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After the September 2, 1983 approval, Empire made several revisions to their <br />operation including the implementation of a long wall system, the addition of- <br />a 5A Mine portal and an increase in the permit area by approximately 430 acres <br />(the Utah Tract). The No. 9 Mine was also closed during this time. In <br />addition, plans were being made to open a new mine - the No. 6 Mine - in the <br />"E" seam. <br />Therefore, in order to conso]idate these changes and to permit the No. 6 Mine, <br />Empire submitted a major permit revision in a new permit application document <br />on August 21, 1986. MLRD issued a Preliminary Adequacy Review (PAR) on <br />October i7, 1986. Empire, in response to the PAR, amended the application on <br />January 23, 1987. <br />The new application increases the permit area from the previously approved <br />6,176 acres to 6,840 acres. The surface disturbance remains at 427 acres. <br />The new permit application and permit renewal request proposes to mine the "E" <br />seam through the No. 6 Mine and the "F" seam through the No. 5 and 5A <br />portals. The No. 6 Mine is accessed through the 5A portal. No mining is <br />planned in the "P" seam since the No. 9 portal has been sealed. <br />Description of the Environment <br />Location <br />The Empire Energy Mine site lies approximately seven (7) miles south of Craig, <br />Colorado on State Nighway 13. The mine site, and adjacent area lie at the <br />foot of the prominent Williams Fork Mountains, which trend east to west <br />immediately to the South. The general geographical location of the Empire <br />Energy operation is shown on Figure 1, General Location Map. The elevation of <br />the permit area ranges from a low of approximately 6,130 feet in the Big <br />Bottom area, to a high of about 7,400 feet in the Williams Fork Mountains. <br />The entire operation is located in Moffat County, Colorado. <br />The permit surface area covers 6,840 acres, including 62 acres of Federal <br />ownership, 1,597 acres of State land and 5,181 acres of private property. The <br />mineral ownership of coat to be mined in this currently approved 5 year plan <br />includes 308 acres of Federal coal, no State coal and 119 acres of private <br />coal. Life of mine minerals ownership of coal to be mined includes 512 acres <br />of Federal coal, 1,312 acres of State coal and 350 acres of private coal. The <br />mineral acreages do not include the old workings of the No. 5 and No. 9 Mines. <br />The legal description for the permit area is: <br />A parcel of land located in portions of T6N, R91W; T6N, R92W; and T5N, R91W of <br />the Colorado 6th Principle Meridian. tdore specifically described as follows: <br />Beginning at the corners of Sections 16, 17, 20 and 21 in <br />T6N, R91W; <br />first course SO1°10'E 3,900, thence due East 1500 feet, <br />thence S06° 40E' 6,200 feet, thence due West 1,900 feet, <br />thence 802°51 'W 2,800 feet, thence due West 5,280 feet, <br />-6- <br />