2008-02-22_APPLICATION CORRESPONDENCE - C2008086 (45)

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CHAPTERONE Purpose and Need 1.4 DECISIONS TO BE MADE BLM has received land use and ROW applications from CAM and from GVP and an LBA from CAM. BLM can issue the permits for the Proposed Action as submitted in the applications, modify the actions based on analysis contained in this EIS and issue permits, or deny the applications. Following the completion of the EIS, the BLM Grand Junction Field Office will forward the competitive lease application, the Red Cliff Mine EIS, a Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) report, a proposed ROD, lease special stipulations, and the bonding requirements to the BLM Colorado State Office. They will draft the proposed lease terms and conditions and provide preliminary recommendations for the lease tract to the Colorado State Director, who will make a determination on leasing action. The Colorado State Office will then prepare the local newspaper notice and Federal Register notices of the sale and post such notices of the proposed sales in the Public Room at the state office of the BLM A sales panel consisting of the Deputy State Director for Mineral Resources, a BLM mining engineer, a BLM geologist, and a BLM mineral economist will then be designated as the group that will analyze prospective bidders and make recommendations regarding bids received at the proposed lease sale. If the coal is leased, approval to mine the coal would be outside the scope of this EIS and would be addressed as separate federal and state actions. The USACE would issue a Section 404 permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U. S. if they determine that the selected alternative would have minimal impact to waters of the U. S. or if it is determined to be the LEDPA. 1.5 CONFORMANCE WITH BLM LAND USE PLAN Lands and resources in the project area are managed under the Grand Junction Field Office RMP. One of the objectives of the RMP was to identify areas that are acceptable for further leasing under the federal coal leasing program. The RMP (BLM 1987) identified geographic "emphasis areas" where the management of a particular resource would be emphasized over all other resources. The management philosophy of Emphasis Area Cc was an emphasis on coal. The BLM's goal was to, "identify approximately 350,389 acres as acceptable for further coal leasing consideration." In the RMP, the BLM identified the Book Cliffs Coal Field (included in Emphasis Area Cc) as one of two areas with economically feasible coal development potential in the planning area. No lands inside the study area have been determined unsuitable for coal leasing (BLM 1987). CAM's existing coal leases are included in Emphasis Area Cc. Portions of the Proposed Lease Area are also included in Emphasis Area Cc. Map GJDRMP21.pdf showing Emphasis Area Cc can be found on the BLM Grand Junction website at http://www.blm.gov/co/ st/enBLM_Programs/land use~lanning/rmp/grand_junction.html. In 2004, the BLM completed the North Fruita Desert Management Plan (NFDMP), which addresses recreational opportunities in the area and amends the RMP by adding an additional No Surface Occupancy (NSO) area. The goal of the management direction of the NFDMP is to afford protection to the resources present in North Fruita Desert area while still allowing for a variety of recreational and commercial opportunities. The NFDMP states, "The management actions outlined in the NDFMP are intended to allow traditional uses to continue such as grazing, and oil and gas development, as well as to prevent additional resource degradation and minimize user conflicts while allowing for both present and future recreational uses" (BLM 2004). The 1-10