Laserfiche WebLink
cc; r zpiiant coal reserves are recovered and not These applications aye being <br />nrocessed according to procedures set forth _ : 43 CI R 3432 <br />The coal lease modification areas lie in portions of sections 10, 11, i4, 15, 22 and 23 of <br />T. 14S., R. 90W., 6th PM in Gunnison County, Colorado. The BLM is required by law <br />to consider leasing Federally -owned minerals for economic recovery The modification <br />areas are within USFS surface lands managed by the GMUG. The coal estate is <br />administered by the BLM. Mineral leases beneath land under the jurisdiction of the <br />USFS may be issued only with the consent of the USFS (43 CFR 3400.3 -1). The USFS <br />is also responsible for prescribing conditions and stipulations for the use and protection <br />of Trion- mineral surface resources and values. <br />Within the lease modification areas, the coal will be accessed and recovered by <br />underground longwall mining methods from the existing West Elk Mine. The coal will <br />be transported using the existing coal transportation system and surface facilities. <br />Under a foreseeable mine plan scenario, surface impacts within these modification areas <br />wil include constructing methane drainage wells (MDWs) and associated access routes <br />required to safely mine the coal resources. These access routes are authorized under the <br />Colorado Roadless Rule (36 CFR Part 294). Methane gas is a byproduct of the process <br />of mining coal. Methane concentrations in excess of 5 can be explosive, and must be <br />removed, most commonly through drainage wells, to keep concentrations below that <br />dangerous level. Specific locations of the MDWs and roads are not known at the leasing <br />stage, and will not be known until specific mine plans are approved by DRMS, BLM, <br />OSM, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) during the mine <br />permitting process subsequent to leasing. <br />On August 2, 2012, the Forest Supervisor signed the USFS ROD that gave consent to the <br />BLM to modify coal leases underlying NFS land and prescribed stipulations to protect <br />non- mineral surface resources. This USFS consent decision was implemented on <br />December 3, 2012 following resolution of an administrative appeal of the USFS FEIS <br />and ROD. On December 17, 2012, the USFS received a 60 -day Notice of Intent to Sue <br />under 16 U.S.C. § 1540(g)(2)(A), which states that WildEarth Guardians plans to <br />challenge the USFS FEIS and ROD. Per 40 CFR 1506.3(d), the BLM acknowledges this <br />Notice of Intent to Sue. <br />The regulations (43 CFR 3400.3 -1) which pertain to leasing of Federal lands <br />administered by a surface management agency outside of the DOI require leases be <br />subject to conditions the other agency may prescribe to insure the use and protection of <br />the lands for the primary purpose for which they are being administered. The purpose of <br />this ROD is for the BLM, as a Cooperating Agency, to formally adopt the GMUG FEIS <br />so that it can provide a basis for NEPA compliance in the BLM's modification of the <br />leases. This BLM ROD also documents the suitability of the FEIS for this purpose. <br />2 <br />