Effective 09 May 1980, see footnote

444.820. Permit fees — contents of application — confidential items — copy to be filed with recorder of deeds — insurance required. — 1. Each application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee:

(1) For new surface coal mining permits there shall be an initial fee of one hundred dollars, plus an acreage fee of either thirty-five dollars or such different amount as determined by regulation of the commission, for each acre or fraction thereof of the permit area. Any acreage fee determined by the commission shall reflect the costs of administering and enforcing this law and the regulations adopted hereunder, making allowance for federal grants and other sources of funds, surplus moneys in the mined land conservation fund credited to this law, and contingencies. For multiple-year permits, the acreage fee shall be paid annually by dividing the total acres in the permit area by the number of years covered by the permit and multiplying that number by that year's acreage fee, and, after the first year, there shall be an annual fee of one hundred dollars. For the first year of any new permit, the first year's fees shall be paid with the permit application. Thereafter, through the term of the permit, the annual fee and acreage fee shall be paid as a condition to and prior to operating for that permit year. The acreage fee shall be paid only once on any given acre, except in the case of a revocation; and an allowance shall be given for any acreage fee previously paid for a permit under sections 444.500 to 444.755 when the land was not disturbed under said permit;

(2) For permit renewal there shall be a basic fee of one hundred dollars for each year of renewal, to be paid annually;

(3) For permit revision there shall be a basic application fee of one hundred dollars;

(4) For application of a successor to a permit there shall be a basic fee of one hundred dollars;

(5) For coal exploration permits there shall be an application fee of one hundred dollars;

(6) For surface effects of underground mining there shall be a fee determined as in subdivision (1) of this subsection;

(7) For reinstatement of a permit after suspension there shall be a fee of one hundred dollars;

(8) Any land disturbed subsequent to revocation of a permit which included such land, shall require a new permit application and fees paid as determined in subdivision (1) of this subsection, whether such land is to be disturbed by the same operator or a different operator.

2. The permit application shall be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the commission or the director and shall contain among other things:

(1) The names and addresses of:

(a) The permit applicant;

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

(c) The holders of record of any leasehold interest in the property;

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

(e) The operator if he is a person different from the applicant; and

(f) If any of these are business entities other than a single proprietor, the names and addresses of the principals, officers, and resident agent;

(2) The names and addresses of the owners of record of all surface and subsurface areas adjacent to any part of the permit area;

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

(4) If the applicant is a partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity, the following 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, 10 percentum 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 mining operation within the United States within the five-year period preceding the date of submission of the application;

(5) A statement of whether the applicant, any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control with the applicant, has ever held a federal or state mining permit 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, an explanation of the facts involved;

(6) A copy of the applicant's advertisement 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, and which includes the ownership, 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 of where the application is available for public inspection;

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

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

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

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

(11) A determination of the probable hydrologic consequences of the mining and reclamation operations, both on and off the mine site, with respect to the hydrologic regime, quantity and quality of water in surface and ground water 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 commission of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated mining in the area upon the hydrology of the area and particularly upon water availability; provided, however, that this determination shall not be required until such time as hydrologic information on the general area prior to mining is made available from an appropriate federal or state agency or person qualified by training or experience to develop such information; provided further, that the permit shall not be approved until such information is available and is incorporated into the application;

(12) When requested by the commission, the climatological factors that are peculiar 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;

(13) Accurate maps to an appropriate scale clearly showing (a) the land to be affected as of the date of application and (b) all types of information set forth on topographical maps of the United States Geological Survey of a scale of 1:24,000 or 1:25,000 or larger, including all manmade features and significant known archeological sites existing on the date of application. Such a map or plan shall, among other things specified by the commission, show 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;

(14) Cross-section 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 registered professional engineer, or qualified registered land surveyor, or professional geologist with assistance from experts in related fields such as land surveying and landscape architecture, showing pertinent elevation and location of test borings or core samplings and depicting the following information: 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 mineral 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; any settling or water treatment facility; 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;

(15) 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 found, an analysis of the chemical properties of such coal; the sulfur content of any coal seam; chemical analysis of potentially acid or toxic forming sections of the overburden; and chemical analysis of the stratum lying immediately underneath the coal to be mined except that the provisions of this subdivision may be waived by the commission with respect to the specific application by a written determination that such requirements are unnecessary;

(16) For those lands in the permit application which a reconnaissance inspection suggests may be prime farm lands, a soil survey shall be made or obtained according to standards established by the United States Secretary of Agriculture in order to confirm the exact location of such prime farm lands, if any;

(17) The written consent of the applicant and any other persons necessary to grant access to the commission or the director to the area of land affected under application from the date of application until the expiration of any permit granted under the application and thereafter for such time as is necessary to assure compliance with all provisions of this law or any rule or regulation promulgated under them.

3. 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; provided, that information which pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the coal (excepting information regarding such mineral or elemental content which is potentially toxic in the environment) shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of public record.

4. If the commission finds that the probable total annual production at all locations of any coal surface mining operator will not exceed one hundred thousand tons, the determination of probable hydrologic consequences required by subdivision (11) of subsection 2 and the statement of the result of test borings or core samplings required by subdivision (15) of subsection 2 of this section shall, upon the written request of the operator, be performed by a qualified public or private laboratory designated by the commission, and the cost of the preparation of such determination and statement shall be assumed by the commission.

5. Each applicant for a permit shall be required to submit to the commission as part of the permit application a reclamation plan which shall meet the requirements of this law.

6. Each applicant for a permit shall, simultaneous to filing with the commission, file a copy of his application for public inspection with the recorder of deeds at the courthouse of the county where the mining is proposed to occur, except for that information pertaining to the coal seam itself.

7. Each applicant for a permit shall be required to submit to the commission as part of the permit application a certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the state certifying that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force for the surface 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. Such policy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the terms of the permit or any renewal, including the length of all reclamation operations.

8. Each applicant for a permit shall submit to the commission 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 subdivision (15) of subsection 2 of section 444.855.

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(L. 1979 H.B. 459, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1839)

Effective 5-09-80

CROSS REFERENCE:

Additional information to be filed with application, 444.835