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Bureau of Land Management <br />Uncompahgre Field Office <br />2465 South Townsend Avenue <br />Montrose, Colorado 81401 <br />CCT 3 2011 <br />In Reply Refer to: 3432, COC- 37210, COC -61209 <br />Dear Interested Party, <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />The Bureau of Land Management, Uncompahgre Field Office (BLM), is seeking comments on <br />proposed federal coal lease modifications on public lands. Bowie Resources, LLC (Bowie) has <br />applied to the BLM to modify two of their existing federal coal leases. The proposed lease <br />modifications would add approximately 505.08 acres to existing coal leases COC -37210 and <br />COC- 61209. The proposed modification tracts are adjacent to the existing federal coal leases <br />and if granted would allow expansion of the currently operating Bowie No. 2 mine near Paonia <br />in Delta County, Colorado. <br />The lease modifications are located on lands in which BLM manages a portion of the surface <br />(174 acres on COC- 61209) and all of the mineral estate (COC -37210 and COC- 61209). The <br />application was made to obtain known mineable federal coal reserves and prevent bypass of <br />those. reserves. The_BLM is required b_y_ta_w_to_consider le e _ economic <br />recovery. <br />The coal lease modification areas are described as: <br />ReCO <br />OCT 0 2 011 <br />p1viSton u; vscctamaWn, <br />Mining and Safety <br />COC -61209 Modification <br />Township 13 South, Range 91 West, 6th P.M. <br />Section 5: SWNW, NWSW, SWSW, NESW, S /2NESENW, S /2SENW, S /2NWSENW, <br />SWSWNE, S /2NWSWNE, W /2NWSE <br />Section 6: SENE <br />containing 265 acres more or less <br />COC -37210 Modification <br />Township 13 South, Range 92 West, 6th P.M. <br />Section 1: S /2NE, S /2NW, S/2 Lot 1, S/2 Lot 2, S/2 Lot 3, S/2 Lot 4 <br />containing 240.08 acres more or less <br />If BLM decides to modify the leases, the modifications would then be offered by non- <br />competitive sale. The BLM would also identify any needed stipulations to protect non -coal <br />(surface) resources. If the lease modifications are issued, they would serve as tracts for extended <br />underground development and longwall mining, allowing more efficient recovery of federal coal <br />from the existing leases and added recovery from the applied -for tracts. The additional federal <br />coal recovery would extend the life of the current mine by approximately one year. The coal <br />would be transported using Bowie's existing underground belt conveyor system and prepared for <br />