2011-10-17_REVISION - C1980007 (2)

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September 8, 2008 that one cultural resources site has been recorded in the PR -14 project area. The site has been recommended as not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, but adverse effects to this site should be avoided until the site can be reevalauated and officially determined if it is eligible for listing. The letter was forwarded to MCC who acknowledged existence of the site by email on September 25, 2008 (which is in the PR -14 file). MCC has committed to stopping work wherever cultural or archaeological resources are discovered during surface disturbing activities until the State Historical Preservation Officer can provide consultation (Section 2.04.4 of the permit application). As for most of Colorado, the PR -14 project area has not been fully inventoried for cultural resources and the activities approved in PR -14 have the potential to affect unidentified cultural resources. The State Historic Preservation Office indicated in a letter to the Division, dated February 15, 2011, that a finding of no historic properties affected is appropriate for Permit Renewal RN -06 because no new surface disturbance is proposed. Geology - Rules 2.04.5 and 2.04.6 The applicant describes the geology of the permit and adjacent area in Section 2.04.5 of the permit document. Additional information is detailed on Map 9, which details the geology of the lease area, as well as the coal outcrop line and the strike and dip of the F and B Seams. Stratigraphic information is shown on Maps 10 through 23. The permit area lies on the southeast margin of the Piceance Basin and just south of Grand Mesa. The general geology of this area consists of gently (three to five degrees) north- northeast dipping beds of sandstone, shale, and coal of upper Cretaceous and early Tertiary age. The geologic formations exposed in the North Fork Drainage Basin consist of Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary Age sedimentary strata, Tertiary Age igneous intrusives, and Quaternary Age alluvial and colluvial deposits. The units are described below in ascending order. The Mancos Shale is the oldest stratum exposed in the region, and is of Late Cretaceous Age. This unit is composed of over 4,000 feet of gray marine shales and minor interbedded buff sandstones. This unit is highly erodible and unstable. Erosion and oversteepening of slopes in this formation produce the numerous rock falls and landslides observed in the lower North Fork Drainage Basin (Junge, 1978). The Mesaverde Formation is of Late Cretaceous Age and conformably overlies the Mancos Shale. This formation consists of approximately 2,300 feet of marine and terrestrial sedimentary rocks. The Mesaverde Formation is the coal - bearing formation in the region and is divided into four main members; the Rollins Sandstone, the Lower Coal Bearing (Bowie) Member, the Upper Coal Bearing (Paonia) Member, and the Barren (Undifferentiated) Member (Johnson, 1948). The Rollins Sandstone is a white to buff - colored, well sorted, medium- to fine- grained sandstone, ranging from 150 feet to 300 feet thick. This sandstone is regionally extensive and resistant in outcrop and forms prominent cliffs. 7