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<br /> <br />the Permit Renewal No, 2 adequacy review. OSM decided that the Technical Revision No. 45 <br />consultation would suffice for Permit Revision No. 2. Technical Revision No 45 is currently in review but <br />the Section 7 consultation is finished. [n a memorandum dated April 13, 2007, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife <br />Service determined that no new water depletions will occur so the existing Recovery Implementation <br />Program for the Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin will suffice. <br />The Division sent five adequacy review letters dated October 17, 2006, February I5, 2007, March 2, <br />2007, May 3, 2007 and May 18, 2007. Since the permit expired April 4, 2007 and because BRL submitted <br />a complete permit renewal package before October 6, 2006, BRL was notified in a letter dated April 5, <br />2007 that the operator had the right of successive renewal. No individual, group or government agency <br />sent comment letters to the Division. BRL responded to the Division's adequacy concerns in responses <br />dated December 7, 2006, February 21, 2007 and May 8, 2007. An AVS check was made on June 22, 2007 <br />and the recommendation was to "issue". With all adequacy review issues resolved, the proposed decision <br />to approve Permit Revision No. 2 was made on June 22, 2007. <br />The maps and permit text that were revised in Permit Renewal No. 2 will be placed into the permit <br />application through Minor Revision No. 80, The public notice for the proposed decision to approve <br />Permit Renewal No. 2 is being published in the Delta County Independent and contains information <br />concerning the increase in the reclamation cost estimate. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The Bowie No. 2 coal mine permit area includes 5286 surface acres, of which 26]2 surface acres aze <br />federally owned and 2674 acres are privately owned. The coal and the surface lands within the present <br />permit area are both federally and privately owned, as are the surface areas that have been disturbed by <br />surface developments. The total approved disturbed area by surface operations is 234.1 acres. <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine is located in Delta County, approximately five (5) miles northeast of Paonia, <br />Colorado. The mine permit area is located on lands depicted on the U. S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute <br />Bowie Quadrangle Map, and the Bowie No. 2 mine portals are located northwest of the Old King Mine <br />portals (also known as the Bowie Mine). The surface facilities are located north and south of Old State <br />Highway 133 near the old townsite of Bowie. The mine is located between Terror Creek and Hubbard <br />Creek. A portion of the surface facilities is within 100 feet of the outside right-of--way of old State <br />Highway 133. The location of these facilities extends from the old townsite of Bowie to about 500 feet <br />east of the old Bowie power plant. <br />The original Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application indicated that mining would be conducted using the <br />room and pillar mining method. Permit Revision No. 3 changed the mining method to Iongwall mining <br />but kept the rate of production at two million tons per year. Approval of Permit Revision No. 3 increased <br />maximum mine production to five million tons per year. Approval of Permit Revision No. 6 increased <br />coal production to 6 million tons per year. Approval of Permit Revision No. 7 permitted the construction <br />of portals and facilities to mine the B-2 coal seam. The five year B-2 coal seam mine plan was approved <br />through Permit Revision No. 8. Current mining is in the B-2 coal seam. Detailed information regarding <br />the Bowie No. 2 Mine and BRL is located in the ten (10) binders which comprise the Bowie No. 2 Mine <br />permit application document. <br />