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of and Need for Action <br />Cultural Resources <br />Ground disturbing construction activities may <br />disturb cultural sites. <br />Land Uses, Including Recreation <br />Road construction, activities, and disturbance <br />may affect existing land uses, visual quality, <br />and recreational opportunities. <br />gasses/vehicle emissions may affect air quality <br />of Class I airsheds. <br />Methane emissions from wells would increase <br />greenhouse gas emissions. <br />Water Quality <br />Construction and ground disturbing activities <br />may cause a decline in water quality. <br />Inventoried Roadless Areas <br />Road construction in IRA may reduce the <br />roadless character. <br />Roads and Facilities <br />Portions of existing roads may be used to <br />access the project area and may receive <br />increased traffic and wear-and-tear for the life <br />of the mine. <br />Roads should be designed to accommodate <br />purpose and weight of vehicles that will need to <br />use the roads. <br />Visual Resources <br />Visual Resources will be impacted by well pads <br />and access roads which will disrupt line, form <br />and color patterns. Use of design criteria <br />measures such as following contours and using <br />irregular-shaped pads and rapid reclamation <br />will minimize visual disturbance. <br />Livestock Management <br />Conflicts with livestock managers may occur in <br />the vicinity of the existing corrals from road <br />use. <br />Livestock AUMs may be temporarily reduced <br />because of the reduction in forage due to <br />construction activities and vegetation <br />disturbance. <br />Livestock may concentrate along new roads <br />causing additional disturbance. <br />Livestock may have reduced water availability <br />due to subsidence of existing ponds. <br />Livestock may attempt to drink from MDW <br />reserve pits if not fenced. <br />Air Quality <br />Fugitive dust emissions from construction <br />activities/road use and venting of hydrocarbon <br />Safety/Emergency Response <br />Mining operations are dangerous to well-being <br />of the workers and the public using the area. <br />Cumulative Impacts <br />Many surface disturbing activities have been <br />conducted in the vicinity of the project area <br />including previous MDW projects, livestock <br />grazing/management, recreational activities, <br />and irrigation projects which all contribute to <br />issues such as erosion, sedimentation/siltation. <br />Reasonably foreseeable action may affect <br />resources analyzed. <br />Non-Significant Issues <br />Non-significant issues and reasons regarding <br />their categorization as non-significant include: <br />Wilderness character may be affected in <br />the West Elk Wilderness due to activity <br />in the adjacent roadless area. The area of <br />the proposed action includes previously <br />roaded areas of West Elk Inventoried <br />Roadless Area. The West Elk Wilderness <br />Area lies from one to three miles south <br />and southeast of the project area. <br />Therefore, there will be no effects to the <br />West Elk Wilderness. <br />• Wilderness access may be curtailed by <br />construction activities. Primary use of <br />non-public project area access roads may <br />reduce conflicts with recreational users. <br />• Global warming - methane is a <br />greenhouse gas. <br />Other Analysis Completed in the <br />Vicinity of the Project Area <br />1) Box Canyon Federal Coal Lease EA <br />and DN, 1995. <br />' Deer Creek Ventilation Shaft and E Seam Methane Drainage Wells DEIS <br />