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I. CYPRUS ORCHARD VALLEY COAL CORPORATION <br />COAL LEASE APPLICATION COC 53356 <br />ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS U-92-34 <br />PURPOSE AND NEED <br />The Colorado State Office of the Bureau of Land Management IBLMI received on October 8, 1991, a coal <br />lease application from Cyprus Orchard Valley Coal Corporation ICyprusl. The application was submitted <br />under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, and 43 CFR <br />3420. The coal reserves are managed by the Montrose District Office of the BLM. The purpose of the <br />environmental assessment (EA) is to evaluate potential impacts of lease issuance upon the physical and <br />socioeconomic environment and to develop mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the <br />event the lease is issued. <br />As a result of the lease application, the Roatcap Creek coal lease tract was delineated. The Roatcap Creek <br />Tract lies to the north of federal coal (ease COC-37210 which is leased by Cyprus. Cyprus would like to <br />continue development of their underground mining operation on to the lease application area. Mining <br />would occur in the D Seam on the Roatcap Creek Tract. <br />The original competitive lease application submitted by Cyprus identified a 400 acre tract of federal coal. <br />A 120-acre area lying along the eastern boundary of the application area was added to the Roatcap Creek <br />Tract during tract delineation. The additional area was incorporated into the-tract in order to ensure all <br />federal coo! for which there were adequate data were included to avoid a potential by-pass tract. <br />The Roatcap Creek Tract, analyzed in this EA, is described as follows: T.13S., R.92W., 6th Principal <br />Meridian, Sec. 10: lots 1 to 3, inclusive, and lots 6 to 9, inclusive and Sec. 11, NW'/. and N%:SWY. <br />containing approximately 521.78 acres in Delta County, Colorado Isee Maps 1, 2 and 31• The tract is <br />located six miles northwest of Paonia, Colorado. <br />All of the surface is privately owned and the mineral estate is federally owned (see Map 4-. <br />Authorizino Actions and Aaencv Involvement <br />In response to the competitive coal lease application submitted by Cyprus, the Bureau of land Management <br />reviews the coal lease application in accordance with the regulations found at 43 CFR 3420. The BLM <br />then prepares an environmental assessment to analyze the potential impacts of the proposed lease and to <br />develop mitigating measures to be included as lease stipulations in the event a competitive sale is held. <br />The BLM conducts a public hearing before a competitive sale is held to allow public comment on the <br />effects of mining on the proposed lease. The BLM must also evaluate lease proposals with respect to the <br />coal unsuitability criteria developed by the Department of the Interior in compliance with Section 522 of <br />the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 ISMRCAI and 43 CFR 3461. This evaluation <br />was done in conjunction with the Uncompahgre Basin Resource Management Plan (1989) and the Uinta <br />Southwest Utah EIS (19831. Unsuitability decisions affecting the lease application area have been <br />reviewed and it was found that the exceptions to Criteria 11 and 14 also apply to this proposed lease <br />tract. The special stipulations to protect bald and golden eagle nest sites and migratory birds are listed in <br />Section V -Mitigation Measures of this document. In addition, new exceptions to Criteria No. 9 and 14 <br />are addressed in the following paragraph. No other exceptions to the Coal Unsuitability Criteria apply. <br />The Grand Mesa Penstomen and the loggerhead shrike have become Category 2 threatened and <br />endangered species since the application of the criteria. Criterion No. 9 states that habitat for a proposed <br />~~ threatened or endangered plant or animal shall be considered unsuitable. Criterion 14 states that federal <br />lands which are high priority habitat for migratory bird species of high federal interest shall be considered <br />unsuitable. The lands involved in Criteria No. 9 and 14 are suitable for coal leasing after applying the <br />exceptions to the criteria. Mining would occur approximately 2,000 feet below the surface and would not <br />interfere with the habitat of the penstomen or loggerhead shrike. In addition, if surface disturbance is <br />proposed it will be stipulated that a Threatened and Endangered plant survey be conducted and that <br />