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f~ L ,rte ,~ FEB, 26. 2Q0$ 2:06PM ,~ F I3 2 5.2008 I~SHA COAL DIST 9 000 ~~e. N0. G731-'~, P~ e ti r- ~ '_..-- Coal Mine Safety and Health District 9 NIr. Charles Richmond Porest Supervisor Gxand Mesa-T~ncompahgre-Gunnison National Porest ?250 Highway 50 Delta, CO 87416 beat` Iv1x. Richmond: There have been inquiries as to whether my office will approve flaring of rn~thane gas venting fxorn de-gas wells that are pxoposed to be installed fn the e- seam longwalapanel at Mountain Coal Company's West Elk Mine located near Somerset, Coloxado. In looking into this issue, Y am aware of the Conceptual Design fox a Goal Mine Gob Well Flaxe, dated August 1999 and pxepaxed by the Coalbed Methane ~utxeach 1'rogxam, A.trnospheric 17ollution Prevention Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I am also aware of e--mails between Lune Madsen of the ~.5. Porest Service and Hubert Sherer of the Mane Safety and Health Administration (MSHA} in which it eras stated that there is no MSHA xegulafion preventing Hazing of methane gas at a coal mine. The District 9 Office of MSHA has the xesponsibility of approving mining plans for all coal mines in the western. part of the U'nifed States. We have approved mining plans submitted by the'W'est>rlk Mine fox Iongwall mining in the E-seam, Expexience in 7 to 6 years of longwall mining at the West Elk lYiine has pxoven that methane drainage is an essential element of their xrv.ne ventilation system. The mine fatzs alone are not capable of adequately handliz1g the methane encountexed izl the seams being mined in order to provide a safe and secure environment for minexs who work underground. We have already advised the 1Nest Elk nlanageznent that we cannot approve future longwall panels without sufficient de-gas wells to control 3nethane, /~y.