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<br />If the actual leasing is different than the company's proposed action then <br />production levels would be reduced. This reduction would change the levels of <br />associated activities and fhe impacts they cause. <br />If a particular tract is not offered for lease it may be exchanged for another <br />tract that is acceptable for leasing or other federal coal leasing rights <br />under authority or 43 CFR 3430.5-3 and 3430.5-4. <br />Environmental impacts for the leasing alternatives would be similar to the <br />proposed action; however disturbance to wildlife would decrease slightly due <br />to the reduced number of workers in the area. <br />The number of haulage trips would decrease in relation to the amount of coal <br />being mined; however impacts would remain similar to the proposed action. <br />Lease One Tract--C-0127833 <br />This tract contains 5,087 acres; approximately 1.4 million tons of coal would <br />be removed per year for a 40-year mine life. <br />s--C-0127832 and 33 ~ <br />acres <br />Either combination of these two tracts would produce approximately 2.8 million <br />tons of coal per year for a 40-year mine life. <br />COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS <br />Impacts from the various transportation routes and methods and the various <br />tract leasing alternatives are summarized in table 5 and are described in <br />detail under Environmental Consequences (section 4). <br />ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT NOT INCLUDED <br />Leasing Alternatives <br />Leasing of only one of the two areas not contiguous to the private mine was <br />not considered due to the uneconomical aspects of mining a smaller area. Only <br />one lease area is contiguous to the company's private land and mine entrance <br />facilities. If another area were leased new facilities would be required in <br />another location. This would create many new and unnecessary environmental <br />impacts. <br />Transportation Alternatives <br />Transportation methods not considered further are full-scale trucking and a <br />conveyor belt. Both methods would be very expensive and would create many <br />severe environmental impacts. The expense of either method would be passed on <br />to the consumer and is viewed as an adverse economic impact. <br />I~iilVl~I~I~~IFiNI~iiNiii~ivu <br />00014053 <br />2-27 2-28 <br />