in environmental emergencies. The OSM retains oversight responsibility for this enforcement. The BLM has authority to act in emergency situations where CDMG or OSM inspectors cannot act before environmental harm or damage occurs. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES PROPOSED ACTION DESCRIPTION: The proposed action is the modification of federal Coal Lease COC-53510 to include approximately 127.79 acres of additional lands and the associated B coat seam reserves contiguous to the present northern coal lease boundary subject to the conditions contained in Lease COC-535.10 (Appendix B) and the additional stipulations required by the Unsuitability Criteria (Appendix A). Oxbow, as the: current leasee and lease modification applicant, proposes to develop and mine the subject additional coal reserve:; from and as an extension of Oxbow's ongoing underground mining operations in the Sanborn Creek Mine. Depth of overburden and topography effecrively~limit access to the subject coal reserves to either Oxbow's existing Sanbom Creek mine workings or existing abandoned mine workings in the area. Because of the limited reserves being considered, development of alternative surface access or rehabilitation and development of access from old mine workings would be economically prohibitive. Under the Proposed Action, mine production and associated activity level:; would not be increased. The proposed lease modification would, however, extend the life of the active Sanborn Creek mining operations by approximately 3 to 4 months. Oxbow's active mining operations in the Sanbom Creek Mine involve recovery of economically mineable coal reserves from the B coal seam using underground longwall mining methods. The coal reserves in the proposed lease modification area occur in the B coal seam, which averages 18 feet in thickness, with overburden thicknesses ranging from 2,200 to 2,800 feet and averaging 2,500 feet. With approval of the lease modification, Oxbow would extend longwall panels 4, 5, and G to the notch approximately another 1.200 feet beyond the current proposed mining limit into the modification area. Longwall panel development would involve the use of continuous ntiners [o develop the headgate and tailgate entries paralleling each panel, as well as the bleeder entries at the northern limits of each panel, The longwall panels would be developed and mined in succession with initiation of mining at the northern limit of each panel and progressive coal removal as the longwall system retreats to the south back toward the main entries. Each longwall panel would be approximately 4,000 feet long, 700 feet wide, and l0 feet high. "fhe size and spacing of longwall panels has been -3-