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Summary
<br /> The Review Process
<br /> Mountain Coal Company, formerly the West Elk Coal Company, applied on
<br /> November 6, 1979 for a permit to conduct underground mining and reclamation operations at
<br /> the West Elk Mine, formerly the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine.
<br /> The application was determined to be complete on November 29, 1979. The first review
<br /> comments from the Division of Water Resources were received on March 26, 1980, and
<br /> comments from the Division of Wildlife were received on April 22, 1980. During the latter
<br /> part of June, the Division received OSM's Apparent Completeness Review of the application,
<br /> which was subsequently incorporated into the July MLRD Preliminary Adequacy Review
<br /> Letter and then forwarded to the company. On January 13, 1981, a meeting was held
<br /> between OSM and MLRD to assess the adequacy of MCC's responses, and it was at this
<br /> point in time that the responses were found to be substantially inadequate in a variety of
<br /> aspects. This resulted in a decision to prepare a second, joint adequacy letter which was sent
<br /> to the company on February 6, 1981.
<br /> On January 30, 1981 the Division received additional comments from the Division of Water
<br /> Resources which outlined the deficiencies in the application with regard to water rights and,
<br /> in particular, with the deficiencies of the proposed Minnesota Creek Basin Augmentation
<br /> Plan. Additional comments on water rights issues were submitted in February and March in
<br /> the form of objection letters from several concerned citizens. These letters also discussed
<br /> problems relating to alluvial valley Floors, protection for perennial streams, the potential for
<br /> landslides to be triggered by subsidence, cumulative hydrologic impacts, the adequacy of
<br /> MCC's subsidence monitoring and subsidence control plans, and a number of procedural
<br /> issues. These objections resulted in several requests for a mine site visit and informal
<br /> conference, which were held on April 30, 1981 and May 12, 1981, respectively. The
<br /> Division began preparation of its written findings soon after the conference and published its
<br /> proposed decision on June 22, 1981. The Division's decision was to approve the West Elk
<br /> permit application with several stipulations.
<br /> The five-year permit was issued on July 31, 1981, pursuant to the Colorado Surface Coal
<br /> Mining Reclamation Act, CRS 34-33-101 et seq. Construction of the West Elk Mine began
<br /> in 1981. The mine began producing coal from the F Seam in January 1982. The expiration
<br /> of this permit was set at July 31, 1986. On January 17, 1986, a complete renewal application
<br /> was received. This application was subsequently reviewed and the Division issued a proposed
<br /> decision to approve the renewal application with stipulations. Following the public comment
<br /> period, the permit was renewed on May 19, 1987. The permit was to expire on August 1,
<br /> 1991. The Division received MCC's complete renewal application on January 30, 1991
<br /> thereby ensuring the operator's right to successive renewal pursuant to 2.08.5(3))f). The
<br /> Division issued a proposed decision to approve the renewal application with stipulations, and
<br /> following the public comment period, the permit was renewed on January 29, 1993, and will
<br /> expire on August 1, 1996.
<br /> The Division received an application for a permit revision (Jumbo Mountain; Permit Revision
<br /> No. 5) on February 4, 1994, which was subsequently deemed complete on February 14, 1994.
<br /> The Division issued the first preliminary adequacy review letter on April 15, 1994, which
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