The Kaiparowits Coal Development and Transportation study resulted from an agreement made by the Secretary of the Interior and Governor Scott Matheson of Utah for a cooperative study by the Department of the Interior and the State of Utah to review the issues raised by potential mining and transportation of coal from the Kaiparowits Plateau. The product of this study was a regional planning document. Information developed provided a foundation to help the state and Federal land managers address important policy questions. The study helped the Department of the Interior, state, and local agencies, and the general public understand basic issues such as whether designation of rail or slurry transportation corridors would conflict with National Park or other Federal land management policies. The study stimulated participating agencies to perform their own analyses of these questions. The study did not look at issues related to mine -mouth use of Kaiparowits coal or economic feasibility of Kaiparowits coal development. Any such questions were addressed in site - specific environmental impact statements resulting from mine development or transportation rights -of -way applications to BLM, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), and other agencies. Federal and state land managers used this report to make a preliminary assessment of the acceptability of impacts and identify mitigation measures or management steps that could be considered. It should be noted that the issue of need for coal development on the Kaiparowits Plateau was not addressed as a part of this study. Present and future demands for coal, potential coal markets, and alternative coal sources in the western United States were not included in the scope of this study as it was defined by the Department of the Interior. The study also provided new environmental analyses (including trade -offs and residual impacts) specifically directed at coal transportation via various planning corridor alternatives.

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