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• INTRODUCTION <br />The Bear Coal Company No. 3 Mine, in order to comply with new <br />regulations promulgated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service <br />(USFWS), hereby submits a streamflow depletion analysis of the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin (UCRB). <br />The Bear Coal Company No. 3 Mine is located immediately east of <br />Somerset, Colorado, in Gunnison County. The North Fork of the Gunnison <br />River is the tributary impacted by streamflow depletion. Bear Coal <br />Company consumes water that otherwise would enter the Upper Colorado <br />River Basin. <br />Water is utilized for three primary purposes. <br />• Dust suppression in the Bear No. 3 underground mine. <br />• Bathhouse Facilities <br />. • Dust suppression on the surface facilities site. <br />Bottled water is used for drinking. <br />Details on streamflow, hydrology, and monitoring can be found in the <br />Bear Coal Company Mining and Reclamation Permit No. C-033-81, submitted <br />to the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division, as well as the West Elk <br />Coal Company Mt. Gunnison Mining and Reclamation Permit. <br />Although no endangered fish or wildlife are impacted by streamflow <br />depletion within the Bear No. 3 permit boundary, there are species of <br />fish that are considered endangered in the Colorado River downstream. <br />These species are the Colorado Squawfish_, Humpback Chub, and the <br />Bonytail Chub. <br />-1- <br />