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January 2004 about 0 9 miles of temporary road The access road is proposed to follow a previously closed drill road that was used in 1996, and the route of a historic jeep trail In 2003, MCC proposed a shallow seismic reflection survey in Box Canyon This survey would follow the closed drill road that was used in 1996, and the route of the historic jeep trail The survey would be performed from all terrain vehicles (ATV) or full sized vehicle, depending on the status of road construction in Box Canyon associated with MDWs. The survey proposes to drill shallow holes, set and detonate charges The duration would be two weeks in the summer 2004 field season The Box Canyon shallow seismic reflection survey has received no prior environmental analysis, and because of its geographic location in Box Canyon, the environmental analysis is included in this document The proposed activities lie within the West Elk Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA) The three projects are in the W1/2 Section 14 (Box Canyon), and the NW1/4 Section 27 and the East1/2 NE114 Section 28 (Sylvester Gulch), T 13 S, R 90W, as shown on Figure 1, General Location Map 1.1 Purpose Of And Need For Proposed Actions The overall purpose and need is for the Forest Service to consider specific project components linked to the continued operation of an underground mine producing coal from federal coal leases When the ~ federal coal lease was issued, the lessee was granted the right to mine and develop the coal resource The lessee was also given the right to construct roads and other facilities needed to mine and develop the coal resource, subject to restrictions stated in lease stipulations A lease also gives the lessee a right to explore for the mineral resource The purpose of and need for the proposed actions are to facilitate the continued safe and efficient operation and economic viability of the West Elk Mine Each project component has a distinct purpose and need, and more detailed descriptions of the purposes and needs of each individual proposed action - , are given in the individual chapters devoted to each project ' 2.0 Authorizing Actions and Relationship to Forest Service = Policies, Plans and Programs This EA is prepared to inform Forest Service decision makers, publicly disclose probable environmental impacts, explore possible alternatives, and provide mitigation measures for the aforementioned three projects The Forest Service manages mineral resources on National Forest according to the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 This Act states that it is the "continuing policy of the federal government in the national interest to foster and encourage private entries in (t)he development of economically sound and stable domestic mining minerals and mineral reclamation industries, (and) the orderly and economic development of domestic mineral resources "Federal mineral leasing procedure is implemented in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) of 1920, as amended by the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and specific procedures set forth in Title 43 CFR Part 3400 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has authority to issue mineral leases and exploration licenses, and is responsible for mine compliance with leases and licenses The Forest Service authority is limited to surface resources only For all lease and license decisions by the BLM, the Forest Service consents to a BLM action as the surface management agency The project components lie within two existing federal coal leases Box Canyon lies within Lease COC- 56447, and Sylvester Gulch lies in Lease C-1362 Environmental Assessment Sylvester Gulch Road Construction /Box Canyon Coal Methane Drainage Wells / Box Canyon Shallow Seismic Reflection Survey Gunnison County, Colorado