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OSM recommends approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval of the Mineral Leasing <br />Act mining plan to the Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management. Before the mining <br />plan can be approved, the Bureau of Land Management must concur with this recommendation. <br />The CO-DRMS enforces the performance standards and permit requirements during the mine's <br />operation and has primary authority in environmental emergencies. OSM retains oversight <br />responsibility for this enforcement. The Bureau of Land Management has authority in <br />emergency situations where the CO-DRMS or OSM cannot act before environmental harm or <br />damage occurs. <br />B. Need for the Proposed Action <br />Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, <br />Land and Minerals Management, must approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the <br />mining plan modification for Federal leases C-07519 and C-079641. <br />C. Alternatives Considered <br />The alternatives considered were: <br />Approve, Approve with conditions, or Disapprove. The No Action alternative was not <br />considered a viable alternative because of the requirements of existing law. <br />D. Affected Environment <br />This environmental assessment supplements the environmental assessments prepared by; <br />The U.S. Department of Agriculture - Rural Electrification Administration, Yampa <br />Project Final Environmental Assessment, USDA-REA-ES (ADM)-74-2-F, July, 1974; <br />The Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Statement, Northwest Colorado Coal, <br />(FES-77-1), January, 1977; <br />The Bureau of Land Management, Northwest Supplemental Report, 1979; <br />The OSM contracted, Karman Tempo, Cumulative Hydrologic Assessment: Effects of <br />Coal Mining on the Yampa River Basin, Moffat and Routt Counties, Colorado, January <br />1982; <br />OSM, Environmental Assessment, Trapper Mining, Inc., Trapper Mine, April 1983; <br />OSM, Environmental Assessment, Trapper Mine, Modified Mining Plan, April 1988. <br />The affected environment is described in these documents. <br />-3-