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FINAL <br />ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT <br />• CO-030-SJ-89-57B <br />BLUE FLAME COAL COMPANY <br />COMPETITIVE COAL LEASE APPLICATION <br />COC 49465 <br />I. PURPOSE AND NEED <br />The Colorado State Director of the Bureau of Land Management has <br />received from Blue Flame Coal Company, a competitive coal lease <br />application dated November 17, 1988. Application COC 49465 involves <br />a tract of land amounting to 193.08 acres, more or less. The <br />application was submitted under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, <br />Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and 43 CFR 3420.3. The <br />coal reserves are managed by the Montrose District Office of the <br />BLM. The applicant has need for the coal in order to continue coal <br />mining at the Blue Flame Mine. The purpose of the environmental <br />assessment (EA) is to evaluate potential impacts of lease issuance <br />upon the physical and socioeconomic environment and to develop <br />mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the <br />event the lease is issued. <br />The application area, adjacent to the Blue Flame property on the <br />north and the National King Coal leases on the east, is described as <br />follows: <br />• T. 35 N.. R. 11 W.. N.M.P.M. <br /> Section 31: Lot 4, SW1/4 NE1/4, SE1/4SW1/4, W1/2SE1/4 <br /> Containing approximately 193.08 acres <br /> The application area is located in LaPlata County, Colorado (see <br /> maps 1 and 2). The surface is privately owned and the coal rights <br /> are reserved to the United States (see map 3). <br /> Authorizing Actions and Aoency involvement <br /> In response to the competitive coal lease application submitted by <br /> Blue Flame Coal Company, the Bureau of Land Management reviews the <br /> coal lease application in accordance with the regulations found at <br /> 43 CFR 3425. BLM then prepares an environmental assessment (EA) to <br /> analyze the potential impacts of any proposed lease and to develop <br /> mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the <br /> event a competitive sale is held. BLM conducts a public hearing <br /> before a competitive sale is held to allow public comment on the <br /> effects of mining on the proposed lease. BLM must also evaluate <br /> lease proposals with respect to the unsuitability criteria developed <br /> by the Department of the Interior in compliance with Section 522 of <br /> the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) and <br /> 43 CFR 3461. This evaluation was done in conjunction with the San <br />• <br />