KRS 350.060: Permit requirement -- Contents of application -- Fee -- Bond --

Administrative regulations -- Successive renewal -- Auger mining of previously

mined area -- Exempt operations.

(1) (a) No person shall engage in surface coal mining and reclamatio n operations

without having first obtained from the cabinet a permit designating the area of

land affected by the operation. Permits shall authorize the permittee to engage

in surface coal mining and reclamation operations upon the area of land

described i n his application for a period not to exceed five (5) years.

However, if an applicant demonstrates that a specified longer term is

reasonably needed to obtain necessary financing for equipment and the

opening of the operation and if the application is full and complete for the

specified longer term, the cabinet may grant a permit for the longer term. No

mining shall be permitted beyond the time period obligations of the initial or

extended bond coverage.

(b) Subject to the provisions of KRS 350.010(1) and ( 2), no person shall

knowingly and willfully receive, transport, sell, convey, transfer, trade,

exchange, donate, purchase, deliver, or in any way derive benefit from coal

removed from any surface mining operation which does not have a permit as

required under this section.

(2) No permit or revision application shall be approved unless the application

affirmatively demonstrates, and the cabinet finds in writing on the basis of the

information set forth in the application or from information otherwise available, that

the permit application is accurate and complete and that all the requirements of this

chapter have been complied with.

(3) A person desiring a permit to engage in surface coal mining operations shall file an

application which shall state:

(a) The location and area of land to be affected by the operation, with a

description of access to the area from the nearest public highways;

(b) The owner or owners of the surface of the area of land to be affected by the

permit and the owner or owners of all sur face area adjacent to any part of the

affected area;

(c) The owner or owners of the coal to be mined;

(d) The source of the applicant's legal right to mine the coal on the land affected

by the permit;

(e) The permanent and temporary post office addresses of the applicant, which

shall be updated immediately if changed at any point prior to final bond

release;

(f) Whether the applicant or any person, partnership, or corporation associated

with the applicant h olds or has held any other permits under this chapter, and

an identification of the permits;

(g) The names and addresses of every officer, partner, director, or person

performing a function similar to a director of the applicant, together with the

names and addresses of any individual owning of record ten percent (10%) or

more of any class of voting stock of the applicant, and whether the applicant

or any person is subject to any of the provisions of subsection (3) of KRS

350.130 and he shall so certify. Th e permittee shall submit updates of this

information as changes occur or as otherwise provided by administrative

regulation; however, failure to submit updated information shall constitute a

violation of this chapter only upon the permittee's refusal or fa ilure to timely

submit the information to the cabinet upon request. Upon receipt of updated

information satisfactory to the cabinet, the cabinet shall promptly update its

computer system containing the information;

(h) A listing of any violations of this c hapter, Public Law 95 -87, and any law,

rule, or regulation in effect for the protection of air or water resources

incurred by the applicant in connection with any surface coal mining and

reclamation operation during the three (3) year period prior to the d ate of an

application. The list shall indicate the final resolution of the violations; and

(i) Whether the area of land to be affected by the operation has been previously

mined and is in compliance with current reclamation standards, and, if not,

identify the needed reclamation work.

(4) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by an official document, and an

affidavit attesting to the document's authenticity, which will evidence what

particular business entity the applicant is, whether a foreign or domestic

corporation, a partnership, an entity doing business as another, or, if sole

proprietorship, an affidavit so stating.

(5) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by copies, in numbers

satisfactory to the cabinet, of a United States Geological Survey topographic map or

other map acceptable to the cabinet on which the applicant has indicated the

location of the operation, the course which would be taken by drainage from the

operation to the stream or streams to which the drainage would n ormally flow, the

name of the applicant and date, and the name of the person who located the

operation on the map.

(6) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by copies, in numbers

satisfactory to the cabinet, of an enlarged United States Geologi cal Survey

topographic map or other map acceptable to the cabinet meeting the requirements of

paragraphs (a) to (i) of this subsection. The map shall:

(a) Be prepared and certified by a professional engineer registered under the

provisions of KRS Chapter 3 22. The certification shall be in the form as

provided in subsection (8) of this section, except that the engineer shall not be

required to certify the true ownership of property under paragraph (d) of this

subsection;

(b) Identify the area to correspond with the application;

(c) Show adjacent deep mining;

(d) Show the boundaries of surface properties and names of owners of the

affected area and adjacent to any part of the affected area;

(e) Be of a scale of 1:24,000 or larger;

