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MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY COAL LEASE APPLICATION COC-56447 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS U-94-37 Prepared by BLM in cooperation with USFS and OSM PURPOSE AND NEED The Colorado State Office of the Bureau of Land Management 4BLM1 received on March 11, 1994, a coal lease application from Mountain Coal Company; it was assigned serial number COC-56447. The application was submitted under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and 43 CFR 3420. The coal reserves are managed by the Montrose District Office of the BLM. The purpose of the environmental assessment IEAI is to evaluate potential impacts of lease issuance upon the physical and socioeconomic environment and to develop mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the event the lease is issued. As a result of the lease application, the Box Canyon coal lease tract was delineated. The Box Canyon Tract lies to the east of federal coal leases C-1362, D-044569, COC-54558 and C-0117192 which are leased by Mountain Coal Company. Mountain Coal Company would like to continue development of their underground mining operation into the lease application area. Mining would occur in the B and D/E Seams on the Box Canyon Tract. The competitive lease application submitted by Mountain Coal Company identified a 2769.67 acre tract of federal coal. The Box Canyon Tract, analyzed in this EA, is described as follows: T. 13S., R. 90W., 6th Principal Meridian Sec. 10, SE%SE%; 40.00 acres Sec. 11, SW%SW%, Lots 9 to 12, inclusive; 183.81 acres Sec. 14, Lots 1 to 16, inclusive; 568.73 acres Sec. 15, E%W%SW%., Lots 1 to 4, inclusive; 180.63 acres Sec. 22, Lots 1 to 16, inclusive; 611.37 acres Sec. 23, Lots 1 to 16, inclusive; 578.21 acres Sec. 26, Lots 1 to 16, inclusive; 606.92 acres containing approximately 2769.67 acres in Gunnison County, Colorado (see Maps 1, 2 and 31. The tract is located three miles southeast of Somerset, Colorado and twelve miles northeast of Paonia, Colorado. Approximately 2,509 acres are federal surface and federal minerals. The U.S. Forest Service manages the surface of 2,365 acres and the BLM manages 144 acres. The remainder of the surface (261 acres) is privately owned by Mountain Coal Company and Somerset Mining Company; the mineral estate is federally owned. Authorizing Actions and Aoencv Involvement In response to the competitive coal lease application submitted by Mountain Coal Company, the Bureau of Land Management reviews the coal lease application in accordance with the regulations found at 43 CFR 3420. The BLM in conjunction with the USFS then prepares an environmental assessment to analyze the potential impacts of the proposed lease and to develop mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the event a competitive sale is held. The BLM conducts a public hearing before a competitive sale is held to allow public comment on the effects of mining on the proposed lease. The BLM must also evaluate lease proposals with respect to the coal unsuitability criteria developed by the Department of the Interior in compliance with Section 522 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMRCA) and 43 CFR 3461. This evaluation was done in conjunction with the BLM -Uncompahgre Basin Resource Management Plan 119891 and the Forest Service -Amended Land and Resource Management Plan -Grand