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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENT AND OPERATIONS AND RECLAMATION PLAN The King Coal mine is located approximately 7 miles southwest of Hesperus, Colorado, along LaPlata County Road 120, in Sections 31 and 32, T35N, R11W. The mine is currently operating under Permit 79-37 issued by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board on L~cember 8, 1980. The permit application under consideration here proposes to extend the existing operation into a new lease area, C-29125. No new surface facilities are proposed to be constructed. The mineral ownership is Federal and the surface ownership is private. Of the 340 acres proposed to be permitted, only 9.28 have been disturbed with no additional surface disturbance anticipated. Surface facilities for the operation consist of a tipple, office, shop, bathhouse, scalehouse, conveyor system, and drainage control system. There is only one road at the site which serves as a combination haul road, access road. This rand crosses Hay Gulch and intersects County Road 120. The King Coal mine employs conventional two-entry room and pillar under- ground mining methods. National King Coal recently acquired a new lease for an additional 180 acres. The new lease area is to the south, which adjoins National King Coal's existing underground workings. Acquisition of the new lease effectively increased the life of the mine approximately seven years under present production estimates. Production estimates are on the order of 100,000-120,000 tons per year. Three types of coal are produced; lump, stoker and fines. The coal is trucked from Hay Gulch to a loadout located out-of-state. See Section XV of tlv s document for more detail on the operations plan. Reclamation will consist of regrading the disturbed area to achieve a stable, productive land form. The area wi1Z then be re-topsoiled and seeded with native species compatible with the post-mining land use of rangeland and wildlife habitat. Continued mining and implementation of the proposed reclamation plan will improve the productivity and usefulness of the area. The proposed permit area is situated on the northwestern rim of the San Juan Basin which is within the Colorado Plateau Province. Structurally, this area is characterized by gentle southerly dips away from the LaPlata mountains to the north. The permit area is located in an upland area with the surface facilities located at an elevation of approximately 7,440 feet. Land use in the area consists of rangeland and wildlife habitat. The coal proposed to be extracted lies within the Mesa Verde group. The upper seam of the Menefee Formation will be removed with a projected recovery ratio of 5:1. This seam varies in thickness from 66-74 inches and dips 3-40 to the south. The Menefee Formation is overlain by the Cliff House sand- stone, and underlain by the Point Lookout sandstone.