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<br />" ' STATE OF COLORADO
<br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY
<br />Department of Natural Resources
<br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215
<br />COLORADO
<br />Denver, Colorado 80203 D I V I S I O N OF
<br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 RECLAMATION
<br />FAX: (303) 832-8106 MINING
<br />
<br /> SAFETY
<br />February 12, 2008
<br /> Bill Ritter, Jr.
<br />Executive Director Governor
<br />Western Slope Environmental Resource Council Harris D. Sherman
<br />P.O. Box 1612 Executive Director
<br />Paonia, CO 81428 Ronald W. Cattany
<br /> Division Director
<br />Re: Bowie No. 2 Mine (Permit No. C-1996-083) Natural Resource Trustee
<br />Permit Revision Application No. 11 (PR-11)
<br />Northern Extension of B-Seam Mine Plan, Federal Coal Lease Modification
<br />Dear Executive Director:.
<br />The Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety hereby issues notice, in accordance with Title 34, Article 33, Section 118, Paragraph 3, of the
<br />Colorado Revised Statutes, that on February 12, 2008, an application to revise coal mining operations at the Bowie No. 2 Mine was considered
<br />complete for the purposes of filing. All review and comment periods as provided in the Act and the Regulations initiate from this date of filing.
<br />In Permit Revision No. 11 (PR-11), Bowie Resources LLC (BRL) is proposing to revise its approved mine plan by extending mining of the B-
<br />seam coal to the north. The revised mine plan is needed due to difficult mining conditions. The current mine plan involves longwall panels that
<br />trend generally east-west and are located just south of Dove Gulch. The effects from subsidence are at least one mile from the Bruce Park Dam
<br />and the Terror Creek Reservoir. In PR-I 1, BRL is proposing longwall panels that trend generally north-south and extend northward under Dove
<br />Gulch and beyond the currently approved northern permit boundary. The effects of subsidence would be within 1370 feet of the Bruce Park Dam
<br />and within 750 feet of the Terror Creek Reservoir. BRL has applied for a Federal coal lease modification to Federal coal lease COC 61209 for this
<br />additional northern area, which would increase the permit area by about 560 acres. A cultural resource survey is planned for the lease
<br />modification area.
<br />The mine plan change proposed in PR-11 supersedes the mine plan change that had been proposed in Permit Revision No. 10 (PR-10), which is
<br />currently under review. However, PR-10 also contains a general proposal to mine within one mile of the Bruce Park Dam and the Terror Creek
<br />Reservoir and to set up an accompanying seismic and subsidence monitoring program. Therefore, the review of PR-10, as it relates to this general
<br />proposal, will continue.
<br />The proposed mine plan change in PR-11 is associated with surface lands that are owned or managed by BRL, the Bureau of Land Management
<br />(BLM) and the USDA-Forest Service. The coal is managed by the BLM. Other than the effects of mine-induced subsidence and seismicity, no
<br />surface disturbance is proposed in PR-11. No increase in the rate of coal production and no increase in water consumption are proposed in PR-11
<br />either.
<br />The underground coal mining operation is on land located approximately 5 miles northeast of Paonia, Colorado. The permit area is further
<br />described as follows: Portions of Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, and 22, Township 13 South, Range 91 West of the 6th P.M.
<br />Portions of Sections 33 and 34, Township 12 South, Range 91 West of the 6th P.M. The above-mentioned tracts of land are shown on USGS 7.5
<br />minute Quadrangle map of Bowie.
<br />A copy of the revision application is available for public inspection at the Paonia Public Library, 140 Grand Avenue, Paonia, CO 81428, and at
<br />the Division office. For additional information, to provide written comments, or to request an informal conference, contact the Division of
<br />Reclamation, Mining and Safety, Room 215, 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado 80203, (303) 866-3567, within thirty (30) days after the
<br />last public notice in the Delta County Independent.
<br />Sincerely,
<br />Hph Envi
<br />ronmental Protection Specialist
<br />C-PR-05C1996083 JJD 02122008033728.doc
<br />Office of Office of
<br />Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines
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