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coal annually including 1 to 1.5 million tons of "D" seam coal from <br />the main mine and 600,000 tons of "D" seam coal from the west mine. <br />The permit area encompasses 8149 acres and is located within the <br />drainage of the North Fork of the Gunnison River a few miles north <br />of the town of Paonia, Colorado. <br />The orchard Valley Mine permit application was originally submitted <br />on September 30, 1977, and was determined to be complete on October <br />7, 1977. The permit application was approved by the Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board under the interim program on April 27, 1978. A <br />modified permit application to comply with the proposed Colorado <br />Permanent Regulatory Program was submitted on June 18, 1979, and <br />revised on February 27, 1981. The Division then published its <br />proposed decision approving the application with 25 stipulations on <br />August 20, 1981. The Permanent Program Permit No. C-038-81 was <br />issued to Colorado Westmoreland, Incorporated (CWI) on September <br />24, 1981. <br />A permit revision application to incorporate 480 acres into the <br />permit area of Permit No. C-81-038 was submitted to the Division on <br />November 18, 1982, and was determined to be complete on November <br />26, 1982. CWI's application included information from the adjacent <br />Orchard Valley Permit C-81-038 as well as the permit revision area. <br />The Division published its proposed decision to approve the permit <br />revision with eight stipulations on March 21, 1983. Permit No. C- <br />038-83, which superseded Permit no. C-81-038, was issued by the <br />Division on April 20, 1983. <br />On August 29, 1984, Colorado Westmorland Inc. submitted a permit <br />revision (designated as Permit Revision No. 1) to their existing <br />Permit No. C-83-038. The permit revision incorporated an <br />additional 5719.7 acres of adjacent federal coal (Lease C-37210) <br />into the mine permit area. CWI planned to mine this coal by <br />extending the existing mine workings north and west into these <br />areas. <br />On June 1, 1986, the Orchard Valley Mine experienced a mine fire <br />that necessitated the closure of the mine portals. Because of the <br />high potential of reignition of the workings if the portals were <br />reopened, an alternative portal area was chosen. A permit revision <br />(designated as Permit Revision No. 2) was submitted August 18, <br />1986, proposing the construction of a temporary portal in an area <br />west of the existing facilities in the East Roatcap Creek Drainage. <br />This portal (Orchard Valley West Mine (OVWM)) was originally <br />proposed to remain active for approximately two years after <br />construction, but market conditions made it necessary to use these <br />facilities to export coal from the mine through June 1993. After <br />June 1993, the West Mine and facilities area will be used for <br />materials transport, a maintenance shop, ventilation and emergency <br />escapeway. The August 18, 1986 revision also had provisions for <br />construction of a haul road from Stevens's Gulch to the proposed <br />portal site. The entries of the portals run northwest until they <br />2 <br />