Laserfiche WebLink
<br />'. <br /><~ United Sfafes Forest Paonia P.O. Box 1030 <br />Iz~ ad Department of Service Ranger District N Rio Grande Ave. <br />'`'--6{ Agriculture PHONE NO. 970-527-4131 Paonia, CO 81428 <br /> FAX 970-527-4151 <br />Fite Code: 2820-4 <br />Date: December 3, 2004 <br />Mr. Dave Barry <br />Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Dear Mr. Barry, <br />This Letter is to follow up a June 29, 2004, joint field review of reclaimed coal mine drilling sites <br />on the Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forests (GMUG). Sandy Brown From the <br />Division, and Ryan Taylor, Liane Mattson, Justin McConkey and Dave Bradford from the <br />GMUG toured several sites in Mountain Coal Company's permit area for the West Ellc Mine that <br />are on national forest system (NFS) lands. <br />The GMUG and the Division have had on-going discussions about seed mixes used to revegetate <br />coal-mining related surface disturbance' on NFS lands. As you are aware, Bowie Resources, <br />Oxbow Mining and Mountain Coal Company have federal coal leases and /or exploration ' <br />licenses on NFS lands administered by the GMUG, and therefore also have portions o f their <br />respective State-approved permit areas on NFS lands. These three mining companies have <br />implemented exploration and methane drainage drilling, and temporary road construction <br />activities on NFS lands. The Division has expressed concerns that the seed mixes prescribed by <br />th@GMUG do not support the State-permitted species diversity standards, and cou]d tt'anslate to <br />the companies not achieving reclamation bond release. <br />As the surface managing agency, the GMUG prescribes reclamation practices and seed mixes <br />that support the primary land uses described in the Forest Plan, and which support Forest Plan <br />standards. The GMUG makes these decisions, and prescribes how a mining company can use <br />NFS lands through stipulations on the federal coal leases or exploration licenses, and through <br />`conditions of approval' identified for specific surface disturbing activities. The lease <br />stipulations and conditions of approval are derived through the environmental analyses the <br />GMUG tnust conduct to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The <br />federal coal leases or exploration licenses, and the GMUG's NEPA decisions and `conditions of <br />approval' applied to those decisions for surface disturbing activities, authorize the mining <br />companies to enter NFS lands as related to the Division's permitting actions. <br />Under 30 CFR, Part 906 -Colorado, the Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) has the <br />responsibility to ensure that the mine permit applicant's post-mining land use is consistent with <br />the land management plan and identify if the applicant's measures are adequate to protect federal <br />resources (Appendix A, Sections IV.C.1 and V.D.1). The FLMA also has a concurrence role <br />with respect to post-mining lands use and adequacy ofprotection measures (Appendix A, Section <br />VLC). <br />a=~ ~ <br />U>1S <br />Caring for the Land and Serving People P~mi~~a on ae~yaea aaPe, i+M~' <br />