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<br />Summary <br />The Review Process <br /> <br />On August 19, 1991, Western Fuels-Utah, Incorporated applied to the Colorado <br />Mined Land Reclamation Division for a permit revision. The application was <br />deemed complete by the Division on August 23, 1991. A public notice regarding <br />this revision application appeared in The Rangely Times newspaper on <br />September 14, 1991. A preliminary adequacy review of the application was <br />completed October 16, 1991, at which time Division concerns were forwarded to <br />Western Fuels Utah, Incorporated. Additional subsidence adequacy concerns <br />were forwarded to the operator on November 7, 1991. Western Fuels-Utah, <br />Incorporated responses to the Division concerns were received <br />December 3, 1991. <br />On September 27, 1991, the Division received comments on the revision from the <br />Colorado Division of Water Resrouces. The Water Resources Division objected <br />to approval of the revision until pending water rights issues were resolved. <br />Western Fuels-Utah, Incorporated adequately addressed those concerns, and on <br />November 15, 1991 a withdrawal of the objection was received at the Mined Land <br />Reclamation Division office. No other comments on this revision were received. <br />All adequacy issues identified by the Division have now been resolved, with <br />the exception of subsidence control and mitigation plans included in <br />Stipulation No. 49. <br />Description of the Environment <br />Elevations at the mine site range between 5,300 and 5,900 feet above sea <br />level. The permit area and adjacent areas are characterized by gently rolling <br />to moderately steep landforms. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent in the <br />valleys and level uplands and up to 50 percent on drainage sideslopes. The <br />area is semi-arid and characterized by light rainfall, low relative humidity, <br />and moderate winds. Mean annual precipitation is 9 to 10 inches, most of <br />which occurs in the spring. <br />The mine is located in the White River Basin which is the eastern portion of <br />the larger Uinta Basin. The mine lies within the interbedded sandstone and <br />siltstone strata of the Mesa Verde Group in the Williams Fork Formation. The <br />Mesa Verde Group consists of the Lower Iles Formation and the Upper Williams <br />Fork Formation, which are separated by the Trout Creek Sandstone. The <br />Williams Fork Formation is further divided into upper and lower members. The <br />Lower Williams Fork Member contains coal hearing seams "A" through "H." The <br />"B" and "D" seams will be recovered at the Deserado Mine. <br />The dip of the Mesa Verde Group within the permit area is controlled by the <br />asymmetric Red Wash Syncline, which strikes northwest southeast. Dips vary <br />from 7 degrees in the southern part of the permit area, horizontal at the <br />synclinal axis, to as much as 70 degrees on the north flank of the syncline. <br />The coal and sandstone beds outcrop along this steep northern flank. <br />Structure and local topography are the main factors which control ground water <br />movement in the area. <br />-3- <br />