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Chapter 1 <br />Purpose and Need <br />1.2 PURPOSE OF AND NEED <br />FOR ACTION <br />The purpose and need for this Federal action is to <br />lease additional Federal coal reserves in the Dry <br />Fork LBA tract for economic development and <br />production of the coal, consistent with applicable <br />laws and regulations. <br />The purpose of this DEIS is to evaluate the <br />potential environmental consequences of leasing <br />additional Federal coal lands for underground coal <br />resource development. <br />ArkLand made application to obtain the Dry Fork <br />LBA ttact to add reserves to the existing reserve <br />base and to extend the life of the West Elk Mine. If <br />ArkLand were the successful bidder at a potential <br />lease sale, then MCC would extract coal from this <br />lease tract as part of a logical extension of the West <br />Elk Mine current underground longwall mining <br />activities. MCC holds a permit with the Colorado <br />Divisian of Minerals and Geology (CDMG) for the <br />West Elk Mine. The West Elk Mine was opened in <br />1981 and presently produces coal from several <br />existing Federal coal leases. <br />The coal mined at the West Elk Mine, as well as <br />from other mines in the North Fork Valley, is a high <br />British Thermal Unit (BTU), low sulfur, low ash <br />coal. It is considered a "clean coal." Its use in <br />industry helps meet standards of the Clean Air Act. <br />As such, there is a demand for coal from the West <br />Elk Mine and other mines in the North Fork Valley <br />for electric power generation. Recovering these <br />Federally-administered coal reserves ensures that <br />they would not be bypassed or rendered <br />inaccessible. <br />1.3 LEASING PROCESS, <br />AUTHORIZING ACTS AND <br />RELEVANT POLICIES, <br />PLANS AND PROGRAMS <br />This DEIS is prepared to inform Federal agency <br />decision makers, publicly disclose the probable <br />environmental impacts of coal leasing and future <br />development of the coal reserves, and establish <br />protections in the form of lease stipulations for <br />surface resources. <br />In order fora mining company to access Federal <br />coal reserves, the company must apply to lease the <br />Federal lands for development of the coal resource. <br />An application is submitted to the BLM, who <br />administers the Federal mineral estate on all Federal <br />lands. BLM initiates the lease consideration <br />process, which ensures that a NEPA analysis is <br />completed. BLM directives indicate the need to <br />offer Federal coal in quantities responsive to market <br />conditions and assure maximum economic recovery <br />of mineable Federal coal reserves. BLM cooperates <br />with the surface management agency (in this case, <br />the Forest Service), which, by agreement, may take <br />the lead on the NEPA analysis. <br />This Federal coal lease application (the Dry Fork <br />LBA tract) is being processed under the authority of <br />the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended by <br />the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, <br />and implementing regulations at 43 CFR 3425, <br />Lease-on-Application. The BLM has the mineral <br />leasing authority, and since the Dry Fork LBA tract <br />contains NFS lands, the Forest Service is the <br />surface management agency. Their consent is <br />required before a lease can be offered by the BLM. <br />The Forest Service must also prescribe conditions <br />for protection of non-coal resources. The Forest <br />Service will develop terms, conditions and <br />stipulations that will be attached to the coal Lease, <br />should it be offered for sale, to ensure protection of <br />non-coal resources. <br />If the Dry Fork LBA tract is leased, it will be done <br />under a competitive bid at a lease sale. Granting <br />the lease would give the successful bidder (the <br />lessee) exclusive rights to mine the coal but does <br />not authorize actual mining or surface disturbing <br />activities. This DEIS considers the potential <br />environmental impacts associated with leasing these <br />lands for underground coal development. A <br />Reasonably Foreseeable Mine Plan (RFMP), a <br />conceptual mine operations plan, was developed by <br />MCC to aid in assessing potential impacts. The <br />RFMP is described in Section 1.8.1 Reasonably <br />Foreseeable Mine Plan. The RFMP also includes <br />foreseeable uses of the surface lands within the <br />lease tract boundaries for use in the environmental <br />analysis cumulative impacts discussions. <br />If the Dry Fork LBA tract were issued, the lessee or <br />operator would be required to submit a permit <br />Dry Fork Lease-By-Application DEIS 1-3 <br />