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• transported from the underground workings via conveyors to the Bear No. 3 portal, and then The Bear No. 3 operation involved the renovation of the abandoned Edwards portal, and the mining of the C-Seam in Federal Coal Leases D-052501 and C-01170192. Mining has commenced from the outcrop of the C coal seam exposed in the mountainside south of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. Additional development entries were driven to complement those of the Edwards Mine as part of We Edwards Mine reopening and renovation. The main entries proceed updip in a southerly direction with panel development areas extending both easterly and westerly from the mains. Ramps to the B-Seam were constructed extending south from the C-Seam main entries. to a stacking tube and coal stockpile. Coal is then transported from the stockpile area by conveyor to a track loadout facility and is trucked to the Terror Creek Loadout facility (Colorado Permit No. C-83-059) near Bowie, Colorado, or to the Somerset Mining Company (Permit No. C-81-022) arra for shipping. Mining at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 Mines ceased in June 1982. The surface facilities of the Beaz No. 1 and No. 2 Mines have been removed, and the 19-acre disturbed area has been regraded, ripped, seeded and revegetated. The portals are sealed and the face-up areas backfilled to a stable configuration. Bear Coal Company produces coal by room and pillar methods with an expected recovery of about 67 to 75 percent. Mining during this five-year permit term will be limited to the B- Seam. Mining during the previous five-year permit term was also within the B-Seam. • B-Seam mining was approved via Technical Revisions No. 3. The applicant anticipates mining of Ure B-Seam 200 feet above the C-Seam, and tire F-Seam, 350 feet above the C-Seam, sometime in the future . The additional mining approved via Permit Revision-02 renumbers some of the existing panels and incorporates panels 19-23 in Section 20, along with panels 24-28 and 31-38 in Section 16. As a result of the additional reserves and proposed changes, We mining sequence will also be altered slightly. Information about the new mining sequence can be found on Map-9A, B-Seam Mine Plan. A sediment control system, including a sediment pond, drainage ditches and culverts, has been constructed to control surface runoff from the portal and surface facilities areas. Topsoil has been salvaged and stockpiled for use in final reclamation. Upon cessation of mining, final reclamation at Ure Bear No. 3 Mine will entail facilities removal, portal sealing and backfilling, and regrading tire mine bench and face-up area to a stable configuration. The regraded area will be ripped, topsoiled and revegetated. Post-mining ]and use for the Bear No. 1 and 2 Mines is wildlife habitat. The post-mining ]and use for the Bear No. 3 Mine is primarily wildlife habitat, with a limited residential use of the facilities area. The operation and reclamation plan presented in the application includes requests for • variances from approximate original contour (steep slope mining), mining within 300 feet of a residence, and disturbance within 100 feet of a perennial stream. The Division has approved these variances. Appropriate mitigation or alternative plans, and waivers have been incorporated into the permit application. 12