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Descriation of the Environment <br />The Bowie No. 2 coal mine permit azea includes 5005 surface acres, of which 2602 surface acres <br />aze federally owned and 2403 acres are privately owned. The coal and the surface lands within <br />the present permit azea aze both federally and privately owned, as are the surface lands that have <br />been disturbed by surface developments. The total azea disturbed by surface operations presently <br />is approximately 113 acres. Inclusion of the unit train loadout into [he Bowie No. 2 permit area <br />through Permit Revision No. 6 increases the private surface lands within the permit azea by 71 <br />acres and increases the disturbed acreage by 34 acres. <br />In the original permit application review, following discussions with the OSM in Denver and <br />based upon the specific recommendations of the OSM, it had been determined that the Bowie <br />No. 2 Mine would be considered a private mine for the purposes of permitting and inspection <br />regulation. However, the Bowie No. 2 Mine became a federal mine upon approval of Technical <br />Revision No. 16. Through that revision, BRL was granted permission to conduct mining in a <br />limited azea of the Iron Point Tract Federal Lease. <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine is located in Delta County, approximately five (5) miles northeast of <br />Paonia, Colorado. The mine permit area is located on lands depicted on the U. S. Geological <br />Survey 7.5 minute Bowie Quadrangle Map, and the Bowie No. 2 mine portals aze to be located <br />northwest of the Old King Mine portals (also known as the Bowie Mine). The surface facilities <br />are located north of Old State Highway 133 near the old townsite of Bowie. The mine is located <br />between Terror Creek and Hubbard Creek. A portion of the surface facilities aze within 100 feet <br />of the outside right-of-way of old State Highway 133. The location of these facilities extends <br />from [he old townsite of Bowie [o about 500 feet east of the old Bowie power plant. <br />The original Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application indicated that mining would be conducted <br />using the room and pillar mining method. Permit Revision No. 3 changed the mining method to <br />longwall mining but kept the rate of production at two million tons per year. Approval of Permit <br />Revision No. 3 increased maximum mine production to five million tons per yeaz. Approval of <br />Permit Revision No. 6 would increase coal production to 6 million tons per yeaz. Mining is in the <br />D-2 coal seam. Detailed information regarding the Bowie No. 2 Mine and BRL is located in the <br />eight (8) binders which comprise the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application document. <br />Land Use and Cultural and Historic Resource Information - <br />Detailed information regarding land uses and cultural and historic resources within the Bowie <br />No. 2 Mine permit area is provided in Sections 2.04.3 and 2.04.4 of the permit application <br />document. A brief summary is provided below, and this summary is derived from the <br />information presented within Sections 2.04.3 and 2.04.4 of the permit application document. <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine permit and adjacent azea includes a mix of land uses. The lower elevation <br />areas are used for pasture, orchards, residential and industrial uses. Approval of Permit Revision <br />No. 6 would add hayland to the list of permit area land uses. Agricultural uses are served by <br />irrigation water. The higher elevations within and adjacent to the permit azea support some <br />11 <br />