Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Scope. This Section shall apply to any
person or persons who conducts or intends to conduct combined surface mining
activities and underground mining activities, where a variance is requested
from the contemporaneous reclamation requirement of 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1816.100.
b) Application contents for variances. Any
person who desires to obtain a variance under this Section shall file with the
Department complete applications for both the surface mining activities and
underground mining activities which are to be combined. The reclamation and
operation plans for these permits shall contain appropriate narratives, maps,
and plans, which:
1) Show why the proposed
underground mining activities are necessary or desirable to assure maximum
practical recovery of coal;
2) Show
how multiple future disturbances of surface lands or waters will be
avoided;
3) Identify the specific
surface areas for which a variance is sought and the particular Sections of the
Federal Act, 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1700-1850 and the regulatory program from which
a variance is being sought;
4) Show
how the activities will comply with 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1816.79
and other applicable requirements of the regulatory program;
5) Show why the variance sought is necessary
for the implementation of the proposed underground mining activities;
6) Provide an assessment of the adverse
environmental consequences and damages, if any, that will result if the
reclamation of surface mining activities is delayed; and
7) Show how off-site storage of spoil will be
conducted to comply with the requirements of the Federal Act, 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1816.71
through
1816.74,
and the regulatory program.
c) Issuance of permit. A permit incorporating
a variance under this Section may be issued by the Department, if it first
finds, in writing, upon the basis of a complete application filed in accordance
with this Section, that:
1) The applicant has
presented, as part of the permit application, specific feasible plans for the
proposed underground mining activities;
2) The proposed underground mining activities
are necessary or desirable to assure maximum practical recovery of the mineral
resource and will avoid multiple future disturbances of surface land or
waters;
3) The applicant has
satisfactorily demonstrated that the applications for the surface mining
activities and underground mining activities conform to the requirements of the
regulatory program and that all other permits necessary for the underground
mining activities have been issued by the appropriate authorities;
4) The surface area of surface mining
activities proposed for the variance has been shown by the applicant to be
necessary for implementing the proposed underground mining
activities;
5) No substantial
adverse environmental damage, either on-site or off-site, will result from the
delay in completion of reclamation otherwise required by Section 515(b)(16) of
the Federal Act, 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1816 and the regulatory program;
6) The operations will, insofar as a variance
is authorized, be conducted in compliance with the requirements of 62 Ill. Adm.
Code
1816.79
and the regulatory program;
7)
Provisions for off-site storage of spoil will comply with the requirements of
Section 515(b)(22) of the Federal Act, 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1816.71
through
1816.74
and the regulatory program;
8)
Liability under the performance bond required to be filed by the applicant with
the Department pursuant to 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1800 and the regulatory program
shall be for the duration of the underground mining activities and until all
requirements of 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1800 and the regulatory program have been
complied with; and
9) The permit
for the surface mining activities contains specific conditions:
A) Delineating the particular surface areas
for which a variance is authorized;
B) Identifying the applicable provisions of
Section 515 (b) of the Federal Act, 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1816 and the regulatory
program; and
C) Providing a
detailed schedule for compliance with the provisions of this Section.
d) Review of permits
containing variances. Variances granted by permits issued under this Section
shall be reviewed by the Department no later than three (3) years from the
dates of issuance of the permit and any permit renewals.