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<br />United States Department of the Interior <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />Western Region Office <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />ell <br />o =o <br />°FSUrz?? <br />RECEIVEMO-0021 <br />Mr. Al Pfister - Project Leader <br />U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service <br />Ecological Services <br />Western Colorado Office <br />764 Horizon Drive, Building B <br />Grand Junction, Colorado 81506-3946 <br />March 11, 2010 <br />MAR 1 12010 <br />Division of rieciamation, <br />MrbV and Satty <br />RE: Formal section 7 Consultation Mountain Coal Company, LLC "West Elk" mine, Permit <br />C-1980-007 - Technical Revision 120, Refuse Pile Expansion, East Area <br />Dear Mr. Pfister: <br />The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) Western Region is <br />processing a Mining Plan Modification for the above subject in conjunction with a permitting <br />action to be taken by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CO-DRMS). <br />The West Elk underground coal mine is located in Delta and Gunnison Counties, Colorado, <br />approximately two miles east of the town of Somerset, Colorado on Bureau of Land <br />Management, USDA Forest Service, and private lands. The mining operations use a <br />combination of room and pillar and longwall mining methods. The average annual production <br />rate is approximately 7.0 million tons per year from the "B", and "E" coal seams but could reach <br />a maximum production rate of 8.2 million tons per year. <br />The West Elk mine lies along the western flank of the West Elk Mountains within the drainage <br />basin of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The northern one-third of the permit area is <br />drained by ephemeral streams directly into the North Fork of the Gunnison River, while <br />Minnesota Creek serves as the main water course for the remainder of the permit area. <br />Elevations within the permit area range from approximately 5,900 feet to approximately 9,200 <br />feet at the extreme southeastern corner of the permit area with slopes ranging from 0 to 90 <br />percent. <br />Specifically, Technical Revision TR-120 proposes to construct a new coal waste rock pile to <br />contain approximately 16 million cubic yards of coal waste rock and replace an existing refuse <br />pile nearing capacity. The new refuse pile will use existing sediment controls and disturb <br />approximately eighty (80) acres in part of,