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• I. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION <br />As part of the federal coal management program, the Department of the <br />Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), conducts <br />leasing of federal coal to assure adequate coal supplies are <br />available to meet national long-term energy requirements and adequate <br />reserves are available to continue existing production. <br />Cyprus Western Coal Corporation is currently mining coal in the <br />Twentymile Park area. The mine is the Foidel Creek Mine and is <br />located between Hayden and Oak Creek, Colorado. (Map 1-1) <br />Cyprus Western Coal Corporation has applied for a modification to <br />their federal coal lease C-081330 under the criteria in 43 CFR 3432 <br />to lease the underground minable coal in two tracts adjacent to their <br />existing operation. Unsuitability criteria was applied to these <br />lands during a land use plan amendment dated February 1984. None of <br />these specific lands were determined unsuitable through this <br />amendment. <br />Currently Cyprus through its Foidel Creek Mine, has a longwall mine <br />located in parts or all of the following sections: <br />T.5N., R.86W., 6th P.M. <br />Sections 19, 20, 24, 25. 29, 30, 31, 32 and 36 <br />• The coal lands subject to this application consists of 150.27 acres, <br />which is consistent with the limitations of Section 3 of the Mineral <br />Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and regulations at 43 CFR 3432. As <br />shown on Map 1-2, Tract A is located directly north of lease C-081330 <br />and directly south of Cyprus' state lease. From the mine's <br />perspective. it is logical to continue using the existing entries <br />north to provide access into the state lease. <br />Tract B is located to the west of lease C-081330 and to the east of <br />Cyprus' private lease. As is shown on Map 1-2, this parcel will <br />allow the mining of an additional longwall panel. <br />The first longwall panel has been developed and is being mined at the <br />present time. The headgates for the second and third panels are now <br />being developed, and if approval is received the gate development for <br />this panel will be initiated upon completion of the existing <br />development work. This lease modification would add additional <br />federal reserves to the mine's reserve base. If these tracts are not <br />mined by Cyprus, it is unlikely that any other party will be able to <br />mine the coal. Cyprus controls the coal on three sides of these <br />tracts, and is probably the only party that can economically recover <br />the resource. <br />A decision to lease these tracts of underground coal will have to be <br />made by March 1991 or the operations will have to commit to an <br />• alternate mine plan which would bypass the subject lands. <br />Therefore, this environmental-analysis (EA) is being prepared to <br />assess the impacts that would result from leasing and subsequent <br />development of the underground minable coal in this area. The <br />proposed action is to modify existing lease C-081330 to include the <br />underground minable seams. which encompass an estimated 1.423,000 <br />tons of recoverable coal.