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<br />I. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE ACTION <br />Western Fuels-Utah Inc., has applied for an emergency bypass lease adjacent <br />and contiguous to its Logical Mining Unit (LMU) at the Deserado Hine, Rio <br />Blanco County, Colorado (Figure 1). The application is for 344.31 acres and <br />approximately 2,114,000 recoverable tons of coal (Figure 2). The area applied <br />for under this lease application is included in the proposed Prairie Dog Lease <br />Tract. <br />The lands applied for are described as follows: <br />T.2N., R.lO1W., Section 1: Lots 1, 2, 5, and 6. SWl/4NE1/4, <br />W1/2SE1/4NE1/4, N1/2SE1/4. <br />T.3N., R.lO1W., Section 36: SW1/4SE1/4, W1/2SE1/4SE1/4 <br />The application is filed in accordance with Title 43 CFR 3425-Leasing on <br />Application. The objective of this regulation is to provide an application <br />process through which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may consider holding <br />lease sales apart from the competitive lease process, where an emergency need <br />for unleased coal is demonstrated. <br />An emergency lease sale may be held in response to an application, iE the <br />application shows. <br />1. That the coal reserves applied for shall be mined as part of a mining <br />operation that is producing coal on the date of the application. <br />If the coal deposits are not leased, they would be bypassed in the <br />reasonably foreseeable future, and if leased, some portion of the tract <br />applied for would be used within 3 years. <br />2. That the need for the coal deposits shall have resulted from circumstances <br />that were either beyond the control of the applicant or could not have <br />been reasonably foreseen and planned for in time to allow for <br />consideration of leasing the tract under normal procedures. <br />It was determined by the BLH Colorado State Office on February 2, 1987, that <br />this application meets the qualifications to be considered as an emergency <br />bypass lease. The coal reserve that is isolated by the well defined split in <br />the coal seam would be lost to future production. <br />Compliance With the Land Use Plan <br />This application is considered to be in compliance with the existing land <br />use plan. The White River Management Framework Plan (MFP), was completed _ ... <br />and approved in 1975 and amended in 1980. En December 1981, the MFP was <br />amended again for determination of suitability for coal development <br />through the application of the unsuitability criteria for the federal <br />lands. The information in the approved land use plan amendment determined <br />that the area was suitable for coal development and coal production could <br />occur on the emergency bypass lease application area without unduly <br />damaging the environment. <br /> <br />1 <br />