Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION
Subchapter 17.24.3 - Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act: Definitions and Strip Mine Permit Application Requirements
Rule 17.24.303 - LEGAL, FINANCIAL, COMPLIANCE, AND RELATED INFORMATION
Universal Citation: MT Admin Rules 17.24.303
Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) Each application must contain, in any format prescribed by the department, the following information:
(a) the name, permanent and temporary post
office addresses, telephone numbers, and, as applicable, social security
numbers and employer identification numbers of the applicant, applicant's
resident agent, and the person who will pay the abandoned mine reclamation fee
pursuant to 30 USC
1232;
(b) the location and area of land to be
affected by the operation, with a description of access to the area from the
nearest public highway;
(c) the
names and addresses of legal and equitable owners of record, lessees, and
purchasers under contract for deed of the surface of the area of land to be
affected by the permit and the owners of record and purchasers under contract
for deed of all surface area within one-half mile of any part of the affected
area;
(d) the names and addresses
of the present owners of record and purchasers under contract for deed of all
subsurface minerals in the land to be affected and land contiguous to the land
to be affected;
(e) the names and
addresses of any persons who are engaged in strip or underground mining on
behalf of the applicant and any person who will conduct such operations should
the permit be granted;
(f) a
statement of whether the applicant is a corporation, partnership, single
proprietorship, association or other business entity;
(g) for each person who owns or controls the
applicant under the definition of "owned or controlled" and "owns or controls"
in ARM 17.24.301, as applicable:
(i) the person's name, address, social
security number, and employer identification number;
(ii) the person's ownership or control
relationship to the applicant, including percentage of ownership and location
in organizational structure;
(iii)
the title of the person's position, date position was assumed, and, when
submitted under ARM
17.24.413(4),
date of departure from the position;
(iv) each additional name and identifying
number, including employer identification number, federal or state permit
number, and mine safety and health administration number with date of issuance,
under which the person owns or controls, or previously owned or controlled, a
coal mining and reclamation operation in the United States within the five
years preceding the date of the application; and
(v) the application number or other
identifier of, and the regulatory authority for, any other pending coal mining
operation permit application filed by the person in any state in the United
States;
(h) for any
surface coal mining operations that the applicant or the applicant's operator
owned or controlled within the five-year period preceding the date of the
submission of the application, and for any surface coal mining operation the
applicant or the applicant's operator owns or controls on that date, the
applicant must provide the:
(i) permittee's
and operator's name and address;
(ii) permittee's and operator's taxpayer
identification numbers;
(iii)
federal or state permit number and corresponding Mine Safety and Health
Administration number;
(iv)
regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the permit; and
(v) permittee's and operator's relationship
to the operation, including percentage of ownership and location in the
organizational structure;
(i) for any coal mining operation owned or
controlled by either the applicant or by any person who owns or controls the
applicant, the operation's:
(i) name;
address; identifying numbers, including employer identification numbers,
federal or state permit number, and mine safety and health administration
number; date of issuance of the mine safety and health administration number;
and the regulatory authority; and
(ii) ownership or control relationship to the
applicant, including percentage of ownership and location in organizational
structure;
(j) the name
of the proposed mine and the mine safety and health administration
identification number for the mine and all sections, if any;
(k) a list of all lands, interests in lands,
options, or pending bids on interests held or made by the applicant for lands
which are contiguous to the area to be covered by the permit;
(l) a statement of whether the applicant or
any person associated with the applicant holds or has held any prospecting or
uranium operating permits under the Act and an identification of those
permits;
(m) a certified statement
of whether the applicant, operator, any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons
controlled by or under common control with the applicant or operator, is in
compliance with
82-4-251, MCA, and, if known,
whether any officer, partner, director, or any individual owning of record or
beneficially, alone or with associates, ten percent or more of any class of
stock of the applicant is subject to any of the provisions of
82-4-251, MCA, and whether any of
the foregoing parties or persons have ever had a strip mining or underground
mining license or permit issued by any other state or federal agency revoked or
have ever forfeited a strip mining or underground mining bond or a security
deposited in lieu of a bond and, if so, a detailed explanation of the facts
involved in each case must be attached including:
