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from the public conceming Permit Revision No.4, nor were there any requests for an informal <br />conference. <br />The Division sent its first adequacy review letter on November 8, 2000. Additional adequacy <br />review letters were sent by the Division on December 27, 2000 and on Februazy 5, 2001 <br />In a letter dated October 27, 2000, the Division requested that the Office of Surface Mining <br />(OSM) make a determination as to whether Permit Revision No. 4 constituted a federal mine <br />plan change requiring Secretarial approval. In a response letter, dated November 1, 2000 and <br />received at the Division on November 6, 2000, OSM confirmed that the activities proposed in <br />Permit Revision No. 4 do constitute a federal mine plan change requiring Secretarial approval. <br />The Secretarial approval would be decided after the Division issues its proposed decision on the <br />revision. <br />The operator sent additional material in a submittal dated December 8, 2000 and received at the <br />Division on December 11, 2000. In that submittal, BRL modified its mine plan, based on the <br />results of a recent exploratory drilling program. <br />The operator sent responses to the Division's adequacy review letters in submittals dated <br />December 8, 2000, February 5, 2001, February 19, 2001 and February 23, 2001. <br />Eventually, all governmental agencies that had raised adequacy questions concerning Permit <br />Revision No. 4 replied to the Division that all issues had been dealt with satisfactorily. The <br />Division's concerns had also been answered satisfactorily. Therefore, on February 27, 2001, the <br />Division proposed to approve with conditions Permit Revision No. 4. Three new stipulations, <br />numbered 8, 9 and 10, were attached to the approval of Permit Revision No. 4. In April of 2001, <br />the Office of Surface Mining granted approval for the federal mining plan contained in Permit <br />Revision No. 4. <br />The submittal for Permit Revision No. 5, dated May 14, 2001, was received at the Division on <br />May 16, 2001. This revision proposed to increase the permit boundary to the west by 480 acres <br />and allow for longwall mining west of the present mining, and west of the main fault but just east <br />of Terror Creek. Also, one gob vent borehole and its associated road would be constructed. <br />Permit Revision No. 5 was called complete on May 29, 2001. Completeness letters were sent out <br />to the appropriate governmental agencies and to local water user and environmental <br />organizations on May 31, 2001. The public notice of completeness was published in the Delta <br />County Independent on June 6, 2001. <br />The Division received comment letters from several governmental agencies, including the <br />Colorado Historical Society, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife <br />Service. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concluded, in a July 31, 2001 letter, that the <br />operations proposed in PR-OS would not result in additional water depletions above those already <br />accounted for in previous consultations and, therefore, would not cause any additional impacts to <br />federally listed species. In a letter dated August 3, 2001, the Bureau of Land Management <br />7 <br />