Appendix B - Summary of the Review Process for
<br />Previous Permit Renewals and Permit Revisions
<br />Mountain Coal Company, formerly the West Elk Coal Company, applied on November 6, 1979
<br />for a permit to conduct underground mining and reclamation operations at the West Elk Mine,
<br />formerly the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine.
<br />The application was determined to be complete on November 29, 1979. The first review
<br />comments from the Division of Water Resources were received on March 26, 1980, and
<br />comments from the Division of Wildlife were received on April 22, 1980. During the latter part
<br />of June, the Division received OSM's Apparent Completeness Review of the application, which
<br />was subsequently incorporated into the July MLRD Preliminary Adequacy Review Letter and
<br />then forwarded to the company. On January 13, 1981, a meeting was held between OSM and
<br />MLRD to assess the adequacy of MCC's responses, and it was at this point in time that the
<br />responses were found to be substantially inadequate in a variety of aspects. This resulted in a
<br />decision to prepare a second, joint adequacy letter which was sent to the company on February 6,
<br />1981.
<br />On January 30, 1981 the Division received additional comments from the Division of Water
<br />Resources which outlined the deficiencies in the application with regard to water rights and, in
<br />particular, with the deficiencies of the proposed Minnesota Creek Basin Augmentation Plan.
<br />Additional comments on water rights issues were submitted in February and March in the form
<br />of objection letters from several concerned citizens. These letters also discussed problems
<br />relating to alluvial valley floors, protection for perennial streams, the potential for landslides to
<br />be triggered by subsidence, cumulative hydrologic impacts, the adequacy of MCC's subsidence
<br />monitoring and subsidence control plans, and a number of procedural issues. These objections
<br />resulted in several requests for a mine site visit and informal conference, which were held on
<br />April 30, 1981 and May 12, 1981, respectively. The Division began preparation of its written
<br />findings soon after the conference and published its proposed decision on June 22, 1981. The
<br />Division's decision was to approve the West Elk permit application with several stipulations.
<br />The five-year permit was issued on July 31, 1981, pursuant to the Colorado Surface Coal Mining
<br />Reclamation Act, CRS 34-33-101 et seq. Construction of the West Elk Mine began in 1981.
<br />The mine began producing coal from the F Seam in January 1982. The expiration of this permit
<br />was set at July 31, 1986. On January 17, 1986, a complete renewal application was received.
<br />This application was subsequently reviewed and the Division issued a proposed decision to
<br />approve the renewal application with stipulations. Following the public comment period, the
<br />permit was renewed on May 19, 1987. The permit was to expire on August 1, 1991. The
<br />Division received MCC's complete renewal application on January 30, 1991 thereby ensuring the
<br />operator's right to successive renewal pursuant to 2.08.5(3)(f). The Division issued a proposed
<br />decision to approve the renewal application with stipulations, and following the public comment
<br />period, the permit was renewed on January 29, 1993, and was to expire on August 1, 1996.
<br />The Division received an application for a permit revision (Jumbo Mountain; Permit Revision
<br />No. 5) on February 4, 1994, which was subsequently deemed complete on February 14, 1994.
<br />The Division issued the first preliminary adequacy review letter on April 15, 1994, which
<br />identified deficiencies in Geology, Hydrology, and Subsidence. MCC's responses to the
<br />75
|