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-1- INTRODUCTION Seneca Coals Limited, a joint venture between Peabody Coal Company and Western v Utility Corporation, has filed an application for the Seneca II mine pursuant to the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, C.R.S. 1973, 34-33-101 et. sue., and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The Seneca II mine is an existing surface mine operated by Peabody Coal Company. The mine has been in operation since 1968 at it's present location in Routt County, Colorado, approximately six miles southeast of Hayden at approximately 7500 feet elevation. The proposed permit area contains 3375 acres of private, Federal and State lands of which 1160 acres will be disturbed. This application includes a 250 acre increase, mostly Federal land, over the current permit H75-54. The production rate will be roughly 1.5 million tons annually. The rate will decrease in 1984, when Peabody Coal Company begins develop- ment at the Seneca II W mine and the 3'oast mine. All coal is trucked by an inde- pendent contractor directly to the Hayden Power PZant. Seneca Coals Limited submitted the application on December 30, 1980. The Division found it to be complete on January 7, 1981. The following State and Federal agencies reviewed it: Colorado Division of fildlife, Colorado Mined Land.Reclama- tion Division, the Office of Surface Mining, the State Historic and Preservation Office, and the United States Geological Survey. A preliminary adequacy letter was sent to Peabody on March 9, 1981. A meeting was held on March 19 to discuss the concerns. Responses to the Letter were delivered on May 29, 1981. No public comment was submitted with respect to this application. Z. LEGAL, FINANCIAL AND COMPLIANCE INFORMATION For this operation, private mineral estate has not been severed from surface estate, therefore, the documentation specified by 2.03.6(2) is not required (2.07.6 (2) (f)) On the basis of the information provided by the applicant, several notices of violation have been issued to Peabody Coal Company in violation of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The N.O.V.s have been issued recently and the company is in the process of solving the problems identified and meeting the re- quired abatement deadlines. In Colorado, there are no outstanding violations (2.07.6(2)(g)). Peabody Coal Company does not control and has not controlled mining operations with a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of the Act of such nature, duration, and with such resulting irreparable damage to the environment as to indicate an intent not to comply with the provisions of the Act (2.07.6(2)(h)). The operation is in compliance. II. LAND USE Print to submittal of this application, the predominant land use classifications on the permit area were: 1) rangeland/grazing .for domestic livestock and wildlife and 2) previous mine disturbance that is gradually beiny reclaimed for grazing util- ization. A map and discussion are located in Volume I., Tab 4. After mining, Peabody Coal Company plans to return the land to rangeland/grazing. This is com- patible with the adjacent Lands which are predominantly rangeland. Post-mining land use is discussed in Volume VII, Tab I3 of the application.