2013-02-01_REVISION - C1981041 (8)

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agriculture (OSM, June, 1985 "Reconnaissance Maps to Assist in Identifying Alluvial Valley Floors, West - Central Colorado'). Potential AVF areas within and adjacent to the permit area are addressed below. See Tab 21 of the application for further information. Facilities Area The permittee identified approximately 500 acres of land within the reconnaissance study area that meet the geomorphic criteria for alluvial valley floors. This land is located adjacent to the Colorado River. The permittee noted, on Exhibit 33 of the application, that a portion of this land is subirrigated and a portion was historically flood irrigated. The permittee has demonstrated that a large portion of the alluvial valley floor meets the requirement for a "grandfathering" exemption. The Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act of 1979 allows an exemption from interrupting, precluding, or discontinuing farming and from effects on the quantity and quality of water supplying the alluvial valley floor, if, in the year preceding August 3, 1977, the surface coal mining operations either produced coal in commercial quantities and were located within or adjacent to an alluvial valley floor, or had obtained permit approval to conduct surface coal mining operations within an alluvial valley floor. The geographic extent of the exemption is limited to the actual extent of mine workings as of August 3, 1977, and adjacent lands for which there existed (at that time) substantial demonstrable financial or regulatory commitment to mine in the future, as required by Rule 2.06.8(5)(a)(i)(B) in the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining. The permittee provided copies of permits for the Roadside and Cameo Mines, which were obtained in December 1976 and January 1977. Therefore, those lands permitted are eligible for the "grandfather" exemption. These lands include those portions of the permit area within Sections 27, 28, 33 and 34, TIOS, R98W. This area includes the entire affected alluvial valley floor, with the exception of that portion in Section 26. However, that portion of Section 26 within the permit area as noted in Exhibit 33 was disturbed as part of construction of the unit train loadout prior to August 3, 1977, and therefore is eligible for the "grandfathering" exemption. Alluvial Valley Floor — Findings (Facilities Area) Those portions of the permit area within Sections 26, 27, 28, 33 and 34 are exempt from the requirements that prevent an operation from interrupting, discontinuing, or precluding farming, and from affecting the quantity and quality of water supplying the alluvial valley floor (4.24.30)). However, this area is not exempt from the requirements for restoring the essential hydrologic functions of the alluvial valley floor, which will be discussed below, in Item 3. All of the non - exempt alluvial valley floor is located outside the permit area within Section 26 and 27. No portion of the non - exempt alluvial valley floor is presently disturbed by the mining operation. A small portion of this area is indicated as being historically flood irrigated on Exhibit 33. There are no plans to disturb any additional land on the alluvial valley floor. Therefore, the proposed coal mining operation will not interrupt, discontinue, or preclude farming on the alluvial valley floor 52