2013-08-13_PERMIT FILE - X201323004 (2)

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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management White River Field Office 220 E Market St Meeker, CO 81641 DECISION RECORD PROJECT NAME: Modification to Blue Mountain Energy Exploration Plan for Exploration License COC74817 DETERMINATION OF NEPA ADEQUACY NUMBER: DOI-BLM-CO-1 10-2012-0110- DNA DECISION It is my decision to implement the Proposed Action, as mitigated in DOI-BLM-CO- 110-2012- 0 1 10-DNA, authorizing the modification to the approved Coal Exploration Plan for Coal Exploration License COC -74817 allowing for the exploratory drilling of up to 14 additional exploration holes with associated surface disturbance for delineation of the coal resources. Mitigation Measures See attached "Conditions of Approval for Coal Exploration License, Blue Mountain Energy COC- 74817 ". COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS & CONFORMANCE WITH THE LAND USE PLAN This decision is in compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. It is also in conformance with the 1997 White River Record of Decision/Approved Resource Management Plan. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Scoping was the primary mechanism used by the BLM to initially identify issues. Internal scoping was initiated when the project was presented to the White River Field Office (WRFO) interdisciplinary team on June 26, 2012. External scoping was conducted by posting this project on the WRFO's on -line National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) register on June 21, 2013. This is in addition to the public involvement for DOI- BLM -CO- 110 - 2011 - 0080 -EA and DOI- BLM-CO- 110-2012-0023 -EA (see number 5 of the NEPA Adequacy Criteria above). RATIONALE .Analysis of the Proposed Action has concluded that there are no significant negative impacts and that it meets Colorado Standards for Public Land Health. The geographic extent and temporal scale that was used to address perceived and anticipated impacts associated with this project included the cumulative analysis of impacts to soil, air, wildlife, vegetation, cultural and paleontological resources that occur or that are expected to occur within the project area. This approach has resulted in a comprehensive review of perceived and anticipated impacts associated with the Proposed Action. The Proposed Action is a logical modification to the approved Coal Decision - DOI-BLM-CO-1 10-2012-01 10-DNA