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z Forest Service Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) and MCC. Field trips with resource specialists were helpful in designing the project to minimize surface disturbance, and determining best management practices and design criteria to reduce environmental impacts that will be incorporated as part of the Proposed Action alternative. The Design Criteria of the proposed Action are shown on Table 2-2. Initial proposals by MCC included the shaft area only and evolved to include the C-1362 lease. After further consideration by the Forest Service, probable developments on the COC-67232 lease were included by the Forest Service. Between scoping and issuance of the draft EIS, the Proposed Action was refined to address concems and issues related to road access needs and identifying optimal locations for drilling sites to avoid areas with slope stability issues, riparian areas, and other areas with resource concems. The IDT worked with MCC in a series of office meetings and field trips to realign segments of new road construction to reduce the amount of road construction by approximately 30 percent. Additionally, one- quarter (%a) mile of road construction off the C- 1362 lease, but in the IRA, to access methane drainage wells on the lease was eliminated due to close examination by the FS. The IDT and MCC also worked to place drilling locations so that multiple MDWs could be co-located on one well site as much as possible. Other refinements to the proposed action related to including operations in the West Elk IRA. The IDT initially considered evaluating operations in the IRA under separate alternatives based on lease issuance date, then considered evaluating operations within Lease COC-67232 that were within the IRA as a separate alternative. After reviewing the purpose and need for the project and the allowable exemptions to the RACR, it was ultimately determined that methane drainage operations related to developing E Seam reserves on the portions of all leases involved in the project that underlie the IRA could be included in the proposed action. Additional recommendations were made by Colorado Division of Wildlife in a project meeting with regard to post-project road use, resulting in reclamation by obliteration of an existing full size road which was duplicative in purpose to another existing full size road. Specific activities involved in the Proposed Action are given below: Deer Creek Shaft Includes: • Constructing a ventilation shaft to create an airshaft 20 to 28 foot diameter by 400 feet deep (Figure 4). • Constructing an emergency escapeway 4 feet in diameter and 400 feet deep. Constructing an enclosure (20 foot by 30 foot steel-sided shed) for the emergency escapeway and electrical generation equipment for emergency escape hoist. • Shaft and escapeway would use a previously approved and constructed pad and access road southeast of Minnesota Creek Reservoir (Figure 3). • Performing Operations and Maintenance. Performing interim reclamation on pad and light-use (low-volume) road once shaft and emergency structures are constructed. • Sealing airshaft and escapeway with concrete/steel structure 10 feet below ground surface and performing final surface reclamations when no longer needed at end of life of mine (mine life estimated at 13-15 years). Additionally, due to unknown timing of mining operations, the Proposed Action includes analysis of the most surface disturbing method of shaft construction (conventional methods). 1 LJ 1 16 Deer Creek Ventilation Shaft and E Seam Methane Drainage Wells DEIS '