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CHAPTER II <br />DESCRIPTION OF THE ALTERNATIVES <br />A. Primary Alternatives Under Analysis <br />Alternative 1: Approval of the Proposed Mining Plaa <br />Modification. <br />Under this alternative, the Assistant Secretary would <br />approve the mining plan modification for Federal lease <br />C-29224. The ten coal seams currently being mined would <br />continue to be mined by truck/shovel and dragline mining <br />methods, with an increase in production from four million <br />tons per year to a maximum of five million tons per year, <br />and the life-of-mine would remain at about 25 years. <br />The additional 1,878 acres of the proposed amendment area <br />would increase the permitted area from 5,525 acres to 7,403 <br />acres. About 320 acres of the proposed amendment area is <br />Federal surface, with about 1,558 acres of state and private <br />surface. Under the proposed Colorado Permit No. C-81-019 <br />revision, the maximum number of disturbed acres would <br />increase from 2,646 acres to 3,810 acres for the life-of- <br />mine. Figure 1, Tabulation of Lands, lists the surface <br />ownership, mining acreages, and maximum disturbances for the <br />previously approved permit area, and the proposed amendment <br />area contained within the permit revision application. <br />Upon approval of this mining plan modification, the approved <br />mining plan area for the Colowyo Mine would contain a total <br />of 3,392 acres, including the previously approved mining <br />plan area for Federal leases D-034365, C-35874, and C-29224. <br />Alternative 2: Disapproval of the Proposed Miaiag Plaa <br />Modification (the "No Action" Alternative). <br />Under this alternative, the Assistant Secretary would <br />disapprove the mining plan modification for Federal lease <br />C-29224. <br />If disapproved, about 20 million tons of coal would not be <br />mined (including about 9 million tons of Federal coal), and <br />the total amount of coal that would be mined would remain at <br />about 158 million tons. Operations at the Colowyo Mine <br />would continue to be conducted under the currently approved <br />mining plan. The permitted area of the mine would remain at <br />5,525 acres, of which 2,895 acres are Federal coal. The <br />total disturbed area for the mine would remain at 2,646 <br />acres. <br />f <br />5 <br />