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.SU1i?•iARl' <br /> The Review Process, Description of the Environment <br /> ' and <br /> The Operations and Reclamation Plan <br /> History of the Review Process <br /> Colowyo Coal Company, a partnership of Gracoal , Inc. and Western Hanna, Inc. <br /> has submitted a mining and reclamation permit application to mine Federal <br /> coal at the Colowyo Mine. The Colowyo. operation, including the pit, <br /> the general offices, and a rail loadout facility, is located in Moffat <br /> County, approximately 28 miles southwest of Craig, Colorado on State <br /> Highway 131789. The mine is an existing, open pit, multiple seam <br /> operation with an anticipated annual coal production of 4.5 million tons. <br /> Operations at Colowyo began in 1976, under Extraction and Development <br /> Permit Number 76-15 C/A issued by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board. <br /> Colowyo currently produces coal from Federal Lease D-034365. The permit <br /> area proposed by the applicant encompasses 5,550 acres in Sections 2, 3, 4, <br /> Y 9, 10 and 11 of T31V, R93W and. Sections 13, 22, 23, 24, 26, 33 and 34 of <br /> NN, R93W. Approximately 96% of the surface acreage of the proposed permit <br /> area is owned by Colowyo Coal Company, the remainder is Federal land managed <br /> by the Bureau of Land ,'•ianagement (BLN) . <br /> The Colowyo application was submitted to the Division on February 5, 1981 <br /> and deemed complete on February 13, 1981. A joint preliminary adequacy <br /> letter conveying concerns identified by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) <br /> and the Division was sent to Colowyo on April. 9, 1981. Resolution of <br /> the deficiencies noted in the letter was required in order to make determin- <br /> ations of compliance. . Colowyo's responses to the preliminary adequacy letter <br /> ,H= were received on May 19, 1981. On July 9, 1981, the Division sent Colowyo <br /> another letter identifying concerns which had not yet been adequately <br /> resolved. Further responses have been submitted by Colowyo since that <br /> time, allowing the preparation of the Findings Document. The technical <br /> analysis has been completed by the Division and OSM, with the assistance <br /> { of the Minerals Management Service, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, <br /> and the Colorado Division of Water Resources. <br /> ' Previous analyses of Colowyo's mining and reclamation operations have included <br /> w a number of permit and permit revision applications, including a modification <br /> to Colowyo's existing mine plan to allow production at the 4,5 million <br /> ton/year level. Environmental analyses of Colowyo's operations are included <br /> in the final Northwest Colorado Coal Regional Environmental Statement and the <br /> _ Northwest Colorado Supplemc?ntal Report. <br /> `zF <br /> y. <br /> \ <br /> 4 <br /> Dui.. - w,Y. .. •r.. _�r. . _. wr r <br />