Laserfiche WebLink
Grand Mesa - Uncompahgre- Gunnison NFs <br />Paonia Ranger District <br />Coal Permitting Action Review <br />MEMO TO FILE: 2820 -4 /Coal /COC -61357 <br />Re: Oxbow Mining, Minor Revision (MR) 95: Drilling of an additional 16 angle boreholes (8 on <br />National Forest) at the following locations: <br />Panel 17: 17 -02B and 17 -02C, 17 -05B and 17 -05C, 17 -06B and 17 -06C, 17 -08B and 17 -08C. <br />Panel 18: 18 -02B and 18 -02C, 18 -04B and 18 -04C, 18 -06B and 18 -06C and 18 -09B and 18 -09C. <br />Only the 17 -06B and 17 -06C, 17 -08B and 17 -08C, 18 -06B and 18 -06C, and the 18 -09B and 18- <br />09C angle boreholes are on Forest lands. No new road construction or additional surface <br />disturbing activities will occur. All of these surface disturbing effects were analyzed in Technical <br />Revisions 64 and 65. <br />Date: March 10, 2011 <br />Under the federal coal program regulations and process, coal permitting in Colorado is managed <br />by the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS), who has the final decision to <br />authorize permitting actions via delegated authority from the Department of Interior, and Office <br />of Surface Mining. The Forest Service acts in a defined role in the DRMS process as a federal land <br />managing agency (FLMA), with responsibility to review permit actions when on NFS lands, to <br />determine 1) adequacy of measures to protect Federal resources under FS jurisdiction, and 2) if <br />the post- mining land use is consistent with the land management plan. The FS will also assess if <br />the permit action is consistent with federal coal lease stipulations in effect for NFS lands, and <br />identify any conditions for use of NFS lands that result from the aforementioned reviews. <br />Background <br />The GMUG received notification on February 10, 2011 from Oxbow Mining that it had submitted <br />MR -95 to CDRMS requesting approval for sixteen additional angle boreholes, eight of which are <br />on Forest lands at the previously approved locations listed above. The remaining eight angle <br />boreholes are on Oxbow private surface and are not part of this review. Since the request to <br />drill additional boreholes will occur on well pads approved in Technical Revisions 64 and 65 and <br />access will occur on roads approved in the same technical revision process, no additional <br />resource concerns have been identified. <br />1. Adequacy of Measures to Protect Federal resources under FS jurisdiction <br />Initial measures are found to be adequate for the protection of NFS resources, and thus do not <br />require the addition of specific conditions to further minimize effects to NFS lands and resources <br />according to the review elements below. <br />a. Wildlife — TES, Sensitive, MIS, plants <br />A Biologic Assessment (BA), Biological Evaluation (BE) and Management Indicator Species <br />Assessment were prepared for the permit action and are in the project file. With respect to <br />Threatened and Endangered Species (TES), the BA concluded that the proposed activities will <br />have no effect on Canada Lynx and Greenback Cutthroat trout. The BA determined that the <br />