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. ! ~. <br />Mountain Coal Company <br />West Elk Mine <br />Post Office Box 597 <br />Somerset, Cokxado 87434 <br />Teleptwne 3039235015 <br />Fax 3039235595 <br />September 08, 1994 <br />Mr. Keith L. Rose <br />Assistant Colorado State Supervisor <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />Fish and Wddlife Service <br />Western Colorado Sub-Office <br />529 25 1/2 Road, Suite B-113 <br />Grand Junction, CO 81505-6199 <br />C~in-vah~~e <br /> <br />Sf P ~ 21994 <br />t~rvr~. <br />.,G/101411/lelaly ~ GGJ,vOy <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />sss <br />Re: Request for Release of Threatened and Endangered Species Surveys Requirement, <br />Mountain Coal Company, West Elk Mine (CDMG Permit No. C-80-007) <br />Deaz Mr. Rose: <br />As you may know, Mountain Coal Company's (MCC) West Elk Mine is an underground coal <br />mine located near Somerset, Colorado. MCC is fortunate in that it is a successful and growing <br />operation. To meet the needs of growth, MCC has constructed or plans the construction of <br />various support facilities. Through the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CDMG) <br />permit revision review process, your office has provided comment for a number of these projects, <br />in regard to water depletion calculations and threatened and endangered plant and animal species. <br />One such comment letter, dated June 14, 1994, to Christine Johnston, Environmental Protection <br />Specialist with the CDMG, recommended that "soil surveys, habitat requirements and flowering <br />dates of the plants listed above be researched by West Elk Mine to determine if there is potential <br />for their presence." With that recommendation ,MCC contracted Mountain West Environmental <br />Services, Cheyenne, Wyoming to conduct an evaluation of the potential for the candidate <br />threatened and endangered species to occur in the vicinity of the West Elk Mine. The evaluation <br />included literature research, as well as three field surveys for candidate threatened and endangered <br />species in areas proposed for disturbance at the West Elk Mine. The summary for the <br />aforementioned evaluation states the following: <br />"A literature and herbarium review in conjunction with three field surveys for candidate <br />threatened and endangered species in the vicinity of the West Elk Mine near Somerset, <br />Colorado, has indicated that development at the mine should have no adverse impact on <br />any of the ten species of concern. " <br />Based on the results of this evaluation, Mountain Coal Company, respectively requests release <br />from the requirement to survey for these candidate threatened and endangered species when any <br />new disturbance is proposed for the West Elk Mine site. <br />