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Summary <br />The Review Process <br />The King Coal Mine was originally opened around 1941 and for many yeazs it was operated by Viola <br />Smith. The site was permitted by National King Coal Inc. in 1982 and the Permit has been <br />successfully renewed every five years since then. The company was purchased by American Metals <br />& Coal International (AMCI) and reincorporated as National King Coal LLC (NKC), in June, 1995. <br />National King Coal, LLC, received its last 5-yeaz permit renewal on August 18, 1997. The Division <br />received Permit Renewal 04 on February 19, 2002. It was deemed complete, and Mazch 5, 2002, the <br />Division sent out notices that an application to revise a valid coal mining permit was received. A <br />preliminary adequacy review was sent to NKC on Apri12, 2002. Comments were received on May <br />7, 2002, which addressed the concerns ofthe Division. Additional adequacy issues were noted and <br />conveyed by telephone to update a subsidence control map. There were no public comments received <br />by the Division concerning this permit renewal. AVS checks were conducted two times during the <br />review, and the fmal one on June 18, 2002, recommended to issue. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The King Coal Mine is located approximately seven miles southwest of Hesperus, Colorado along <br />La Plata County Road 120 in Hay Gulch. The site can be located on the Hay Gulch and Loma Linda <br />7.5 minute USGS quadrangle maps. <br />Regional Geology <br />The permit azea lies in the upper rim of the San Juan Basin. This basin is an asymmetric structural <br />basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. Sedimentary rocks in the area aze of <br />both mazine and non-mazine origin. <br />The formation of interest in the area of the mine site is the Mesaverde Group which overlies the <br />Mancos Shale. The Mesaverde Group is composed of three major units (in ascending order): Point <br />Lookout Sandstone, Menefee Formation, and Cliffhouse Sandstone. <br />Two coal seams are exposed on the property ofwhich only the upper seam of the Menefee formation <br />has been developed. The upper seam has a thickness varying between 50-74 inches. The coal seam <br />is overlain by a few inches of interbedded sandstone, shale, carbonaceous shale, and coal which in <br />tam aze overlain by a massive sandstone which stands well. <br />The lower seam is well exposed to the northwest of the property at the Barnwell Mine (another <br />1940's operation which was never permitted since SMCRA). This seam has an average observed <br />thickness of 48 inches. This seam lies approximately 80 feet below the upper seam with inter- <br />beddedsandstone and shale between the seams. On an average, the upper seam lies 100 to 400 feet <br />below the surface of the mesa above Hay Gulch. <br />