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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management 2465 S. Townsend Avenue Montrose, Colorado 81401 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 2250 Highway 50 Delta, Colorado 81416 FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT IRON POINT EXPLORATION LICENSE IRON POINT COAL LEASE TRACT ELK CREEK COAL LEASE TRACT FEBRUARY 18, 2000 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: Endosed for your review is the North Fork Coal Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This document describes the existing environmental conditions and the potential effects associated with the leasing of the Iron Point and Elk Creek Coal Lease Tracts located in Delta and Gunnison counties, Colorado. The EIS also describes the environmental effects of granting a coal exploration license on an area within and surrounding the Iron Point Coal Lease Tract. The U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service (Forest Service) are the joint lead agendes in the preparation of this EIS. The Office of Surface Mining Redamation and Enforcement (OSM) is a cooperating agency on this EIS. To aid in the preparation of the Draft EIS, we held a public scoping meeting on Wednesday, April 21, 1999 in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The Draft EIS was published and available for public review and comment on September 3, 1999. An informational public meeting was held on October 7, 1999. A public hearing was held on October 14, 1999 to accept testimony and comments. Both meetings were held in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The public comment period ended on November 3, 1999. The healthy debate and many constructive comments generated during the public involvement process greatly assisted the BLM and the Forest Service in identifying issues and preparing the environmental analysis in this Final EIS. We want to thank you for your partidpation in this project and hope you find the analysis responsive to your concerns. Some of the key issues for this project include: the potential effects of coal shipping from the North Fork Valley on the Union Pacific Railroad; the effects of increased coal truck traffic on State Highway 133; the potential effects to the integrity of watersheds and irrigation fadlities within and surrounding the lease tracts, induding the Terror Creek Ditch and the Terror Creek Reservoir; the effects to the local sodal and economic structure in Delta and Gunnison counties; and the cumulative effects that coal exploration and mining might have on the region.