(1) (a) Upon petition pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, the board shall designate an area as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations if the board determines, based upon competent and scientifically sound data and information derived from the data base and inventory system established in section 34-33-130 or from any other source, that reclamation of the subject area pursuant to the requirements of this article is not technically and economically feasible.

(b) Upon petition pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, a surface area may be designated unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations if such operations will:

(I) Be incompatible with state or local land use plans or programs;

(II) Adversely affect fragile or historic lands in which such operations could result in significant damage to important historic, cultural, scientific, or esthetic values or natural systems;

(III) Adversely affect renewable resource lands in which such operations could result in a substantial loss or reduction of long-range productivity of water supply or food or fiber products, such lands to include aquifer and aquifer recharge areas; or

(IV) Affect natural hazard areas in which such operations could substantially endanger life and property, such lands to include areas subject to frequent flooding and areas of unstable geology.

(c) Determination of the unsuitability of land for surface coal mining operations under this section shall be integrated as closely as possible with present and future land use planning, leasing, and regulation processes at the federal, state, and local levels.

(2) (a) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected or any duly authorized governmental agency shall have the right to petition the board to have an area designated as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations or to have such designation terminated. Any such petition which includes acreage identified in a pending permit application pursuant to the requirements of section 34-33-111 (1)(a) shall be filed with the board prior to completion of the informal conference provided for in section 34-33-118 (6) concerning such pending permit application. If no such informal conference is requested with respect to such pending permit application, such petition shall be filed with the board on or before thirty days after the last publication of the notice provided for in section 34-33-118 (2). The petition shall be in writing, shall be directed to the board, and shall contain the following information:

(I) The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner;

(II) The identification, including applicable range and township numbers, of the areas proposed for designation and a brief description of such areas. The petitioner shall make a good faith effort to identify the owners of record of surface and mineral interests in the land proposed for either designation or termination of designation and shall include a list of the names so obtained with the petition.

(III) The identification of the petitioner's interest which is or may be adversely affected;

(IV) Any allegations of fact with supporting evidence which would tend to establish the allegations.

(b) Within thirty days after receipt of the petition, the board shall notify the petitioner in writing as to the completeness or incompleteness of the petition. In the event the petition is deemed incomplete, the petitioner shall be notified in writing of the specific aspects of the petition which render it incomplete and be provided an opportunity to amend, revise, or otherwise make said petition complete.

(c) Within thirty days after the filing of a complete petition, the office shall make a determination of whether any identified coal resources exist in the area covered by the petition, whether the petition is frivolous, and, if the area or part thereof has been the subject of a previous unsuccessful petition to establish or terminate an unsuitability designation, whether any new factual allegations not contained in such previous petition are included in the petition. If the office determines that there are no identified coal resources in the area covered by the petition, the petition shall be returned to the petitioner with a statement of the finding. If the office determines that the petition is frivolous or that no new factual allegations are contained in the petition covering lands which were the subject of a previous unsuccessful petition, the office shall recommend to the board that the petition be dismissed and provide written notice to the petitioner of such recommendation. At its next regularly scheduled meeting following such recommendation of dismissal by the office, but in no event less than thirty days following notice to the petitioner of the office's recommendation, the board shall accept or reject the office's determination after providing the petitioner and other interested parties an opportunity to be heard at such meeting regarding the office's recommendation. If the board accepts the office's determination, the office shall promptly notify the petitioner that the petition has been dismissed and state the reasons therefor.

(d) Within thirty days after the filing of a complete petition, notice of the petition shall be sent by the office to the owners of record of all surface and mineral interests in the land included in such petition, and a copy of the petition shall be available at all times for inspection by the public in the office of the office of active and inactive mines. The office shall include a list of pending petitions in the monthly mailings of the office.

(e) Within ten months after the receipt of a complete petition, the board shall hold a public hearing in the locality of the affected area. At least one month prior to the date of public hearing, the board shall notify, in writing, the owners of all surface and mineral interests in the affected area regarding the time and place of the public hearing as well as the location where a copy of the subject petition may be examined. At least one month prior to the date of the public hearing, the board shall also publish, in a newspaper of general circulation in the area to be affected by the petition, a notice of the public hearing with a description of the area to be affected as well as the location where a copy of the petition may be examined.

(f) A copy of the petition shall be sent to the county clerk and recorder of each county affected by such petition for recording in the real property records of said county and shall be made available for inspection by the public.

(g) After the filing of a petition and no later than fifteen days before the public hearing, any person may intervene. A petition to intervene shall contain allegations and supporting evidence which tends to establish or refute the allegations contained in the petition.

(h) Within sixty days after the public hearing on the petition, the board shall issue and furnish to the petitioner and any other party to the hearing a written decision on the petition and the reasons therefor. Any decision of the board on the petition shall be sent to the county clerk and recorder of each county affected by such petition for recording in the real property records of such counties.

(3) Prior to designating any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations, the board shall prepare and make available for public inspection and copy, at least one month prior to the hearing provided for in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section, a detailed statement on:

(a) The potential coal resources of the area;

(b) The demand for coal resources; and

(c) The impact of such designation on the environment, the economy, and the supply of coal.

(4) The requirements of this section shall not apply to federal lands or to lands on which surface coal mining operations were being conducted on August 3, 1977, or under a permit issued pursuant to this article, or where substantial legal and financial commitments in such operations were in existence prior to January 4, 1977.