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BRL submitted Permit Revision No. 9 in order to add a third longwall panel in the B-2 coal seam west
<br />district and to realign B-2 coal seam longwall panels and entryways in the north district. Lease
<br />Modification No. 2 to Federal Coal Lease COC 61209 and a private surface access agreement were
<br />needed for these changes to the mine plan. The permit area would be increased by 161 acres, 22 acres of
<br />which were federal and 139 acres of which were private.
<br />The application for Permit Revision No. 9 was received on June 3, 2005 and called complete on June 13,
<br />2005. Completeness letters were sent June 13, 2005 and the public notice was published. Only one agency
<br />letter, from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, was received at the Division and that agency had
<br />no issues with the submittal.
<br />The Division sent its adequacy review letters on August 10, 2005 and September 28, 2005. BRL
<br />responded in submittals dated September 16, 2005, September 20, 2005 and October 7, 2005. Computer
<br />checks of the Applicant Violator System were made on August 31, 2005 and October 4, 2005. In both
<br />cases, the recommendations were to issue. All adequacy issues were resolved so a proposed decision to
<br />approve Permit Revision No. 9 was made on October 12, 2005 with issuance on November 21, 2005.
<br />Approval of Technical Revision No. 44 on March 20, 2007 allowed for the expansion of coal waste
<br />disposal area no. 2 to the west to join with the original coal waste disposal area.
<br />In a letter dated July 17, 2006, BRL was informed by the Division that the current five year permit term
<br />was going to expire on April 4, 2007. Permit Renewal No. 2 was called complete on August 11, 2006,
<br />thereby securing the right of successive renewal. Completeness letters were sent out on the same day. The
<br />completeness public notice was published on August 16, 23 and 30 and September 6, 2006.
<br />In a letter dated December 13, 2006, the Division requested that the Office of Surface Mining (OSM)
<br />enter into consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service concerning an updated threatened &
<br />endangered species report. The report was dated December 6, 2006 and was submitted by BRL as part of
<br />the Permit Renewal No. 2 adequacy review. OSM decided that the Technical Revision No. 45
<br />consultation would suffice for Permit Revision No. 2. In a memorandum dated April 13, 2007, the U.S.
<br />Fish & Wildlife Service determined that no new water depletions will occur so the existing Recovery
<br />Implementation Program for the Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin will suffice.
<br />The Division sent five adequacy review letters dated October 17, 2006, February 15, 2007, March 2,
<br />2007, May 3, 2007 and May 18, 2007. No individual, group or government agency sent comment letters
<br />to the Division. BRL responded to the Division's adequacy concerns in responses dated December 7,
<br />2006, February 21, 2007 and May 8, 2007. An AV S check was made on June 22, 2007 and the
<br />recommendation was to "issue". With all adequacy review issues resolved, the proposed decision to
<br />approve Permit Renewal No. 2 was made on June 22, 2007.
<br />Although there were no public objections to the proposed decision, the renewed permit could not be
<br />issued until sufficient reclamation bond was submitted and approved by the Division. Upon the successful
<br />resolution of the bond issue, Permit Renewal No. 2 was issued on September 28, 2007. The maps and
<br />permit text that were revised in Permit Renewal No. 2 were placed into the permit application through
<br />Minor Revision No. 80.
<br />The application for a B-seam mine plan change in Permit Renewal No. 10 was presented by BRL in a
<br />submittal dated February 28, 2006 and received at the Division on March 1, 2006. PR-10 was called
<br />complete on March 13, 2006 and the completeness letters were mailed out the next day. The completeness
<br />public notice appeared in the Delta County Independent on March 15, 22, 29 and April 5, 2006.
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