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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT <br />Bear No. 3 Mine <br />Mining Plan Approval <br />Federal Leases D-052501 and C-42481 <br />May 1989 <br />I. PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES <br />A. Purpose and Need for a Federal Action <br />The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement <br />(OSMRE) received on January 17, 1989, a permit application <br />package (PAP) proposing the mining of leased Federal coal at <br />Bear Coal Company, Inc.'s (BCC) Bear No. 3 mine. OSMRE <br />reviewed the PAP and determined that the proposed operations <br />required a mining plan approval by the Assistant Secretary - <br />Land and Minerals Management pursuant to the Mineral Leasing <br />Act of 1920 and 30 CFR Part 746. This document assesses the <br />effects of the proposed mining and reclamation operations <br />and if approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval by <br />the Assistant Secretary will have a significant impact on <br />the human environment. <br />B. Backaround <br />The Bear No. 3 underground coal mine is located in Gunnison <br />County, Colorado, adjacent to the town of Somerset. Mining <br />operations utilize room and pillar mining methods. The mine <br />has been in operation since 1934. Approximately 8 acres <br />have been affected by the surface disturbance to date. <br />The Bear No. 3 mine mining plan was originally approved <br />under the Federal lands program on July 16, 1982, and was <br />later modified on December 26, 1985. <br />Mining is expected to continue for 15 years on the Bear No. <br />3 Mine. The C and B coal seams will be mined at an average <br />production rate of approximately 275,000 tons per year. <br />C. Description of the Current Proposal <br />The earlier mining plan approvals for the Bear No. 3 mine <br />authorized development, secondary, and retreat mining of the <br />C seam. The current proposed mining plan approval will <br />authorize only development mining of the B seam in Federal <br />lease D-052501 and C-42481. Development mining of the B <br />seam will account for approximately 130,000 tons of <br />additional Federal coal to be mined under this proposal. <br />The B seam on the Federal lease contains approximately <br />6,175,800 tons total. The majority of the B seam coal will <br />be proposed to be mined under a second mining plan <br />(secondary and retreat mining) to be submitted at a later <br />1 <br />