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-7- <br />summary <br />History of the Review Process, Description of the Environment <br />and <br />Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan <br />History of the Review Process <br />The Bear Coal Company operations currently consist of one active underground <br />mine (Bear No. 3) and two inactive mines that are currently being reclaimed <br />(Bear Nos. 1 and 2) located approximately 10 miles northeast of Paonia, <br />Colorado and one-quarter mile east of Somerset, Colorado on the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River, adjacent to Colorado Highway 133. Operations began at the <br />Bear Mine in 1934 and have been continuous since that time. Presently, <br />250,000 to 300,000 tons of coal per year are produced from the "C" Seam within <br />Federal Coal Lease D-052501, at the Bear No. 3 Mine. An area of approximately <br />19 acres and 8 acres have been disturbed at the Bear No. 1 and 2, and at the <br />Bear No. 3 respectively. <br />The applicant, as part of this permit revision, is proposing to add Federal <br />Coal Lease No. C-0117192. This would increase the permit area by an <br />additional 264 acres. Bear Coal Company proposes to mine the "C" Seam in <br />Federal Coal Lease No. C-0117192, immediately adjacent to their existing <br />workings. There will be no new surface disturbance associated with the <br />proposed permit revision, with a total affected area of 264 acres. <br />The permit revision which is being proposed for approval by the Division was <br />submitted July 3, 1985. A completeness letter was sent to the applicant on <br />July 12, 1985. The applicant began publishing public notice of filing of the <br />application in the North Fork Times on July 18, 1985, and the last public <br />notice was published August 8, 1985. A preliminary adequacy letter conveying <br />the concerns of the Division was sent to the applicant on August 23, 1985, and <br />concerns from the Office of Surface Mining were sent September 9, 1985. The <br />applicant responded to those concerns on September 19, 1985. <br />Description of the Environment 3y~ <br />The 287 acre Bear No. 3 permit area and the 264 acre permit revision area <br />(which will be mined during the permit term) lie within the drainage of the <br />North Fork of the Gunnison River which is tributary to the Colorado River <br />System. The area is mountainous, with elevations ranging from 6,000 feet at <br />Somerset to 12,719 feet at the summit of Mt. Gunnison, to the south of the <br />permit area. The North Fork has cut a deep canyon through the area which <br />separates high tablelands south of the river from the slopes of the Grand Mesa <br />to the north. The canyon is narrow and steep-sided in the vicinity of the <br />Bear Mine, widening out into a broad alluvial valley in the vicinity of <br />Paonia. The tableland to the south of the North Fork is deeply dissected by <br />tributary streams, and is bounded on the south and east by the West Elk <br />Mountain Range. <br />