2008-12-19_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1996083

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The proposed decision to approve PR-10 was published in the Delta County Independent on November 26 and December 3, 2008. The 30 day public comment period to request a formal board hearing will end on December 26, 2008. If no formal board hearing request is received, the proposed decision to approve PR-10 will become final. Due to difficult mining conditions, a new B-seam mine plan change is being proposed in Permit Revision No. 11 (PR-11), dated February 2, 2008 was submitted to the Division on February 4, 2008. In PR-11, BRL is requesting an increase in the permit area to the north by 560 acres through a modification of Federal Coal Lease COC-61209. In addition, the longwall panels would run north-south, instead of the currently approved east-west trend, and be extended to the north into the proposed permit area addition. Mining would be closed to the Bruce Park Dam and Terror Creek Reservoir. Completeness letters were sent out on February 12, 2008 to the appropriate entities. The completeness public notice was published February 20, 27, March 5 and 12, 2008. Comment letters were received from the Colorado Division of Water Resources (Denver), the Colorado Historical Society, the Terror Ditch and Reservoir Company and the USDA-Forest Service. The USDA-Forest Service consented to the approval of PR-11 with the understanding that the DRMS decision includes protections for non-mineral resources brought forward by the GMUG as the land management agency. The Office of Surface Mining found that the mine plan change proposed in PR-11 did not constitute a mine plan action requiring Secretarial approval. The review of the geotechnical and seismic stability of the Bruce Park Dam and saddle dam. and the adjacent Bruce Park Dam landslide was conducted under Permit Revision No. 10 but also applies to the situation in PR-11. In the PR-10 review, the Colorado Division of Water Resources (Montrose) was intimately involved and provided a final comment letter dated August 12, 2008. The Division's determination that down gradient groundwater baseline and point of compliance monitoring data would not be required was also resolved in PR-10 and is applicable to the mine plan proposed in PR-11. The Division sent out adequacy review letters dated May 12, 2008, December 8, 2008 and December 12, 2008. BRL responded in submittals dated November 25, 2008 and December 9, 2008. All adequacy issues were resolved satisfactorily. The proposed decision will be published in the Delta County Independent once a week for two consecutive weeks. Description of the Environment The Bowie No. 2 coal mine permit area includes 5305 surface acres, of which 2612 surface acres are privately owned and 2693 acres are federally owned. Approval of PR-11 would add 560 acres to the permit area, all of which are federal surface lands and federal mineral acreage. The coal and the surface lands within the present permit area are both federally and privately owned, as are the surface areas that have been disturbed by surface developments. The total approved disturbed area by surface operations is 294.9 acres. The Bowie No. 2 Mine is located in Delta County, approximately five (5) miles northeast of Paonia, Colorado. The mine permit area is located on lands depicted on the U. S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute Bowie Quadrangle Map, and the Bowie No. 2 mine portals are located northwest of the Old King Mine portals (also known as the Bowie Mine). The surface facilities are located north and south of Old State Highway 133 near the old townsite of Bowie. The mine is located between Terror Creek and Hubbard Creek. A portion of the surface facilities is within 100 feet of the outside right-of-way of old State Highway 133. The location of these facilities extends from the old townsite of Bowie to about 500 feet east of the old Bowie power plant. 12