Sec. 63524.

(1) The applicant for a permit or revision of a permit has the burden of establishing that his or her application is in compliance with all the requirements of this part. Within 3 days after the granting of a permit, but before the permit is issued, the department shall notify the county clerk in each county in which the land to be affected is located that a permit has been issued and shall describe the location of the land.

(2) An application for a permit or revision of a permit shall not be approved unless the department finds, in writing, that all the following requirements have been met:

(a) The application is accurate and complete and complies with all of the requirements of this part.

(b) The applicant has demonstrated that reclamation as required by this part can be accomplished under the reclamation plan contained in the application.

(c) An assessment of the probable cumulative impact of all anticipated surface coal mining inside and outside the permit area on the hydrologic balance, including quantitative and qualitative analyses, has been made by the department, and the proposed operation has been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance inside and outside the permit area.

(d) The area proposed to be mined is not included within an area designated unsuitable for surface coal mining pursuant to this part and is not within an area under study for this designation in an administrative proceeding commenced pursuant to this part, unless in the area as to which an administrative proceeding has commenced, the applicant demonstrates that, prior to January 1, 1977, the applicant has made substantial legal and financial commitments in relation to the operation for which the applicant is applying for a permit.

(e) If the ownership of the coal has been severed from the private surface estate, the applicant has submitted to the department either the written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of coal by surface mining methods or a conveyance that expressly grants or reserves the right to extract the coal by surface mining methods. However, if the conveyance does not expressly grant the right to extract coal by surface mining methods, the surface-subsurface legal relationship shall be determined in accordance with state law, except that this part does not authorize the department to adjudicate property rights disputes.

(f) If the department of history, arts, and libraries determines that the proposed surface mining operation will adversely affect a historic resource, the application is approved jointly by the department, by the federal, state, or local agency with jurisdiction over the historic resource, and by the department of history, arts, and libraries.

(3) The applicant shall file, with the application, a schedule listing all notices of violations of this part or other law of this state and any law, rule, or regulation of the United States or of any department or agency in the United States pertaining to air or water environmental protection incurred by the applicant in connection with a surface coal mining operation during the 3-year period prior to the date of application. The schedule shall include the final resolution of notice of the violation. If the schedule or other information available to the department indicates that a surface coal mining operation owned or controlled by the applicant is currently in violation of this part or other laws referred to in this subsection, the permit shall not be issued until the applicant submits affidavits that the violation has been corrected or is in the process of being corrected to the satisfaction of the department or the agency that has jurisdiction over the violation or that the notice of violation is being contested by the applicant. A permit shall not be issued to an applicant after a finding by the department, after opportunity for hearing, that the applicant, or the operator specified in the application, controls or has controlled mining operations with a demonstrated pattern of violations of this part of such nature and duration with such resulting pollution, impairment, or destruction to the environment as to indicate an intent not to comply with this part.

(4) If the area proposed to be mined contains agricultural land, the department shall consult with the director of the department of agriculture and the secretary of the United States department of agriculture and shall not grant a permit to mine on agricultural land unless the department finds in writing that the operator has the technological capability to restore the mined area and any other areas impacted by the surface coal mining operation within a reasonable time to equivalent or higher levels of yield as nonmined agricultural land in the surrounding area under equivalent levels of management, and also finds that the applicant can meet the soil reconstruction standards of this part.

History: Add. 1995, Act 57, Imd. Eff. May 24, 1995 ;-- Am. 2001, Act 78, Eff. Aug. 6, 2001 ;-- Am. 2004, Act 325, Imd. Eff. Sept. 10, 2004 Compiler's Notes: For transfer of powers and duties of department of history, arts, and libraries or the Michigan historical center relating to the identification, certification, and preservation of historical sites to the Michigan state housing development authority, see E.R.O. No. 2009-26, compiled at MCL 399.752.Popular Name: Act 451Popular Name: NREPA