2011-11-14_REVISION - C1981022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region P.O. Box 25127 Lakewood, CO 80225 -0127 Delivery: 740 Simms Street Golden, CO 80401 Voice: 303 -275 -5350 TDD: 303 -27 5 -5367 Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper File Code: 1570 -1 Date: Route To: Subject: ARO Recommendation – Federal Coal Lease COC -61357 Modification Tract 5 , Appeal #11 -02 -00 -0 52 (215 ) Paonia Ranger District, Grand Mesa -Uncompahgre - Gunnison National Forests To: Appeal Deciding Officer As the designated Appeal Reviewing Officer, this is my recommendation on disposition of the appeal filed by lead appellant Jeremy Nich ols of WildEarth Guardians under the regulations at 36 CFR 215. Forest Supervisor Richmond signed the Decision Noti ce and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Federal Coal Lease COC -61357 Modification Tract 5 on August 3 , 2011 , and a legal notice of the decision was published in the newspaper of record on August 10 , 2011 . M y recommendation is based on the appeal and the decision documentation (36 CFR 215.18(a)). BACKGROUND The Decision Notice (D N ) and FONSI are based on the Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyze d the impacts of modifying F ederal C oal L ease COC -61357 by adding a pproximately 157 acres for an estimated 35,000 to 235,000 tons of coal on the Paonia Ranger District in response to an application received by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM ) Colorado State Office from Oxbow Mining, LLC (OMLLC). The mine plan prepared by OMLLC proposed rem oval of the estimated coal reserves over a period of approximately two days to three weeks. The EA was prepared by the Grand Mesa -Uncompahgre -Gunnison National Forests (USFS), Uncompahgre Field Office of the BLM , and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to analyze the impacts of modifying the coal lease. Th e EA also incorporate d , by reference , previous analysis documented in the North Fork Coal Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision of Mar ch 30, 2000. The coal lease modification area , COC 61357, North East Lease Modification, Tract 5, D -Seam , lies in portions of Sections 32 and 33, T. 12 S ., R. 90 W., 6th PM , Gunnison County, Colorado. The modification area includes National Forest System (NFS) surface lands managed by the USFS , Paonia Ranger District . The coal estate is administered by the BLM. Previous lease modifications (Tracts 1, 2, 3 and 4) have accounted for 498.66 acres of the total 960 acres available for modification. With Tract 5 (156.77 acres), the remain ing a rea available for lease modification is 304.57 acres. The BLM is require d, by law, to consider leasing f ederally -owned minerals for economic recovery. With respect to NFS lands , the Forest Service must consider consenting to the BLM