Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Upon receipt of
an administratively complete application for a permit for a surface coal mining
operation, or an administratively complete application for revision of the
boundaries of a surface coal mining operation permit, the Department must
review the application to determine whether the proposed surface coal mining
operation would be located on any lands protected under Section
1761.11.
b) The Department must reject any portion of
the application that would locate surface coal mining operations on land
protected under Section
1761.11
unless:
1) The site qualifies for the
exception for existing operations under Section
1761.12;
2) A person has valid existing rights for the
land, as determined under Section
1761.16;
3) The applicant obtains a waiver or
exception from the prohibitions of Section
1761.11
in accordance with Sections
1761.14
and
1761.15;
or
4) For lands protected by
Section
1761.11(c),
both the regulatory authority and the agency with jurisdiction over the park or
place jointly approve the proposed operation in accordance with subsection (d)
of this Section.
c)
Location verification. If the Department has difficulty determining whether an
application includes land within an area specified in Section
1761.11(a)
or within the specified distance from a structure or feature listed in Section
1761.11(f)
or (g), the Department must request that the
Federal, State or local governmental agency with jurisdiction over the
protected land, structure, or feature verify the location.
1) The request for location verification
must:
A) Include relevant portions of the
permit application.
B) Provide the
agency with 30 days after receipt to respond, with a notice that another 30
days is available upon request.
C)
Specify that the Department will not necessarily consider a response received
after the comment period provided under subsection (c)(1)(B) of this
Section.
2) If the
agency does not respond in a timely manner, the Department may make the
necessary determination based on available information.
d) Procedures for joint approval of surface
coal mining operations that will adversely affect publicly owned parks or
historic places.
1) If the Department
determines that the proposed surface coal mining operation will adversely
affect any publicly owned park or any place currently included in the National
Register of Historic Places, the Department must request that the Federal,
State or local agency with jurisdiction over the park or place either approve
or object to the proposed operation. The request must:
A) Include a copy of applicable parts of the
permit application.
B) Provide the
agency with 30 days after receipt to respond, with a notice that another 30
days is available upon request.
C)
State that failure to interpose an objection within the time specified under
subsection (d)(1)(B) of this Section will constitute approval of the proposed
operation.
2) The
Department may not issue a permit for a proposed operation subject to
subsection (d)(1) of this Section unless all affected agencies jointly
approve.
3) Subsections (d)(1) and
(d)(2) of this Section do not apply to:
A)
Lands for which a person has valid existing rights, as determined under Section
1761.16.
B) Lands within the scope
of the exception for existing operations in Section 1761.12.