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Approximately 400 feet below the F Seam and 200 feet below the E Seam lies the B coal seam. <br /> The minable B Seam contains some areas of coal, particularly in Federal Leases C-0117192, <br /> COC-54558, and COC-56447, where no minable E Seam exists above the B Seam. Also, in a <br /> portion of C-0117192, the F Seam is mined out. In these areas, there is B Seam minable <br /> reserves which, when mined, will not significantly affect the minability of the other seams. <br /> In April 1989, an application for a technical revision for an incidental boundary change to add <br /> 35.5 acres to the permit area was submitted. The revision was for access and associated <br /> activities by way of slopes and a ventilation shaft from inside the existing F Seam workings to <br /> the B Seam. The revision also included mining in the B Seam by room and pillar, as well as <br /> longwall mining methods. The 35.5-acre incidental boundary change was necessary to <br /> accommodate the B Seam main access entries. The Division subsequently issued a proposed <br /> decision to approve the revision on July 12, 1989. <br /> In 1990, the West Elk Mine began preparations to produce coal from the B Seam. Initially, <br /> room-and-pillar mining using a continuous miner was utilized to develop panels in the B Seam, <br /> for later removal using longwall methods. Mining in the F Seam has been discontinued, until <br /> market conditions improve so that this seam can be economically mined. <br /> Elevated levels of indicator gases showed there was probable combustion in gob in a mined-out <br /> area of the B-West mains in January 2000. Operations were curtailed and MCC immediately <br /> began an operation to access the B-seam by drilling into the mine from the Apache Rocks area <br /> above. Permission was obtained from both CDMG and the US Forest Service to initiate a <br /> drilling program in that area. Nineteen 4-inch drillholes were emplaced, the location of the <br /> combustion identified, and water subsequently pumped into the area from the drillholes in the <br /> Apache Rocks area. In the spring of 2001, MSHA gave MCC permission to curtail the <br /> pumping of water, so the company completely sealed off the area underground and initiated <br /> the approved reclamation of the disturbed ground on the surface. <br /> No major buildings, major structures, occupied dwellings, cemeteries, parks, railroads or <br /> highways overlay the coal to be mined. Two reservoirs lie close to the F Seam outcrop; <br /> however, neither is directly over the coal to be mined. <br /> Ventilation in the mine is provided by two fans. One is located in Sylvester Gulch and the <br /> other in Lone Pine Gulch. Power to the mine is supplied via existing lines of the Delta- <br /> Montrose Electric Association. At substations located in the main mine facilities area and in <br /> Lone Pine Gulch, the power is stepped down to serve the underground mine and to serve the <br /> surface facilities. With Permit Revision No. 7, MCC constructed an air intake shaft and an <br /> exhaust shaft within Sylvester Gulch. <br /> Mountain Coal Company submitted a technical revision (t193) to seal the bulkheads at the Lone <br /> Pine fan portal. Mining ceased in this portion of the mine in early 2001 and the longwall was <br /> moved to the Eastern mining district East of Sylvester Gulch. By June 2001, the area had <br /> been sealed off underground. <br /> 19 <br />