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The Division's initial, Preliminary Adequacy Review letter (PAR) was sent to GVCC on <br />March 16, 1996. Attached to the letter was a revised reclamation cost estimate completed by <br />the Division, and a letter pertaining to the renewal application received from the Colorado <br />Division of Wildlife. GVCC submitted amendments in response to the letter on April 29, 1996. <br />The Division issued a second adequacy letter on May 24, 1996, to which GVCC responded on <br />June 26, 1996. A fmal adequacy letter was issued on July 17, 1996, and responses were <br />received by the Division on July 22, 1996. Applicant Violator System (AVS) checks were made <br />on February 14, 1996 and November 12, 1996, and on both occasions the OSM recommendation <br />was "Issue". <br />Publication of this proposed decision by the Division will initiate a thirty (30) day public <br />comment period, after which the decision becomes final provided there are no objections. <br />DESCRIPTION~OF THE ENVIRONMENT <br />The McClane Canyon Mine is located approximately 20 miles north of Loma, Colorado, at an <br />elevation of approximately 5,800 feet. Land use within the permit and adjacent areas is <br />rangeland suppotting both livestock grazing (cattle) and wildlife habitat. There is some irrigated <br />agriculture in the East Salt Creek Valley adjacent to the permit area. Livestock grazing is <br />generally confined to the lower lying canyon bottom lands. The steep canyon sideslopes and <br />rugged uplands are primarily used by wildlife. Both mule deer and elk utilize habitat within and <br />adjacent to the permit area in various seasons, and are the most common large mammals. Black <br />bear and mountain lion also occur in the area, along with numerous smaller mammals, songbirds, <br />raptors, mourning doves and chukar partridge. <br />McClane Canyon is located in the Book Cliffs area just north of the Grand Valley. This area <br />is northeast of the Garmesa Anticline and on the southern flank of the Piceance Basin. Local <br />strata strike north-northwest and dip to the northeast into the Piceance Basin at between 2 and <br />3 degrees. <br />The surface ge¢logy of the permit area is made up of the Mesa Verde Group of Upper <br />Cretaceous Age, the Wasatch Formation of Lower Tertiary Age, and alluvium and colluvium of <br />Quaternary Age: All local coal seams are in the Mount Garfield Formation of the Mesa Verde <br />Group. The Mount Garfield Formation consists of fine grained to medium grained sandstones, <br />gray shales, and coal bearing zones. The Sego Sandstone underlies the Mount Garfield <br />Formation. OvCrlying the Mount Garfield Formation is the Hunter Formation which contains <br />massive cliff-forming sandstones that outcrop along the canyon walls of East Salt Creek. The <br />Mount Garfield Formation contains four coal zones; the Loma, Carbonera, Cameo, and Palisade <br />zones. The Cameo seam is mined at the McClane Canyon Mine. <br />The occurrence of ground water within and adjacent to the McClane Canyon Mine permit area <br />is controlled primarily by the combination of local topography, strntigraphy and geologic <br />structure. Drilling has indicated that the Cameo seam becomes increasingly saturated downdip <br />(northeast) from its outcrop along the side slopes of the East Salt Creek drainage basin. This is <br />depicted on Figure 4.2-3 of Volume II of the permit application. As can be seen on the figure, <br />the saturated zone extends downdip towards the northeasF along anorthwest-southeast trending <br />6 <br />