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February 2000 Summary Page S-15 <br />reclamation and revegetation techniques to be undertaken on any disturbed sites are comparatively <br />simplistic, commonly accepted techniques with a history of successful application in the western states. <br />S-3.14 Transportation <br />Existing Conditions -The major transportation route servicing the Paonia-Somerset area is State <br />Highway 133. This highway serves local residents and associated commercial traffic for the local <br />communities, including the mining operations in the North Fork Valley. State Highway 133 is an <br />asphalt, all-weather, two lane highway, that joins the community of Carbondale with the town of <br />Hotchkiss. <br />Highway traffic counts are identified as annual average daily Vaffic (ADT). ADT is defined as the <br />measure of traffic over a 24-hour period and is determined by counting the number of vehides passing <br />a specific point in either direction. The Colorado Department of Transportation has estimated annual <br />1996 ADT values based on actual traffic counts made at various locations along State Highway 133. <br />The 1996 ADT values on State Highway 133 just east of Paonia is 3,150. At Somerset, the ADT for <br />State Highway 133 was 2,000 in 1996. <br />The mines in the North Fork of the Gunnison River Valley are accessed by a railroad spur that <br />connects a main Union Pacific Railroad line in Grand Junction, Colorado with the mining operations. <br />This spur line is known as the North Fork Branch and is approximately 95.5 miles in length. The <br />railroad passes through the communities of Delta, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Somerset. In 1998, 850 coal <br />trains utilized the North Fork Branch. This translates to an average of 2.5 trains per day. An estimated <br />8.6 million tons of coal were shipped in 1998. <br />Environmental Consequences -Increases in traffic on State Highway 133 as a result of exploration <br />activities in the Iron Point Exploration License area would be very minor and probably not noticeable. <br />The magnitude of effects associated with rail and highway traffic related activities from mining <br />operations would depend on the amount of coal produced and sold from the mines. <br />As coal production at the Bowie No. 2 Mine is increased from 1.2 million tons in 1998 to a projected 5 <br />million tons in 2000, coal truck ADT on State Highway 133 between the Bowie No. 2 Mine and the <br />Bowie No. 1 Loadout would increase from 234 to 978, a 400 percent increase. In 1998, the coal truck <br />traffic from the Bowie No. 2 Mine represented approximately 7 percent of the traffic on State Highway <br />133 between the mine and the loadoul. If production is increased to 5 million tons per year in the year <br />2000 and beyond, the coal truck traffic would represent approximately 21 to 22 percent of the total <br />traffic on that stretch of State Highway 133 between the mine and the loadout. Other than coal traffic, <br />general exploration and mine related traffic would involve only a very minor increase to ADT levels on <br />State Highway 133 between Paonia and Somerset. <br />Projections call for coal production to increase from the North Fork Valley coal mines from 1998 to <br />2005. This production increase would relate to additional train traffic on the North Fork Branch. If <br />production increases to 19.2 million tons in 2005, there would be an average of ten trains per day (five <br />loaded and five empty) on the rail line. In 1998, with 8.6 million tons of coal shipped on the Union <br />Pacific Railroad from the North Fork mines, it is estimated the average interval between trains was 5 <br />hours and 27 minutes. If coal production increases to 18.2 million tons in the year 2005, the average <br />interval between trains would be 2 hours and 24 minutes. <br />With the projected increase in daily traffic, particularly the increase in coal truck traffic from the Bowie <br />No. 2 Mine to the Bowie No. 1 Loadout, it is reasonable to assume that accidents could increase over <br />the life of any mining activities. With the projected increase in daily coal train traffic, the potential for <br />highway vehicles and train accidents at rail crossings would also increase. Delays at train crossings <br />could also have impact on public safety. Delays could also affect local businesses such as those near <br />Final Environmental Impact Statement <br />