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Coal mining has occurred in the Eagle mine site vicinity since 1936. The present operations began during the early 1970'x, when underground mining began at the Eagle No. 5 Mine. Open Mining Permit No. 41 was issued in 1975! to allow surface mining in the Williams Fork strip pit. 'I`hie permit expired in June 1979. In March of 1977, Eagle No. 9 was granted Permit•NO. 76-7 U.G. under C.R.S. 1973, 34-32-101 et seq., as amended. Permit No.79-170, for both the Eagle No. 5 and No. 9 Mines, was issued in March 1980. Hmpire Energy Corporation submitted the original permit application for compliance with Colorado's permanent regulatory program in three major parts. The first part was submitted on February 17, 1981 and covered the existing operations for the Eagle No. 5 and No. 9 Mines. The second part of the permit application was submitted as an addendum on August 14, 1981. The addendum was for a newly issued federal :Lease referred to as the Hmpire Tract. This lease allowed for the eastward expansion of the Eagle No. S~Mine, and Empire Energy Corporation requested a 681-acre increase to the permit boundary. No new surface facilities were proposed. The third part of the permit application, submitted April 14, :L982, constituted a proposal to increase the pezmit boundary by 1,552 acres and an amended mine plan for the Eagle No: 9 Mine. No new surface facilities were proposed. The final proposed acreage for the permit area at that time was 5,397 ac:_es. In December of 1982, Hmpire Energy Corporation submitted a revised permit application which consolidated all the information from the various submittals, responses to adequacy letters, and revisions to the application into one permit application document. The Division identified several concerns that needed to be addressed before the permit application could be recommended for approval. Empire ]inergy resolved all issues concerning the No. 5 Mine through additional information received on June 8, 1983. Approval to mine in the No. 5 Mine was granted September 2, 1983. This approval did not allow additional mining in the No. 9 Mine. Ei~ire Hnergy adequately resolved the remaining issues concerning the No. 9 Mine subsequent to the September 2, 1983 approval. Approval was granted for additional mining in the No. 9 Mine on April 9, 1984. After the September 2, 1983 approval, Empire made several revisions to their operation, including the implementation of a longwall system, the addition of a SA Mine. portal and an increase in the permit area by approximatel~y.430 acres .(the Utah Tract). The No. 9 Mine was also closed during this time. In addition, plans were being made to open a new mine, the No. 6 Mine, in the E seam. Therefore, in order to consolidate these changes and to permit the No. 6 Mine, Empire submitted a major permit revision in a new permit application document on August 21, 1986. The Division issued a Preliminary Adequacy Review (PAR) on October 17, 1986. Hmpire, in response to the PAR, amended the application on January 23, 1987. The new application increased the permit area from the previously approved 6,176 acres to 6,820 acres. The surface disturbance remains at 375 acres. A permit revision received on August 21, 1986 was approved to permit mining the' H seam through the No. 6 Mine and the F seam through the No. 5 and SA Portals. The No. 6 Mine is accessed through the SA Portal. No mining is planned in the P seam, since the No. 9 Portal has been sealed. During the Eagle Mine permit renewal process in 1987, Empire Hnergy Corp. provided the Division updated ownership and control information (permit pages 2.03 -15R, 16R 9/87) changing the operator name from Empire Energy Corp. to Cyprus Empire Corp. 3