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iii iiiiiiiiiiiii iii 999 United States Department of the Interior w arnr a~+ae ro OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING Reclamation and Enforcement 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 Denver, Colorado 80202-5733 March 28, 2001 Mr. Daniel Hernandez, Senior Environmental Protection Specialist Division of Minerals and Geology Department of Natural Resources 1:513 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 RE: Sand and Gravel Operations on Lands Subject to SMCRA Dear Dan, t~=~%EIV~G APR a 31001 Divi9iort Of 6fi}pig ~~ I understand from our conversation that a sand and gravel operation, permitted through the Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) Minerals section, has expressed an interest in expanding its gravel operations onto the Carbon 3unction coal mining lands, permitted by DMG's Coal section. The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) believes this is feasible and provided for by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and the approved Colorado program. Colorado Rules 4.15.10 and 4.16.3 are the principle Rules that govern alternative post mining land uses for coal operations. Given the requirements of the Colorado program, OSM believes that the sand and gravel operator would first be required to obtain all other required approvals, including a permit from DMG Minerals, to expand its operation onto the permitted coal mining lands. Carbon Junction would then revise its coal mining permit to identify the newly permitted minerals lands as an alternative post mining land use with an industrial classification. Carbon Junction is then free to pursue a Phase ID bond release for those lands identified as permitted minerals lands. All these steps would of course follow the Colorado program with regards to permit revisions, public comment. bond release, etc., and DMG would specifically address the six criteria at 4.16.3. If the sand and gravel operations will take place over coal seams, OSM recommends that DMG notify the operator, either by letter or in a stipulation to the DMG Minerals permit, that coal my not be extracted without first obtaining a coal mining permit from DMG and that [he approved Colorado program does not contain the comparable SMCRA provisions of an exemption for coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals (30CFR 702). ,`