GENERAL43046

• Permit No: C1981033
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Doc Name: FEDERAL LEASES COC-57632 & COC-57633 PART 6 OF 9
• Permit Index Doc Type: Other Permits
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

CHAPTER I
• INTRODUCTION
A. Purpose and Need for the Action
Bear Coal Company, Inc. (BCC) submitted a permit application
package (PAP) for a permit revision for the Bear Mine to the
Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) under the
Colorado State program (30 CFR Part 906). The PAP proposes
to extend underground coal mining operations into about 260
acres of Federal leases COC-57632 and COC-57633. About 2.3
million additional tons of Federal coal would be mined.
Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the Assistant
Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, must approve,
approve with conditions, or disapprove the mining plan for
Federal leases COC-57632 and COC-57633. Pursuant to 30 CFR
Part 746, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (OSM) must recommend to the ASLMM approval,
approval with conditions, or disapproval of the mining plan.
B. Project Background and General Information
The Bear underground coal mine is located in Gunnison
County, Colorado, next to the town of Somerset. The
• mine has been in operation since 1934. About 8 acres
have been affected by surface disturbance to date. The
underground mining operations utilize room and pillar
mining methods.
The original mining plan for the Bear Mine was approved
under the Federal lands program on July 16, 1982, for mining
the C seam in Federal lease D-052501. Since that approval
there have been three other mining plan actions for the Bear
Mine. In 1985, BCC subleased a part of Atlantic Richfield
Company's (ARCO) Federal lease C-0117192. The Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) designated the subleased area as
Federal lease C-42481. The Bear Mine mining plan for adding
the C seam of Federal lease C-42481 was approved on
December 26, 1985. In 1989, BCC constructed ramps down from
the C seam underground workings to the B seam, and a mining
plan modification for mining the B seam in Federal leases
D-052501 and C-42481 was approved on June 8, 1989. On June
24, 1994, a mining plan modification was approved for
extending B seam mining into an additional 165 acres of
Federal lease C-42481.
In October 1994, BCC was assigned rights to mine the B seam
in an additional 260 acres of ARCO's Federal leases
C-0117192 and C-044569. BLM designated the assigned areas
as Federal leases COC-57632 and COC-57633. This proposed
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