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A 1869M (~fl-4r1 „ ~ ,~ - C~l - 0 ~ GI c' United States Department of the Interior ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 999 OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING MeraCn~ RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT B ROO fiS TOWERS Tai 1020 lSTH STREET ~ ~ DENVER, COLORADO 80202 In Reply Reler To: Mr. R. G. Atkinson Colowyo Coal Company 5731 State Highway 13 Meeker, Colorado 81641 Dear Mr. Atkinson; February 5, 1988 4441 CO-015 ~~~~~~® ~~8 81988 MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is currently in the process of terminating the Federal permit (CO-0015) issued in February of 1983 for the Colowyo mine. The Federal permit er necessary since this mine is now permitted under State perm C-81-019 pursuant to the State cooperative agreement. During the processing of the Federal permit termination document, one item has come up which needs to be resolved in order for the termination paperwork to continue in an orderly fashion. This item deals with the unpaid "Windy Gap" contribution for the Colowyo mine. On October 19, 1987, OSMRE sent a memo to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) asking for their Biological Opinion concerning the impacts of water depletion on endangered fish species of the Upper Colorado River Basin. This Biological Opinion was to supplement their January 7, 1983 evaluation for Colowyo. We attached a copy of your September 14, 1987 letter to our memo to USFWS. As you recall, your letter requested that the "Windy Gap" process should not apply to the Colowyo mine because of the $75,000 squawfish study previously funded by Colowyo Coal Company. OSMRE asked USFWS to consider this in their evaluation. After careful review the USFWS concluded that the costs enco~.i*!tered to date by Colowyo were for minimizing and offsetting potential impacts to Colorado squawfish, and/or their habitat, as a result of physical disturbance associated with railroad construction. According to the USFWS, it did not appear that operation of the mine, water use, or water depletion were considered during evaluation of the railroad right-of-way. Consequently, the USFWS believes that the impending Federal action (permit termination) is the appropriate time to consider the potential impacts of water depletion on Federally listed fish species.