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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <br /> OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br /> • RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT <br /> NOTICE OF A DECISION AND AVAILABILITY <br /> OF A TECHNICAL ANALYSIS INCLUDING AN <br /> ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR <br /> WESTERN FUELS-UTAH, INC. <br /> DESERADO MINE <br /> RIO BLANCO COUNTY, COLORADO <br /> The United States Department of the Interior, in accordance with Section 523 <br /> of the Surface Mining ;Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, has approved, with <br /> conditions, a mining plan, as modified for Western Fuels-Utah, Inc. , to mine <br /> coal at its Deserado mine. The documentation for the decision was prepared by <br /> the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). Under the <br /> Colorado cooperative agreement (30 CFR Part 906.30), the permitting <br /> responsibilities for operations on Federal lands in Colorado have been assumed <br /> by the State of Colorado; therefore, the Federal permit, issued on July 15, <br /> 1981, was dissolved upon approval of the mining plan, as modified. <br /> The Deserado coal mine is located in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, <br /> approximately 9 miles north of Rangely. The mine has been in operation since <br /> 1981. The permit areafassociated with the mining plan area covers <br /> approximately 9,152 acres, approximately 430 of which have been disturbed to <br /> date. Maximum mine production will be at a rate of 1.8 million tons of coal <br /> and the life of the operation is estimated to be 24 years. <br /> Pursuant to 40 CFR Sections 1501.4(e) and <br /> 1506.6, notice is hereby given that <br /> OSMRE has found that no significant environmental impacts would result from <br /> such approval based on an environmental assessment prepared by OSMRE and <br /> Colorado Mined Reclamation Division's technical analysis. Approval of Western <br /> Fuels-Utah's mining plan, as modified, was in accordance with 30 CFR Part <br /> 746. OSMRE's environmental assessment concluded that no significant impacts <br /> to the quality of the human environment would result from such approval; <br /> therefore, an environmental impact statement was not prepared. For <br /> information or clarification concerning the approval of the Deserado mine <br /> mining plan, please contact Meg Estep or Mel Granberg at (303) 844-2451, <br /> Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Denver, Colorado. <br />