2010-11-30_APPLICATION CORRESPONDENCE - C2010088 (2)

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Corey Heaps CAM - Colorado, LLC November 30, 2010 Page 13 and address the concerns they raise. For the fish and wildlife section, please identify the number of acres that will be reclaimed to fish and wildlife habitat. 41. The application includes narrative addressing compliance with the requirements of Section 2.04.11, including a very thorough and detailed baseline report addressing wildlife and sensitive plant species in Exhibit 10. The Division has notified USFWS, CDOW, and OSM of the application, and a copy of the wildlife and threatened and endangered species sections of the application (including the Exhibit 10 study report) have been made available to the agencies. OSM has been requested to prepare a Biological Assessment (BA) regarding potential impacts to federally listed threatened, endangered, and candidate species of plants and animals. Due to the operation's location, OSM will initiate the necessary Section 7 consultation process with USFWS, pertaining to water depletion effects to the T &E fish species of the Colorado River. The required water depletion projection necessary for OSM to prepare the BA and for USFWS to prepare a Biological Assessment (BA), has been included in Section 2.04.11 of the application. The applicant's projected annual water depletion associated with the project is 14.4 acre feet per year. Neither the application narrative nor the Exhibit 10 report address potential impact to the Canada Lynx nor the Greenback Cutthroat, both of which are federally Iisted threatened species in Mesa County. Please include reference to these federally listed species in applicable sections of the narrative or the Exhibit 10 report, including a brief summary of the species habitat and documentation that habitat for the species does not occur in the project area. The Yellow Billed Cuckoo is listed in Table 2 of Exhibit 10, and status is listed as "CDOW species of concern". The species is also a federal "Candidate Species ". Please include notation on the table of the species federal "Candidate Species" status. Rule 2.04.12 Prime Farmland Investigation 42. The applicant indicates in the narrative of Section 2.04.12 that, based on independent investigation and determination by the applicant, the lands to be disturbed within the permit area are not prime farmland, because the land has not been historically used as cropland. This may be the case, but documentation based on Mesa County records, NRCS documents and historic photos, etc., would need to be provided. Based on site observations and information presented in the application, as well as review of the USDA Web Soil Survey Soil Map for the project area, the Division concurs that there appears to be no prime farmland in the area proposed to be disturbed by surface operations or facilities. The areas previously disturbed by industrial activity are not prime farmland, and the soil map units within the area of proposed disturbance on the USDA Web Soil Survey (Skumpah silt loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, Sagers silty clay loam, saline, 0 to 2 percent slopes, Cojam loam, 0 to 2% slopes, and Ustifluvents, 0 to 2 percent slopes) are not prime farmland. We request confirmation in the form of a letter from the Grand Junction NRCS office stating that lands within the permit area or proposed disturbance area do not qualify as prime farmland, based on one or more of the criteria listed in 2.04.12, should be requested and