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n Unit~States Department of the~terior OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING Reclamation and Enforcement BROOKS TOWERS OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR 1020 15TH STREET DENVER, COLORADO 80202 Rio Blanco County Commissioners and Mr. Harris D. Sherman Arnold & Porter 1660 Lincoln Street Denver, Colorado 80264 Dear Mr. Sherman: iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii The Rio Blanco County Commissioners petition to designate the land encompassed by the proposed Western Fuels-Utah, Inc. Deserado Mine unsuitable for surface mining operation was received in this office at 5:00 p.m., May 8, 1981. A public notice appeared in the "Rangely Times" on February 19 and 26, 1981, announcing the receipt of an application from Western Fuels-Utah, Inc., pro- posing to mine Federal coal at the Deserado Mine. This notice stated that comments would be received until March 6, 1981. The procedures of 30 CFR 769.14(1) provide that: "(i) Any petitions received after the close of the public comment period on the notice of availability of a mine plan under 30 CFR 211.5(b) or on a permit application relating to the same mine plan area shall not prevent the Assistant Secretary, Energy and Minerals, from approving a mine plan or the Director from issuing a decision on a permit application. The Regional Director may return any petitions received thereafter to the petitioner with a statement why the Regional Director cannot consider the petition. For the purposes of this Section, close of the public comment period for the purposes of permanent program permits shall mean at the close of any informal conference held under 30 CFR 786.14 or, if no conference is requested, at the close of the period for filing written comments and objections under 30 CFR 786.12-13." Even though that regulation appears to provide some discretion in whether to accept the petition, the Department has decided as a matter of policy to accept no petitions which have not been timely filed.