2009-03-02_PERMIT FILE - C1980004A (10)

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! ~ ron j United States Department of the Interior FISH AAJD WII.,DI.IFE SERVICE !~' Ecological Services ~ . 764 Horizon Drive, Building B ~OOiV6d Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946 m REet.v ttet~a ro: JQN 1 1 2Q02 FS-6-RO-95-F-001-GJ316 Orene,k~n Fkb ottt:e MS 65412 GJ' +of knaerals & Geola9Y January L0, 2002 Memorandtun To: Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement, Denver, Colorado (Attu; Carl 7ohnston, Piortltwest Btattch) From: Assistant Colorado Field Supervisor, Fi an~ ild~~+'OO0 `~cc, Ecological Services, Grand Junction, Colotado Subject: Biological Opinion forMcClane Canyon Coal Mine i•~ In accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Interagency Cooperation Regulations (50 CFR 402), the Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed your December 17, 2001, comspondcnce regarding the impacts of J.oadstaz Energy, Jnc.'s McClane Canyon Coal Mine on endangered Colorado River fishes. Through Technical Revision 11, the coal mine will increase production from 500,000 tons of coal per year to 1.7 million tons per yeaz. The coal mine is located in portions of T. 7 S., R. 102 W., Garfield County, Colorado. The proposed action will cause an average annual depletion of 7.49 acre-feet to McClane Creek and East Salt Creek, tributaries to the Colorado River, in the Upper Colorado River Basin. A Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin was initiated on January 22, 1988. The Recovery Program was intended to be the reasonable and prudent alternative to avoid jeopardy to the endangered fishes by depletions from the Upper Colorado River Basin. In order to further define and clarify the ptncess in the Recovery Program, a section 7 agreement was implemented on October l5, 1993, by the Recovery Program participants. Incorporated into this agreement is.a Recovery Implementation Program Recovery Action Plan which identifies actions currently believed to be required to recover the endangered fishes in the most expeditious manner. Included in the Recovery Program was the requirement that a depletion fee would be paid to help support the Recovery Program. On July 8, 1997, the Service issued an infra-Service biological opinion determining that the depletion fee for depletions of 100 acre-feet or less are no longer required because the Recovery Program has made sufficient progress to be the reasonable and Appendix P