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Criterion 1 <br />• All Federal lands included in the following land systems or categories shall be considered <br />unsuitable: National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National System of Trails, <br />National Wilderness Preservation System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National <br />Recreation Areas, lands acpuired with money derived from the Land and Water Conservation <br />Fund, National Forests, and federal lands in incorporated cities, towns, and villages. <br />1. Exceptions. (i) A lease may be issued within the boundaries of any National Forest if <br />the Secretary finds no significant recreational, timber, economic or other values which may be <br />incompatible with the lease; and (AI surface operations and impacts are incident to an <br />underground coal mine, or IB) where the Secretary of Agriculture determines, with respect to <br />lands which do not have significant forest cover within those National Forests west of the <br />100th Meridian, that surface mining may be in compliance with the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield <br />Act of 1960, the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 and the Surface Mining <br />Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. <br />Analvsis <br />The lands within Sections 14, 22, 23, and 26, T.135., R.90W., 6th PM were proclaimed <br />National Forest on May 12, 1905 and are within the Gunnison National Forest. Conditions <br />under which coal leasing may occur are listed in the Amended Land and Resource Management <br />Plan {LRMPI, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests -General Direction on <br />pages III-62 through III-70 and in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests <br />OiI and Gas Leasing Environmental Impact Statement to which the LRMP tiers. <br />The stipulations set forth in these documents will protect specific resources which are found on <br />the lease, and thereby satisfy the condition that the "Secretary finds no significant recreational, <br />• timber, economic or other values which may be incompatible with tha lease.' In addition, <br />surface operations and impacts are incident to an underground coal mine. <br />Criterion 2 <br />Federal lands that are within rights•of-way or easements or within surface leases for residential, <br />commercial, industrial, or other public purposes, on federally-owned surface shall be considered <br />unsuitable. <br />1. Exceptions. A lease may be issued, and mining operations approved, in Such areas if the <br />surface management agency determines that lil all or certain types of coal development <br />(e.p., underground mining) will not interfere with the purpose of the right-of-way or <br />easement, or lii) the right-of-wav or easement was granted for mining purposes, or (iiil <br />the right-of-way or easement was issued for a purpose for which it is not being used, or <br />(ivl the parties involved in the right-of-way or easement agree, in writing, to leasing, or <br />Ivj it is impractical to exclude such areas due to the location of coal and method of <br />mining and such areas or uses can be protected through appropriate stipulations. <br />Analvsis <br />There are three rights-of-way (powerline. State Highway 133 and spring developmental on <br />federal and fee surface within the review area, totalling 18 acres; they are identified on Map 1. <br />Lands involved in these rights•of-way are suitable for coal leasing after applying the exceptions <br />to the criteria. The corridor for powerline COC-36666 is located adjacent to Colorado State <br />~:;hway 133 and the North Fork of the Gunnison River. No mining will occur in this corridor <br />because State Highway 133 ICOC-315891 is a public road pursuant to the Federal Aid Highway <br />. °-^~ect and will be ^ro[ected from mining impacts by a stipulation described in Unsuitability <br />Appendix Z, Page 2 <br />