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clarification on that single issue. Forest Service staff then went back to MSHA, and consulted <br />with Allyn Davis, the MSHA official with direct supervisory authority over the West Elk Mine. <br />Mr. Davis issued an unequivocal letter (which Appellants obliquely reference in footnote 10 of <br />their Request, but do not provide), stating that flaring was not a sufficiently developed <br />technology, such that MSHA could not approve a flare over the active portion of the mine. See <br />Exhibit 4, Davis Letter. The Forest Service considered the Davis letter, and issued an amended <br />ROD on March 7, 2008, again rejecting flaring as a viable alternative at the mine. See Exhibit 1, <br />ROD, Mar. 7, 2008 at 10, app. D. <br />Appellants again appealed, raising the same arguments now twice rejected. On June 2, <br />2008, the Forest Service affirmed the ROD. In its decision, the Forest Service gave its consent to <br />the use and occupancy of the affected Forest Service lands, but noted that final federal authority <br />over the project resides in the CDRMS and the OSM. See Exhibit 2, Decision, June 2, 2008. <br />3. CDRMS and OSM Permitting Process <br />Concurrent with the permitting and environmental review process conducted by the <br />Forest Service, MCC actively pursued the revisions to the Mine Permit required by CDRMS and <br />OSM to mine the E Seam. The coal contained within the E Seam is primarily subject to two <br />separate federal coal leases issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"). A portion <br />of the E Seam is subject to Federal Coal Leases C-1362, a lease issued by the BLM on August 1, <br />1967, which has been included in the Mine Permit since 1981. The remaining portion of the E <br />Seam is largely contained within Federal Coal Lease COC-67232, issued by the BLM in March <br />of 2007, which until June of 2008 was not included under the Mine Permit. <br />MCC plans to mine the E Seam in twelve longwall panels, numbered E-1 through E-12, <br />with longwall mining in panel E-1 scheduled to commence in October of 2008. When MCC <br />initially began planning for the development of the E Seam, longwall panels E-2 through E-7 <br />extended partially outside of the Mine Permit boundary, onto lands covered by Federal Coal <br />Lease COC-67232. In order to extend the Mine Permit boundary to include all of the E Seam <br />panels, MCC submitted Permit Revision 12 ("PR-12") to the CDRMS on October 1, 2007 to <br />include Federal Coal Lease COC-67232 in the Mine Permit. Shortly thereafter, on October 15, <br />2007, MCC submitted Technical Revision 111 ("TR-111") and Technical Revision 112 ("TR- <br />112") to the CDRMS which provided for the construction of MDWs on E Seam lands. TR-111 <br />4842-4129-1266\7 4