(i) identification number and date of
issuance of the permit and, when applicable, date and amount of bond or similar
security;
(ii) identification of
the authority that suspended or revoked a permit or forfeited a bond and the
stated reasons for that action;
(iii) the current status of the permit, bond,
or similar security involved;
(iv)
the date, location, and type of any administrative or judicial proceedings
initiated concerning the suspension, revocation, or forfeiture; and
(v) the current status of these
proceedings;
(n) for any
violation of a provision of 30 USC 1201, et seq., or of any
law, rule, or regulation of the United States, or of any state law, rule, or
regulations enacted pursuant to federal law, rules, or regulations pertaining
to air or water environmental protection incurred in connection with any coal
mining operation, a list of all violation notices received by the applicant
during the three-year period preceding the application date, and a list of all
unabated cessation orders and unabated air and water quality violation notices
received prior to the date of the application by any coal mining and
reclamation operation owned or controlled by either the applicant or by any
person who owns or controls the applicant. For each violation notice or
cessation order reported, the list must include the following information, as
applicable:
(i) any identifying numbers for
the operation, including the federal or state permit number and mine safety and
health administration number, the dates of issuance of the violation notice and
mine safety and health administration number, the name of the person to whom
the violation notice was issued, and the name of the issuing regulatory
authority, department, or agency;
(ii) a brief description of the violation
alleged in the notice;
(iii) the
date, location, and type of any administrative or judicial proceeding initiated
concerning the violation, including, but not limited to, proceedings initiated
by any person identified in this section to obtain administrative or judicial
review of the violation;
(iv) the
current status of the proceedings and of the violation notice; and
(v) the actions, if any, taken by the person
identified in this section to abate the violation;
(o) copies of the documents upon which the
applicant bases his or her legal right to enter and begin mining operations in
the permit area and whether that right is the subject of pending litigation.
The applicant may request confidentiality on any proprietary information within
such documents;
(p)
(i) whenever the private mineral estate to be
strip mined has been severed from the private surface estate, an applicant
shall also submit:
(A) a copy of the written
consent of the surface owner for the extraction of mineral by strip mining
methods;
(B)
(I) a copy of the conveyance that expressly
grants or reserves the right to extract mineral by those methods; or
(II) if the conveyance does not expressly
grant the right to extract the mineral by strip mining methods, documentation
that under Montana law the applicant has the legal right to extract the mineral
by those methods;
(ii) nothing in this section may be construed
to authorize the department to adjudicate property rights disputes;
(q) a statement of available
information on whether the proposed permit area is within an area designated
unsuitable for coal mining operations or under study for designation in an
administrative proceeding and if the applicant claims the exemption based on
substantial legal and financial commitments made before January 4, 1977, and
information supporting the applicant's claim;
(r) if mining within 300 feet of an occupied
dwelling is proposed, the waiver of the owner of the dwelling;
(s) a statement of the anticipated or actual
starting and termination date of each phase of mining and the anticipated
number of acres of land to be affected for each phase of mining and over the
total life of the permit;
(t)
either a certificate of liability insurance or evidence that the self-insurance
requirements of
82-4-222(5), MCA,
are satisfied (see also ARM
17.24.1125);
(u) a list of all other licenses and permits
needed by the applicant to conduct the proposed mining. This list must identify
each license and permit by:
(i) type of
permit or license;
(ii) name and
address of issuing authority;
(iii)
identification numbers of applications for those permits or licenses or, if
issued, the identification numbers of the permits or licenses; and
(iv) if a decision has been made, the date of
approval or disapproval by each issuing authority;
(v) the name and address of the public office
where the applicant will file a copy of the application for public
inspection;
(w) the name,
address, and telephone number of the resident agent who will accept service of
process on behalf of the applicant;
(x) a copy of the proposed newspaper
advertisement of the application and proof of publication of the notice after
it is published as required in ARM
17.24.401(3);
and
(y) a map of the mine plan area
showing the areas upon which strip or underground mining occurred:
(i) prior to August 3, 1977;
(ii) after August 3, 1977, and prior to May
3, 1978;
(iii) after May 3, 1978,
and prior to April 1, 1980;
(iv)
after April 1, 1980, and before January 13, 1989; and
(v) after January 13, 1989, and before
October 22, 2004.
(z) The
map of the mine plan area must also designate the areas from which coal removal
had not commenced as of October 22, 2004.
AUTH: 82-4-205, MCA; IMP: 82-4-222, MCA
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