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If you concur with this recommendation, please sign the attached memorandum to the Assistant Secretary, Lands and Minerals Management. • II. Background The Foidel Creek is an underground coal mine is located in Routt County, Colorado. The mine has been in operation since 1983. The life of the currently approved mining operations within the approved permit azea is estimated to continue for an additional 15 years under Colorado Permi[ No. C-82-056. The mining operations utilize longwall mining methods, with continuous miners for entry and development work only. Wadge seam coal is mined at an average production rate of about 7-8 million tons per year and a maximum production rate of I O million tons per yeaz. The Foidel Creek Mine mining plans for Federal leases C-20900, C-081330, C-0128433, C-16284, and D-052547 were initially approved on January 16, 1987. Since that approval, there has been one mining plan modification for those Federal leases on February 10, 1994. Two additional mining plan modifications on Federal lease COC- 54608 were approved on June 14, 1996 and May 28, 1998. Since the last mining plan modification, approximately 31 acres have been incorporated into the approved mining plan area. These areas did not require Secretarial approval since they did not meet the requirements of 30 CFR 746.18(d). Specifically these areas are located in the NE'/.NE'/. Section 26, S'/zSW%. , SW'/.NW'/., Section 27, • E%W'/~W%zSE%, Section 29, E'/:NW%.NW'/., Section 32 Township 5 North, Range 86 West of the 6"' P.M. and are included within the approved mining plan area depicted on the mining plan area map of this mining plan decision document and Attachment 1 of the mining plan approval document. The State's permit area for the Foidel Creek Mine encompasses approximately 22,694 acres. Approximately 460 surface acres are disturbed within the State's perrnit area. A total of 5,458 acres of Federal coal exist in the currently approved mining plan azea. A total of 40 million tons of Federal coal exists in the currently approved mining plan area. No Federal surface lands exists within the currently approved mining plan area. The approved postmining land use within the currently approved mining plan area is pastureland and rangeland. I[I. The Proposed Action •