Laserfiche WebLink
HT Or <br />PQSet• CS FA <br />CF�y <br />a� y� United States Department of the Interior <br />O m Z <br />% X W <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />�gRCH 3,� RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT 9r%N ANDES° <br />Western Region Office <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />June 30, 2016 <br />Tabetha N. Lynch <br />RECEIVED <br />Colorado Dep. of Reclamation and Mining Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />JUL 12016 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />DMS10N OF RECLAMATION <br />Dear Ms. Lynch, <br />m N} G AND SAFETY <br />Thank you for your letter dated March 3, 2016, requesting a determination from the Office of Surface Mining <br />Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) as to whether or not the technical revision (TR) 115, for the Trapper <br />Mine, requires a mining plan modification approval from the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals <br />Management (ASLM). According to your letter, TR -115 responded in part to a recent mid-term review, it <br />also updated the post mining topography for the K Strike Pit adding 49.7 acres of disturbance outside of the <br />currently approved disturbance area. <br />At the time the letter was received, OSMRE was in the process of preparing an environmental assessment <br />(EA) for the Trapper Mine. The EA was part of a court approved Joint Proposed Remedy, proposed by <br />OSMRE, Trapper Mining Inc., and WildEarth Guardians that was created in response to the May 8, 2015, <br />United States District Court for the District of Colorado, court order 104 F. Supp. 3d 1208 (D Colo. 2015). <br />The court order identified deficiencies in OSMRE's 2009 environmental analysis conducted for Federal Coal <br />Leases C-07519 and C-079641. <br />The Trapper Mine, Federal Coal Leases C07519 and C079641, Mining Plan Modification EA (2016) <br />analyzed current and future planned mining operations from July 1, 2015, associated with C-07519 and C- <br />079641 including the addition of 49.7 acres of disturbance associated with TR -115. The Finding of No <br />Significant Impact associated with the EA was signed on April 29, 2016. Subsequently, OSMRE submitted <br />to the ASLM a mining plan decision document (MPDD) recommending approval of the mining plan <br />modification, including current and future mining operations at the Trapper Mine associated with Federal <br />Coal Leases C-07519 and C-079641. The mining plan modification was approved by the ASLM on April 29, <br />2016. <br />In summary, TRA 15 does not require a separate mining plan modification approval from the ASLM because <br />the action was included in the April 2016 MPDD and mining plan modification approval described above. If <br />you have any further questions, please contact Nicole Caveny at 303-293-5078 or ncaveny@osmre.gov. <br />Sincerely, <br />Marcelo Calle, Manager <br />Field Operations Branch <br />