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ALTERNATIVES • Alternative 1, Approval With a Special Federal Condition--The Assistant Secretary-Land and Minerals Management would approve the mining plan, as modified, with special Federal conditions in addition to those attached to Colorado permit C-81-044 by Colorado MLRD. This is the preferred alternative. During the review of the PAP, Colorado MLRD identified potentially significant adverse impacts to alluvial valley floors, a pipeline, a railroad spur, and highways that may result from subsidence in the life-of-mine area (after the initial 5 years of mining) and limited the permit approval area to the area to be mined in the initial 5-year permit term because the permittee failed to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that those renewable resource lands and structures would be protected. A special condition of the Federal mining plan approval would also authorize mining only in the area scheduled to be mined during the first five years as shown in the permit application package updated through March 18, 1987, to coincide with Colorado MLRD's permit application approval action. Mining in other areas of the life-of-mine mining area may be approved under a modification to the mining plan when the lesseeJoperator provides sufficient information to ascertain the effects of subsidence on structures and renewable resource lands (e.g., alluvial valley floors) in those areas. Alternative 2, Disapproval--The Assistant Secretary-Land and Minerals Management would disapprove the mining plan, as modified, which would have the same effect as taking no action. • Other alternatives that were evaluated, but were eliminated from further analysis included the following: No Action According to 30 CFR 746.14, mining plan, as modified, must be approved or disapproved by the Assistant Secretary. For the purpose of this analysis, disapproval would have the same effects as taking no action. Approval without Special Federal Condition The permit application package requested life-of-mine approval. Without the special condition, which limits the mining plan approval to the area to be mined during the first five years, the mining plan approval could be interpreted to cover the entire area to be mined over the life of the mine. Because the applicant provided insufficient data and information to assess the effects of mining operations on certain renewable resource lands (e.g., alluvial valley floors) and structures after the initial five years of mining, the environmental effects of that mining could not be assessed in detail. . -3