RELEASE OF EA and PUBLIC HEARING ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MOUNTAIN COAL COMPANY LEASE APPLICATION

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service have released an environmental assessment (EA) prepared for a competitive coal lease application for 30-day public review and comment. The coal lease application was submitted by Mountain Coal Company for about 688 acres of federal coal reserves adjacent to the West Elk Mine approximately twelve miles northeast of Paonia in Gunnison County, Colorado.  The purpose of the EA is to evaluate the potential impacts of lease issuance upon the physical and socioeconomic environment, and identify environmental protection measures.  The lease application was made to prevent bypassing mineable federal coal reserves.

The BLM will hold a public hearing on December 15, 2003, at 7:00 PM in the Community Center Room, Paonia Town Hall, 214 Grand Avenue, Paonia, Colorado.  The purpose of the hearing is to obtain comments on the EA, the method of mining to be employed to obtain maximum economic recovery of the coal, and the methods of determining the fair market value of the coal to be offered.  Requests to testify at the hearing can be made by contacting Lynn Lewis at (970) 240-5305. The BLM will consider oral comments in the final environmental assessment.

Copies of the EA are available upon request by contacting Liane Mattson at 970-527-4131, or Lynn Lewis at 970-240-5305.  The EA can also be reviewed at the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office, 2505 S. Townsend Ave., Montrose, Colorado 81401, or the U. S. Forest Service, Paonia Ranger District, North Rio Grande Avenue, Paonia, Colorado 81428.  Written comments on the EA must be received by December 30, 2003, and may be sent to Dave Kauffman, Uncompahgre Basin Resource Area Manager, 2505 S. Townsend, Montrose, Colorado 81401; or Liane Mattson, Paonia Ranger District, P.O. Box 1030, Paonia, CO  81428.  

-BLM-