2012-08-07_REVISION - C1982056 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Peabod Ili 1111 ENERGY Twentymile Coal, LLC Mr. Jason Musick, Environmental Protection Specialist Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 (303) 866 -3567 Ext, 8134 29515 Routt County Road 27 Oak Creek, CO 80467 970.879.3800 p ,CE1Ve my 31, 2012 AUG 07 2012 Division of Reclamation, Mining & Safety RE: Twentymile Coal, LLC, Foidel Creek Mine (C -82 -056) — Permit Revision (PR12 -09) for Western Mining District Mine Plan Modification Dear Mr. Musick: Twentymile Coal, LLC (TC) respectfully requests CDRMS approval of a Permit Revision to our existing approved Permit, to modify our approved mine plan for the Western Mining District (WMD) to add an additional longwall panel, the 11 -Left Panel, and to include extension of the 12 -Left and 13- Left Panels, and the associated development and mining of additional coal reserves. The additional panel, and panel extensions of to the west, will also require modification of the Permit Area boundary to encompass the extension areas, associated coal leases, and potential related subsidence areas, adding approximately 560 acres to the Mine Permit Area. Mining limits were initially established for the western edge of the WMD based on available information on coal structure and faulting in this area. Subsequent mining and additional surface and underground drilling have resulted in better definition of structural constraints and location and definition of faults and fault offsets. This additional information indicates that longwall panels can safely be extended further to the west and south, increasing the minable coal reserves, extending mine life, and resulting in extraction of additional coal which otherwise would never be recovered. Activities under the proposed mine plan modification will be limited to underground continuous -miner development and longwall mining, and will not require construction of any new surface facilities. Preliminary mine development (Phase I) in the WMD (Panels 17 through 18 Left), was addressed in the PRO6 -07 Permit Revision submittal (approved 01/02/07), with subsequent minor modifications to adjust alignment and configuration consistent with geologic controls, under TR07 -63 (approved 11/01/07). Phase II development activities, extending to, but not including, the un- leased (at the time) Federal coal reserves in Sections 21 and 22, T5N, R87W, were approved (10/03/08) under TR07 -64. TC subsequently acquired Federal Coal Lease No. COC- 72980, and submitted and obtained approval (10/30/09) of PRO9 -08 addressing Phase III development and longwall mining for the remainder of the WMD. This Permit Revision submittal tiers off of the previous permit approvals, and includes a Federal Coal Lease Modification (modification to Federal Lease COC- 72980) to add 40 acres of Federal coal (submitted on 04/20/12), a Federal Coal Lease Application, to be submitted within the next two weeks, adding another 100 acres of Federal Coal, and a new fee coal lease. This submittal includes revised PAP text and supporting materials, as identified by the attached Summary of Revisions /Additions. Please note that since this Permit Revision application only addresses underground development and mining, and will involve no surface disturbance, there are no