UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

This mining plan approval document is issued by the United States of America to: 

Western Fuels Wyoming, Inc.

3629 N. Garner Lake Road 

Gillette, WY 82718 

for a mining plan modification for Federal Lease WYW0311810 at the Dry Fork Mine. This 

mining plan approval supplements all previous mining plan approvals for the Dry Fork Mine. 

The approval is subject to the following conditions. Western Fuels Wyoming, Inc. is hereinafter 

referred to as the operator.

1. Statutes and Regulations: This mining plan approval is issued pursuant to Federal Lease 

WYW0311810; the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); and in 

the case of acquired lands, the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended 

(30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). This mining plan approval is subject to all applicable laws and 

regulations of the Secretary of the Interior which are now or hereafter in force; and all such 

laws and regulations are made part hereof. The operator shall comply with the provisions of 

the Federal Water Pollution and Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 

U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and other applicable Federal laws. 

2. This document approves the mining plan modification for Federal Lease WYW0311810 

at the Dry Fork Mine and authorizes coal development or mining operations on the Federal 

Lease within the area of mining approval. This authorization expands the approved mining 

plan area into the following Federal coal lands: 

WYW0311810 

 T. 50 N., R. 71 W. 6th P.M. Wyoming, 

Sec. 5: NW1/4SW1/4, NW1/4 and in portions of the SW1/4SW1/4, 

E1/2SW1/4, NW1/4SE1/4 and W1/2NE1/4; 

Sec. 6: E1/2 

 

These lands in Federal Lease WYW0311810 encompass 656.36 acres and are found on the 

United States Geological Service 7.5 minute Quadrangle map of Gillette East, as shown in 

the map appended hereto as Attachment A.

3. The operator shall conduct coal development or mining operations only as described in 

the complete permit application package, and approved by the Wyoming Department of 

Environmental Quality, Land Quality Division, except as otherwise directed in the conditions 

of this mining plan approval. 
4. The operator shall comply with the terms and conditions of the Lease, this mining plan 

approval, and the requirements of Wyoming Permit No. 599 issued under the Wyoming State 

Program, approved pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 

U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).

5. This mining plan approval shall be binding on any person conducting coal development or 

mining operations under the approved mining plan and shall remain in effect until 

superseded, canceled, or withdrawn. 

6. If, during mining operations, unidentified prehistoric resources are discovered, the operator 

shall ensure that the resources are not disturbed and shall notify the Land Quality Division 

and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The operator shall take 

such actions as are required by the Land Quality Division in coordination with the Office of 

Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

7. The Secretary retains jurisdiction to modify or cancel this approval, as required, on the basis 

of further consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Attachment