1994-12-29_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1980007

• Permit No: C1980007
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 12/29/1994
• Doc Name: Decision Doc Federal Lease
• Permit Index Doc Type: Other Permits
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION
• The proposed action is to offer for competitive lease 1011.64 acres of
B Seam coal reserves in the Jumbo Mountain Tract as requested by
Mountain Coal Company. There are two alternatives associated with
this EA: Alternative One - the proposed action is to lease the Jumbo
Mountain Tract and Alternative Two - No Action is to deny the lease
application. The preferred alternative is to lease the tract.
There are two possibilities under Alternative One. If Mountain Coal
Company was the -successful bidder, the coal lease would be developed
from the existing operation (West Elk Mine) . If another party was the
successful bidder, two scenarios are possible. Either the lease would
be developed by Mountain Coal Company or a new portal could be
constructed.
Because the coal seam outcrops on the tract, it is conceivable that a
new operation with portal and surface facilities could be constructed
on this tract. After reviewing the- geologic and engineering
conditions, it was determined that there was little potential for
creating a "stand-alone" tract. The Upper B seam splits to the south
of the proposed lease tract and the splits have a higher ash content.
Because there would be no potential for expanding the lease tract for
additional coal reserves, it doesn't appear to be economically
feasible to construct surface facilities for 10 million tons of
reserves. Therefore, this EA does not consider the possibility of a
"stand-alone" tract where new facilities would be constructed to
develop and mine 10 million tons of coal.
• A. Alternative One - Proposed Action
The proposed action is to offer for competitive lease 1011.64
acres of federal coal, the Jumbo Mountain Tract, containing
approximately 10 million tons of minable reserves. The coal
reserves are in the B seam of the Mesaverde formation. Leasing
the coal would prevent the bypass of federally owned coal.
The tract lies to the west of a block of existing federal coal
leases held by Mountain Coal Company; the existing leases are
operated as the West Elk Mine. Production from the West Elk Mine
was approximately 1.4 million tons in 1992, 716,060 tons in 1991
and averaged 560,000 tons between the years from 1989 to 1990.
The B seam would be mined by underground longwall mining methods.
Continuous miner units and shuttle cars would be used as the
means of extraction, with a belt conveyor for transportation of
the coal to the surface. Coal would be transported by conveyor
from the portal to the rail loadout located on fee lands off
Highway 133 east of Somerset.
There is no anticipated surface disturbance on the tract. All
mine facilities are located off the Jumbo Mountain Tract and are
already permitted by CDMG on fee and federal lands.
. Production is anticipated to commence on the tract by mid 1994 if
Mountain Coal Company is the successful bidder. The production
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