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Ylr. Allca Ba![, ?.L-snag;- Duce- !:, l:v3 <br />Mr. Rcb~t L. Stoma, Fcrest Dupe: risDr ?a~P 2 <br />o- <br />1 -Oxbow's produeti~:rn level will NOT incrzase from present prod.rr~zan <br />rates as a result of lea~ting the Elk Creek ?'race <br />It should t:e empc35ized that the casting Sanbcn Crews M'iTP s c•.a: e:rtly rrecacng at the 4.0 ~( <br />tors per year xvel and that Us'DOw preserdy'r.Dlas all r~ aired apo:coals for that prcducaon rete. <br />L^ 1SS6, Oxbow initiated plau~ng a^.d pe~mit_*ing for !eaow'~11 ~t~]]z=en, :eked st~ace izciiir~ <br />modincations, as incrase in ~:rodaation to 4.0 MM tons pe: yevr, and d. ielet~em of the addiricrj.I <br />coal r~,.se-ves ner.es_garr tD nraiataia a sta'Dle production rate. ,~1 r.:.;uize permits for these gravities <br />were obtained in 1997 and 1398 and project wank was i~itiat..d in l99 i gad completed is 1998. <br />Planned fume rtse^Ve Develc;~mesrt, inch:din; the proposed Elk Creek Lute Tract, is aecessa,~ to <br />mai~ttain ot:e'.~ans at the 4.0 GSM ten poi year ste2dy-stye Hie tD exend the life of the ~,cE, <br />Oxbov~ s firnae opcar.Dns will corttittue to focus on development ~d mitring of the available r>:serves <br />in an e~.eierz, sale, gad erv_:onmeatally msoon~Dle m~**^~-. <br />2 -Rail ~affzc wiII Hat increase as a result of the leasing of the Elk Creek <br />Tract. <br />CLarent production, employvteat, gad traatiyortation levels altezdy rtxlert the aporoved long-t.:-m <br />prodtrctaaa level of 4.0 MM inns pa year. Since Oxbow is already pradtsing and traatiTotting 4.0 <br />NIIv1 tons pet year, both highway innate levels gad Hain >ra~e a«cciated wi to fhe mine will r_oma:n <br />natively condam <br />3 -Cumulative imps:cis have bean evaluated and addressed in detail. <br />These include all relevant mining-rotated environmental impacts <br />associated with the current production rate. <br />The EA nn Oxbow's proF~~sed ELk C.-eek Tract lease cDntains a discussioD of the existins <br />enVlrDIlID2II1, which aPCessa lly IISC11:de5 (:onsida~tloa of 1D]pARV from pas gad presseat coal mining. <br />See Seuthwea Resource Co,v~j' , 96 IBLA 105, 111 (1987). Toe EA then pros....--ds to address the <br />ntmulative impacts of cantvmed production az the 4.4 MM tans ptr year level from the Elk Creek <br />Tract oa subsid~cc, train zaffic, air quality and socioeceaomics. ,~ EA at pp.ZS-Z6. If BLM <br />believes that nay additional c.is.-ussion of the ;~~+*^^~t nIIpacts of ;t~,a*+~• oftl>r Elk Creek Tract <br />lease, when added to r~sanahly fon~able futtue at-dons is necessary, such a discussion could be <br />included is a szrppleme~ to the EA issud prior to ar contempo:ananeeosly with the decision record. <br />Any such cumulative impac~; review should be limited to reasonably foreseeable actions; BL''h is not <br />rcgttited to analyze speculat: ie poss'bilities. Se- rL,~yn & Katherina M. Roush 112 IBLA 295, 306 <br />(1990). Presumably, any curatilarive imgacis from teasonahly foreseeable 5tttae development aced <br />still not rise tD the level of si}~ificam. impacts on the crvirormeni The existing perarit atrprovals for <br />production from the Sanbuta Cs,:~' Mine at a pradtr~on rate of 4.0 lvLti1'~ns per year r: -ui:ed <br />completion of nume;atu !tudies and persits tbat ar- far more detailed than the EI5 being <br />contemplated. Such studies included: eaviromme~[z] baseline stadies; gceaa~on of detailed mi-+ing <br />and rtelam~ion plans; ident:ficarion and evaluation ofpoteatial enrsorrmemal impacts; d: ~elop>Zent <br />of corogrehertsive eaviroma~~tl proton `oa miti~oa., and maDi~~ting plans; submital tv and rwiew <br />of this in:oaaat:oa by the ::esgonsiale ageocies: gad Dppcrianity fcr gad consideration of public <br />.i%~'. _ }QG~t?~~~~ (;':V;"CC::i.'iC%] ~i. CG == l~]I:~nl~ll rnr n - <br />