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Colowyo Coa[ Company L.P. <br />Neidsoa Pit <br />• RULE 6.3 SPECIFIC PERMIT APPLICATION EXHIBIT REQUIREMENTS - <br />110 OR 110(6) LIMITED IMPACT AND 111 SPECIAL OPERATIONS <br />Exhibit A -Legal Description and Location Map <br />The Colowyo Coal Company L.P. ("Colowyo") operation is located approximately 28 <br />miles southwest of Craig, Colorado in Moffat County on State Highway 13/789. State <br />Highway 13/789 provides direct access to the mine from both Craig and Meeker, <br />Colorado. The elevation of the mining area is approximately 7,300 feet above sea level. <br />With this application, Colowyo is requesting a mineral permit for the Neilson Pit in T4N, <br />R93W, SENW 1/4 of Section 27 to conduct mineral extraction mining under the Mineral <br />Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for the Extraction <br />of Construction Materials, promulgated October, 1995. This pit was previously permitted <br />under coal mining permit C-1981-019 and is better suited to be permitted under a Limited <br />Impact (110) Operations permit. <br />Exhibit B -Site Description <br />6.3.2.1 Vegetation <br />• Two vegetation communities exist within the Neilson Pit permit boundary. The <br />vegetation communities are sagebrush and juniper. Descriptions of the vegetation <br />communities are as follows: <br />Sagebrush Community <br />The sagebrush community is characterized by almost complete dominance of the <br />overstory by big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentaten, and snowben•y (Symphoricarpos <br />oreophilus). The growth form of the community is characterized by scattered shrubs of <br />low to medium height, rarely exceeding four feet. Numerous areas of open ground exist <br />with various grasses and forbs comprising the understory. The most abundant grasses are <br />western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii), Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis), mountain <br />brome (Bromus marginatus), and green needlegrass (Stipa viridula). The most abundant <br />forbs are lupine (Lupinus caudatus), wild onion (Allium spp.), arrowleaf balsamroot <br />(Balsamorhiza sagittata), and yarrow (Achillea lanulosa). <br />The sagebrush community is found throughout the permit area on all elevations, slopes <br />and soils. On portions of the permit area where soil moisture retention and soil depth <br />become limiting to the other vegetation communities, the sagebrush community develops. <br />Snowberry will occur in greater numbers within the community where moisture retention <br />is favorable. <br />n <br />1 <br />