(1) Any person desiring to obtain a permit to perform surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall make written application therefor to the office on forms approved by the board. Each application shall be submitted pursuant to the provisions of this article and shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars, plus ten dollars for each acre of affected land; except that such fee shall not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars and shall not exceed the actual or anticipated cost of reviewing, administering, and enforcing such permit issued pursuant to this article. The board shall develop procedures so as to enable the cost of the fee to be paid over the term of the permit. All fees collected under the provisions of this article shall be deposited in the general fund.

(2) The permit application shall include the following:

(a) The name of the applicant and the address and telephone number of the general office andthe local office of the applicant;

(b) The names and addresses of:

(I) Every legal owner of record of the property (surface and mineral) to be mined;

(II) The holders of record of any leasehold interests in the property;

(III) Any purchaser of record of the property under a real estate contract;

(IV) The operator, if he is a person different from the applicant;

(V) The owners of record of all surface and subsurface property interests adjacent to any part of the permit area;

(c) If any of the entities described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection (2) are business entities other than a single proprietor, the names and addresses of the principals, officers, and resident agent;

(d) A statement of any current or previous surface coal mining permits held by the applicant for operations in the United States and the permit identification in each pending application;

(e) If the applicant is a partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity, where applicable, the names and addresses of every officer, partner, director, or person performing a function similar to a director, of the applicant, together with the name and address of any person owning of record ten percent or more of any class of voting stock of the applicant and a list of all names under which the applicant, partner, or principal shareholder previously operated a surface coal mining operation in the United States within the five-year period preceding the date of submission of the application;

(f) A statement of whether the applicant or any subsidiary, affiliate, or person controlled by or under common control with the applicant has ever held any federal or state mining permit for surface coal mining operations which, in the five-year period prior to the date of submission of the application, has been suspended or revoked or has had a mining bond or similar security deposited in lieu of bond forfeited and, if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved;

(g) A copy of the applicant's notification to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed site at least once a week for four successive weeks, which notification shall include the names of every legal owner of record of property (surface and mineral) in the proposed site, a description of the exact location and boundaries of the proposed site sufficient so that the proposed operation is readily locatable by local residents, and the location at which the application is available for public inspection;

(h) A description of the type and method of surface coal mining operation that exists or is proposed, the engineering techniques used or proposed, and the equipment used or proposed;

(i) The anticipated or actual starting and termination dates of each phase of the surface coal mining operation and the number of acres of land to be affected;

(j) An accurate map or plan, of an appropriate scale, clearly showing the land to be affected as of the date of the application and the area of land within the permit area upon which the applicant has the legal right to enter and commence surface coal mining operations and a statement of those documents upon which the applicant bases such legal right to enter and commence surface coal mining operations on the area affected and whether that right is the subject of pending court litigation; except that nothing in this article shall be construed as vesting in the board or office the jurisdiction to adjudicate property rights disputes;

(k) The name of the watershed and location of the surface stream or tributary into which surface and pit drainage will be discharged;

(l) A determination of the probable hydrologic consequences of the surface coal mining and reclamation operations, both on and off the mine site, with respect to the hydrologic regime and the quantity and quality of water in surface and groundwater systems, including the dissolved and suspended solids under seasonal flow conditions and the collection of sufficient data for the mine site and surrounding areas, so that an assessment can be made by the office of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated mining in the area upon the hydrology of the area and particularly upon water availability;

(m) When requested by the office, the climatological factors that are unique to the locality of the land to be affected, including the average seasonal precipitation, the average direction and velocity of prevailing winds, and the seasonal temperature ranges;

(n) Accurate maps or plans, of an appropriate scale, clearly showing the land to be affected as of the date of application and all types of information set forth on topographical maps of the United States geological survey of a scale of one to twenty-four thousand or one to twenty-five thousand or larger, including all manmade features and significant known archeological sites existing on the date of application. Such maps or plans shall show, among other things specified by the office, all boundaries of the land to be affected, the boundary lines and names of present owners of record of all surface areas abutting the permit area, and the location of all buildings within one thousand feet of the permit area.

(o) Cross sections, maps, or plans of the land to be affected, including the actual area to be mined, prepared by or under the direction of and certified by a qualified licensed professional engineer or professional geologist, showing pertinent elevation and location of test borings or core samplings and depicting the following: The nature and depth of the various strata of overburden; the location of subsurface water, if encountered, and its quality; the nature and thickness of any coal or rider seam above the coal seam to be mined; the nature of the stratum immediately beneath the coal seam to be mined; all coal crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal to be mined, within the area of land to be affected; existing or previous surface mining limits; the location and extent of known workings of any underground mines, including mine openings to the surface; the location of aquifers; the estimated elevation of the water table; the location of spoil, waste, or refuse areas and topsoil preservation areas; the location of all impoundments for waste or erosion control; the location of any settling or water treatment facility; the location of constructed or natural drainways and the location of any discharges to any surface body of water on the area of land to be affected or adjacent thereto; and profiles at appropriate cross sections of the anticipated final surface configuration that will be achieved pursuant to the operator's proposed reclamation plan;

(p) A statement of the result of test borings or core samplings from the permit area, including logs of the drill holes; the thickness of the coal seam; and an analysis of the chemical and physical properties, including sulphur content, of such coal; a chemical analysis of potentially acid-forming or toxic-forming sections of the overburden; and a chemical analysis of the stratum lying immediately underneath the coal to be mined; except that the provisions of this paragraph (p) may be waived by the board or office with respect to the specific application by a written determination that such requirements are unnecessary; and

(q) For those lands in the permit application which a reconnaissance inspection suggests may be prime farmlands, a soil survey made or obtained according to standards established by the secretary of the United States department of agriculture in order to confirm the exact location of such prime farmlands, if any.

(3) Each applicant shall be required to submit to the office as part of the permit application a reclamation plan which shall meet the requirements of this article.

(4) Each applicant shall file a copy of the application for public inspection with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the surface coal mining operations are proposed to occur, or any other public office, subject to regulations issued by the board, except for that information pertaining to the coal seam itself.

(5) Each applicant shall be required to submit to the office as part of the permit application evidence that the applicant has satisfied other state or federal self-insurance requirements or a certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the United States certifying that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force for the surface coal mining and reclamation operations for which such permit is sought. Such policy shall provide for personal injury and property damage protection in an amount adequate to compensate any persons damaged as a result of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, including use of explosives, and entitled to compensation under the applicable provisions of state law. Such policy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the term of the permit or any renewal, including the term of all reclamation operations.

(6) Each applicant shall submit to the office as part of the permit application a blasting plan which shall outline the procedures and standards by which the operator will meet the provisions of section 34-33-120 (2)(o).

(7) Information pertaining to coal seams, test borings, core samplings, or soil samples as required by this section shall be made available to any person with an interest which is or may be adversely affected; except that information which pertains to the quantity of coal or the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the coal (excepting that information which the office reasonably believes to concern a mineral or elemental content which is potentially toxic in the environment) shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of public record.

(8) The permit application, including the reclamation plan, shall contain such other information, in addition to that required by this section or by section 34-33-111, or regulations promulgated thereunder, as the office deems necessary; except that requests by the office for such additional information shall be based upon good cause shown in terms of site specific needs and shall bear a reasonable relationship to the purposes and provisions of this article. Any applicant or operator shall have the right, at any regular meeting of the board, upon proper notice, to seek the informal opinion of the board concerning any information request or requirement made by the office in connection with the permit application or reclamation plan contained therein, and such informal opinion shall not be binding on any of the parties.