(1) Each structure used in
connection with or to facilitate a coal exploration or surface coal mining and
reclamation operation shall comply with the performance standards and the
design requirements of these regulation, except that-
(A) An existing structure which meets the
performance standards of this Chapter but does not meet the design requirements
of the interim program may be exempted from meeting those design requirements
by the Department of Mines. The Department of Mines may grant this exemption on
non-Indian and non-Federal lands only as part of the permit application process
after obtaining the information required by Sections
460:20-27-5
or
460:20-31-5
and after making the findings required in Section
460:20-15-6.
(B) If the performance standard of the
initial regulatory program is at least as stringent as the comparable
performance standard of this Chapter, an existing structure which meets the
performance standards of the initial regulatory program may be exempted by the
Department from meeting the design requirements of this Chapter. The Department
may grant this exemption on non-Indian lands only as a part of the permit
application process after obtaining the information required by Sections
460:20-27-5
or
460:20-31-5
and after making the findings required in Section
460:20-15-6.
(C) An existing structure which meets a
performance standard of the initial regulatory program which is less stringent
than the comparable performance standards of this Chapter or which does not
meet a performance standard of this Chapter for which there was no equivalent
performance standard in the initial regulatory program shall be modified or
reconstructed to meet the performance and design standards of this Chapter
pursuant to a compliance plan approved by the Department on non-Indian and
non-Federal lands only as a part of the permit application as required in
Sections
460:20-27-5
or
460:20-31-5
and according to the findings required by Section
460:20-15-6.
(D) An existing structure which does not meet
the performance standards of the initial regulatory program and which the
applicant proposes to use in connection with or to facilitate the coal
exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operation shall be modified
or reconstructed to meet the design standards of this Chapter prior to issuance
of the permit.
(2) The
exemptions provided in Subparagraphs (1) (A) and (1) (B) shall not apply to:
(A) The requirements for existing and new
waste piles used either temporarily or permanently as dams or embankments;
and
(B) The requirements to restore
the approximate original contour of the land.
