2008-06-12_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1980007 (3)

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Summary Elk Mine current underground longwall mining activities. MCC holds a permit with the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (CDMG) for the West Elk Mine. The West Elk Mule was opened in 1981 and presently produces coal from several existing Federal coal leases. Coal mined at West Elk Mine, as well as from other mines in the North Fork Valley, is a high British Thermal Unit (BTU), low sulfur coal. It is considered a "clean coal." Its use in industry helps meet standards of the Clean Air Act. As such, there is a demand for coal from the West Elk Mine. and other mines in the North Fork Valley for electric power generation. Recovering these Federally- administered coal reserves ensures that they would not be bypassed or rendered inaccessible. The BLM Deciding Official will decide whether or not to offer the Dry Fork LBA tract for competitive leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended, and Federal regulations under 43 CFR 3400. The BLM Uncompahgre Field Office Manager is responsible for providing the State Director with briefings and recommendations. The Forest Service Responsible Official must decide whether to consent to the BLM offering the tract for lease and what conditions must be prescribed for protection of non-coal resources. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement will prepare the Federal mining plan approval documents for the USDI Assistant Secretary approval. Alternative A.: Into Action Under the No Action Alternative, the Dry Fork LBA tract would not be offered for competitive sale and no mining would occur in these specific areas. It is assumed that MCC would continue its present coal mining activities at the West Elk Mine. Impacts from mining would not occur on this tract, and the effects from ongoing land uses would continue. The land would continue to be managed according to Forest Plan standards, goals, and guidelines. A_iternathre B: Proposed Action The Proposed Action is to consent to leasing NFS lands in the Dry Fork LBA tract for underground development and production of Federal coal reserves, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, including terms and conditions for protecting non-coal resources. Ark Land submitted the Dry Fork LBA for about 1,533 acres of Federal coal reserves. The BLM prepared a Tract Delineation Report and accepted the tract boundaries. The BLM calculated the tract acreage to be about 1,517 acres (BLM 2004). Application of the Unsuitability Criteria for Coal Mining described in 43 CFR 3461 did not identify any lands in the tract as being "unsuitable" according to the criteria. Some restrictions were identified to except some of the criteria. These restrictions will be carried forward as stipulations on the coal lease. Reasonably Foreseeable Mine Operations Plan and Foreseeable Surface Use To analyze potential surface impacts due to underground mine subsidence, this HIS assumes a Reasonably Foreseeable Mine Plan (RFMP) for this leasing decision. In order to effectively analyze potential post-lease activities on the land surface, the FEIS also assumes a scenario of potential surface use. It must be noted however, that decisions pertaining to surface use and disturbance, with the exception of subsidence impacts, are not made at the leasing stage. Rather, the decisions related to post-lease surface activities are made when and if site-specific surface use proposals are made, and are evaluated under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) based on their own merits. Reasonably Foreseeable Mine Operations Flame The Dry Fork LBA contains an estimated 17 million tons (BLM 2004) of Federal coal reserves in the B and E Seams. For this analysis, it is assumed that the coal would be recovered using the longwall method of underground coal mining. The tract is bounded on the north and west by currently leased Federal coal, on the east by unmineable (thin) coal, Dry Fork Lease-By-Application FEIS