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Summary <br />The Review Process <br />The Southfield Mine is an existing underground coal mine which is <br />owned and operated by Energy Fuels Coal, Incorporated (EFCI). A <br />permit to operate the mine was originally issued to Dorchester Coal <br />Company under the name of Dorchester No.l Mine on July 30, 1984. <br />EFCI bought the operation in March, 1985 and changed the name of <br />the mine to Southfield. The transfer of the permit was approved by <br />the Division on March 22, 1985. <br />The permit was renewed and reissued on January 5, 1990. In April <br />of that same year an application for permit revision was received <br />to include an additional 1,235 acres to the permit area. The <br />permit revision was reviewed and eventually approved by the <br />Division on February 1, 1991. <br />Pursuant to Rule 2.08.5, the Division, on October 6, 1993, notified <br />Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. of the need to renew the permit in a timely <br />manner. The Division received the renewal application on February <br />10, 1994. The application was deemed complete on February 14, <br />1994. The adequacy review was in two phases, with completed review <br />by June 20, 1994. Response to the first phase of the adequacy <br />review was on March 31, 1994. Response to the second phase was <br />begun in April 1994 with completion on June 16, 1994. A third <br />component of the permit renewal, bond evaluation was begun in April <br />1994 and completed on June 17, 1994. Final approval of the renewal <br />occurred on June 20, 1994. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The Southfield Mine is located approximately 8 miles south of <br />Florence, Colorado in Fremont County. The mine can be reached by <br />driving south from Florence via Colorado Route 67 to Fremont county <br />Route 15, then continuing on Route 15 for 4 miles to the mine <br />entrance. The load-out is located 1 1/2 miles northwest of the <br />town of Florence along Fremont County Road 79. The mine site can <br />be located on the USGS 7.5 quadrangle map entitled, "Rockvale". <br />Following is a brief description of the environment and of the <br />operations and reclamation plans. More detailed information <br />pertaining to a specific discipline, such as ground water <br />hydrology, is found in this findings document within the specific <br />discipline subsections under Section "B". <br />History <br />Extensive past mining disturbances characterize the general area of <br />the Southfield Mine. In 1860 the first coal mine was opened in the <br />northern portion of the Canon City Coal Field. Production areas <br />spread through the central area and into the southern portion of <br />the coal field in the early 1900's. Over 177 abandoned mines with <br />12 <br />