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Summary <br />The Review Process <br />The Blue Flame Coal Mine, located approximately nine (9) miles southwest of <br />Hesperus, La Plata County, Colorado, has been in existence since around 1950. <br />Mining has been intermittent since that time with about 32,500 tons of coal <br />removed. For the last several years, the only mining that has occurred has <br />been for domestic (household) use by the mine owner. <br />Blue Flame Coal Mining Company (Blue Flame) originally submitted a coal mining <br />and reclamation permit application on October 29, 1981. This application was <br />deemed incomplete and no further action was taken, given the non-commerial <br />usage of the coal. <br />Blue Flame resubmitted a coal mining and reclamation permit application on <br />June 28, 1984 which was deemed complete on August 14, 1984. The Division sent <br />a preliminary adequacy review on October 12, 1984, which was not completely <br />addressed by Blue Flame. <br />Blue Flame reinitiated the permitting process in January 1986 and the Division <br />commenced review of this application on February 6, 1986. The first adequacy <br />review letter was sent by the Division on March 3, 1986 to which Blue Flame <br />submitted a revised permit application on May 13, 1986. The Division reviewed <br />this revised permit application and sent a second adequacy letter on <br />May 29, 1986. Blue Flame requested a sixty (60) day extension for the <br />proposed decision on June 2, 198b which was approved by the Division on <br />June 6, 1986. Blue Flame's reply to the second adequacy letter was received <br />on June )0, 1986. A review of this reply raised issues which were addressed <br />in the Division's third adequacy letter of June 26, 1986. Following a meeting <br />between Blue Flame and the Division, Blue Flame submitted a reply on <br />July 14, 1986 which satisfactorily addressed the remaining outstanding <br />concerns. <br />The Existing Environment <br />The proposed operation, located in southwestern Colorado, is accessed by <br />traveling south out of Hesperus on State Highway 140 for approximately 3.5 <br />miles and then proceeding west on La Plata County Road 120 for about 5.5 <br />miles. Elevation of the area ranges from approximately 7,350 to 7,700 feet. <br />The proposed permit area lies in the upper rim of the San Juan Basin. The San <br />Juan 8a sin is an asymmetric structural basin in northwestern New Mexico and <br />southwestern Colorado. Sedimentary rocks in the area are of both marine and <br />non-marine origin and were formed through the transgression and regression of <br />an epicontinental Cretaceous sea. <br />-3- <br />