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<br />M A T T H E W .J . N I C H O L A S <br />1 5230 HANOVER COURT <br />BRIGHTON, COLORADO 80602-5642 <br />303-655-7355 <br />PRIMARY EMAIL: JTPYO.MJN.POSTIT.COSMOLOGYC-GMAIL.COM <br />SECONDARY EMAIL: MJNCADPCOMCAST.NET <br />Ms. Sandra L. Brown 4 November, 2010 <br />Senior Environmental Protection Specialist <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety cs-AeV D <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 NOV O 5 2010 <br />Re: Western Fuels - Colorado, LLC Permit Revision 6 Divvilul1 , _ .; ..s ? ,. <br />Dear Ms. Brown: Wning ark . ../ <br />As I understand it, Western Fuels Colorado (WFC) is seeking a permit revision to mine coal from lands <br />adjacent to the current New Horizon mine in Nucla. I urge you to approve WFC's request for the following <br />reasons. <br />1. WFC currently provides coal to the Nucla power plant that serves portions of southwest Colorado. <br />The close proximity of the mine to the power plant insures a reliable source of fuel to the plant with <br />minimal transportation costs and environmental impact. <br />2. 1 have toured the current New Horizon mine, and have seen reclaimed lands from WFC's previous <br />mining activities in the area. I am convinced that WFC is fully capable of mining coal safely and <br />successfully reclaiming the land at the conclusion of mining activities. <br />3. WFC and Tri-State G & T's Nucla power plant provide high quality good paying jobs for the residents <br />of the area. Furthermore, many other secondary jobs exist serving these two facilities along with <br />businesses that rely on the discretionary income of the employees of WFC, the power plant, and servicing <br />companies. These jobs extend far past the immediate Nucla area as employees at Tri-State's <br />Westminster, Colorado headquarters depend on WFC's continued operations. <br />4. Colorado coal is of high quality compared to eastern states coal, and the Nucla power plant with its <br />first in the nation use of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler technology in a commercial power plant <br />proves that Tri-State and WFC is committed to the cleanest possible use of coal as a fuel. <br />3. Although I believe in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power; these maturing <br />energy sources are not yet poised to replace coal fired power plants. Furthermore, wind and solar power <br />are not 100% environmentally friendly either. There are serious environmental concerns with wind and <br />solar technology (e.g. noise and visual pollution, disruption of animal migration routes due to the large <br />tracts of land required for these facilities, decreased farmland). <br />In closing, I have worked in the engineering world on the fossil fuel side and the renewable energy side. <br />When I worked for the now defunct Colorado founded and based Steams-Roger engineering company, I <br />had a small hand in the design of the Nucla power plant upgrade in the mid 1980's that brought CFB <br />technology to Colorado first. I also worked for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and I am <br />aware of the cutting edge research they do on wind and solar power technologies. However, for the <br />foreseeable future, Colorado and the nation will need and should use our vast coal reserves to fuel our <br />country's energy needs. Maybe one day, wind and solar will be ready to replace coal; but that day is not <br />here. Thank you for your time and attention regarding this letter. <br />Sincerely, <br />r <br />Page 1 of 1 <br />Last printed 11/4/2010 10:28:00 AM <br />C:\Documents and Settings\Matt\My Documents\letters\2010\New_Horizon_Mine.dooc