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Appeal Deciding Officer <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />• “no surface o ccupancy” stipulation <br /> <br />Appellant states that “[n]either the public nor the decision maker is provided information that <br />would enable them to understand where subsidence or other impacts might occur .” Ho wever, the <br />EA identified past, present and reasonably f oreseeable actions: <br /> <br />EA, 3.1, page 41 : 3.1 Past, Present and Reasonably Foreseeable Actions : <br />With respect to surface disturbance, only subsidence (lowering of the land surface) is <br />expected on the lease modification area; surface facilities are not expected , nor will be <br />allowed. <br /> <br />And, in the North Fork Coal EIS (Tab 4, Section 1.9 ), reasonably foreseeable coal mining <br />activities : …typically, [lease] modifications do not involve any substantial surface disturbance <br />or additional impacts over and above the exist ing operation. <br /> <br />Significance exists if it is reasonable to anticipate a cumulatively significant impact on the <br />environment. I n consenting to authorize BLM to modify the lease area with an additional 157 <br />acres (proposed action), the USFS has determined the re will be little to no surface disturbance , <br />and , therefore , impacts were not determined to be significant within the context or setting of the <br />proposed action. This is also addressed in the Decision Notice (Tab 3). S ubsidence and other <br />surface -related iss ues are covered in the Decision Notice under Appendix B -Stipulations for <br />National Forest System Lands Federal Coal Lease COC -61357 and Appendix C -Federal Coal <br />Lease COC -61357. <br /> <br />In the EA, Response to Comments - Conduct an EIS because the effects are sign ificant : <br />The agencies feel that a proposal that has no impacts or very minimal surface impacts <br />from subsidence [only] is not a significant action requiring the preparation of an EIS. <br /> <br />Also, the Appellant is concerned about whether OMLLC will be allowed to build roads, clear <br />pads, and construct methane drainage wells within the Springhouse Park Roadless Area outside <br />of the Lease Modification area to mine the additional half -million tons of coal. Again, this is <br />covered in the EA (Tab 2) and Decision Notic e (Tab 3). As described in the Decision Notice <br />(Tab 3, Appendix C), consenting to the lease does not result in any direct effects to the land <br />surface of the lease tract. Furthermore, the “n o surface occupancy ” stipulation applies to all NFS <br />lands within t he Springhouse Park Roadless Area . <br /> <br />EA, 1.2, Background of this Lease Modification, pgs 15 -16: <br />… stipulations would be carried forward from the existing (parent) lease including a <br />stipulation for activities in roadless areas… <br /> <br />The coal lease was modified i n December 2008 . Appendix B of the permit includes the <br />stipula tions that were updated on the p arent l ease of 2001 (Tab 7) and in the Decision Notice <br />(Tab 3, Appendix C). One of the stipulation changes included “roadless”, which would apply to <br />the USFS por tion on both the parent and any lease modifications. The area includes the <br />Springhouse Park Inventoried Roadless Area and is subject to applicable restrictions.