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Bear Coal Company applied for a third renewal of their valid, existing permit on January 12, 1997. The
<br />adequacy review questions in the Division's adequacy review letter dated June 9, 1997 were answered in
<br />the operator's response letter dated September 22, 1997. The permit issuance date was May 29, 1998.
<br />The operator submitted the Permit Renewal No. 4 application in submittals dated December 19, 2001 and
<br />December 28, 2001, resulting in completeness on January 2, 2002. The Division sent its preliminary
<br />adequacy review questions and comments in letters dated March 6, 2002, August 19, 2002, January 10,
<br />2003 and August 29, 2003. Comments from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Colorado Historical
<br />Society were forwarded to the operator. In a letter dated July 22, 2002, the Division informed the Bear
<br />Coal Company that they had the right of successive renewal. Bear Coal Company responded to the
<br />Division's adequacy review questions in submittals dated November 15, 2002, January 31, 2003 and
<br />September 3, 2003. The Division proposed a decision to approve Permit Renewal No. 4 for the Bear No.
<br />3 Mine on November 14, 2003. The issuance date for Permit Renewal No. 4 was July 19, 2002.
<br />In a letter dated October 17, 2006, the Division informed the Bear Coal Company that a complete Permit
<br />Renewal No. 5 application must be submitted to the Division by January 20, 2007 in order to secure the
<br />right of successive renewal. The company sent the renewal application in a submittal dated January 12,
<br />2007 and received at the Division on January 16, 2007. The Division called the submittal complete on
<br />January 19, 2007 and sent out completeness letters to the appropriate county, state and federal agencies.
<br />The public notice of completeness was published in the Delta County Independent on January 24, 31,
<br />February 7 and 14, 2007. With completeness, the operator secured the right of successive renewal.
<br />The Division sent its first adequacy review letter on March 27, 2007 that consisted of two main sections.
<br />The first section consisted of questions and comments that originated from the previously withdrawn SL-
<br />3 Phase One Bond Release, then, transferred to the 2005 Midterm Review and, finally, transferred to the
<br />Permit Renewal No. 5 adequacy review. The second section included questions and comments from the
<br />Permit Renewal No. 5 adequacy review. Also included in this second section was a copy of the only
<br />comment letter that was received by the Division. The comment letter was from the Colorado Division of
<br />Water Resources and stated that the agency had no objections to the permit renewal.
<br />The Bear Coal Company responded to the Division's adequacy review letter in a submittal dated July 8,
<br />2007. As part of the adequacy review for Permit Renewal No. 5, the Division received an updated
<br />Threatened & Endangered Species Inventory Report, dated June 19, 2007, from the operator. The report
<br />was forwarded to the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) with a request that OSM determine if they should
<br />enter into consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). After review of the report, OSM
<br />concluded that consultation with the USFWS was not needed.
<br />Several of the issues in Permit Renewal No. 5 were resolved and appropriately revised pages and one map
<br />were placed into the permit application through Minor Revision No. 28. However, several concerns
<br />involving field issues and reclamation work remain to be resolved. These concerns will be dealt with
<br />outside of the Permit Renewal No. 5 process. Bear Coal Company recently submitted, and the Division
<br />approved, additional reclamation bond to cover the increase in liability of the reclamation cost estimate
<br />that was calculated in Permit Renewal No. 5.
<br />Description of the Environment
<br />The Bear No. 3 Mine permit area lies within the drainage of the North Fork of the Gunnison River, which
<br />is tributary to the Colorado River system. The mined area consists of rugged topographic relief.
<br />Elevations in the area range from 6,000 feet at Somerset to 12,719 feet at the summit of Mt. Gunnison.
<br />The North Fork of the Gunnison River has cut a deep canyon through the area and separates high
<br />tablelands south of the river from the slopes of the Grand Mesa to the north. The narrow, steep-sided
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