(f) Show the names and locations of all streams, creeks, or other bodies of public

water, roads, buildings, cemeteries, oil and gas wells, and utility lines on the

area of land affected within three hundred (300) feet of an as -drilled oil or gas

well, but as -drilled locations of oil a nd gas wells shall be certified only by a

licensed surveyor and the well locations shall be entered in coordinates in feet

units, using NAD 83, with Single Zone Projection, as those terms are defined

in KRS 350.010;

(g) Show by appropriate markings the bou ndaries of the area of land affected, the

cropline of the seam or deposit of coal to be mined, and the total number of

acres involved in the area of land affected;

(h) Show the date on which the map was prepared, the north point, and the

quadrangle name; and

(i) Show the drainage plan on and away from the area of land affected. The plan

shall indicate the directional flow of water, constructed drainways, natural

waterways used for drainage, and the streams or tributaries receiving the

discharge.

(7) Each ap plication shall include 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 groundwater 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 cabinet of the probable

cumulative impacts of all anticipa ted mining in the area upon the hydrology of the

area and particularly upon water availability. This determination shall not be

required until the time hydrologic information on the general area prior to mining is

made available from an appropriate federal or state agency. The permit shall not be

approved until the information is available and is incorporated into the application.

(8) All certifications required by this chapter to be made by professional engineers shall

be done in the form prescribed by the cabinet and shall be reasonably specific as to

the work being certified. The cabinet may reject any document or map as

incomplete if it is not properly certified.

(9) In addition to the information and maps required above, each application for a

permit shall be accompanied by detailed plans or proposals showing the method of

operation; the manner, time, and distance for backfilling; grading work; and a

reclamation plan for the affected area, which proposals shall meet the requirements

of this chapter and administrative regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(10) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by proof that the applicant has

public liability insurance coverage satisfactory to the cabinet for the surface mining

and reclamation operations for which the permit is sought, or proof that the

applicant has satisfied self -insurance requirements as provided by administrative

regulations of the cabinet. The coverage shall be maintained in full force and effect

during the terms of the permit and any pe rmit renewal, and until reclamation

operations are completed.

(11) (a) A basic fee set by administrative regulation, and bearing a reasonable

relationship to the cost of processing the permit application but not to exceed

two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), plus a fee set by administrative

regulation but not to exceed seventy -five dollars ($75), for each acre or

fraction thereof of the area of land to be affected by the operation, shall be

paid before the permit required in this section shall be iss ued; provided that if

the cabinet approves an incremental bonding plan submitted by the applicant,

the acreage fees may be paid in increments and at times corresponding to the

approved plan.

(b) The applicant shall file with the cabinet a bond payable to the Commonwealth

of Kentucky with surety satisfactory to the cabinet in the sum to be

determined by the cabinet for each acre or fraction thereof of the area of land

affected, with a minimum bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), conditioned

upon the faithful performance of the requirements set forth in this chapter and

of the administrative regulations of the cabinet. The cabinet shall forfeit the

entire amount of the bond for the permit area or increment in the event of

forfeiture.

(c) In determining th e amount of the bond, the cabinet shall take into

consideration the:

1. Character and nature of the overburden;

2. Future suitable use of the land involved;

3. Cost of backfilling, grading, and reclamation to be required; and

4. Probable difficulty of reclamation, giving consideration to such factors

as topography, geology, hydrology, and revegetation potential.

(d) The bond amount shall initially be computed to be sufficient to ensure

completion of reclamation if the work had to be performed by the cabinet in

the event of forfeiture.

(e) For any permit or permit increment identified by the cabinet as requiring long-

term treatment, the cabinet shall calculate an additional bond or other

financial assurance instrument amount based on the estimated annual

treatment cost, provided by the permittee and verified by the cabinet,

multiplied by a factor of twenty -five (25), plus any capital cost of the

treatment system. The cabinet shall use its own estimate for annual treatment

costs if the cabinet cannot verify the permittee's estimate.

(f) Within thirty (30) days of a cabinet determination of a need to change a bond

protocol currently in use, the cabinet shall immediate ly promulgate

administrative regulations setting forth bonding requirements, including but

not limited to requirements for the amount, duration, release, and forfeiture of

bonds. Bond protocols shall not be exempt from KRS 13A.100 and shall be

established by promulgating administrative regulations under KRS Chapter

13A. Failure to include the formula for establishing the amount of the bond in

any administrative regulation on bonding requirements shall be deemed a

failure to comply with the prescriptions of this section and the administrative

regulation shall automatically be declared deficient in accordance with KRS

Chapter 13A.

(12) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations for the permitting of

operations with surface effects of underground m ining and other surface coal

mining and reclamation operations consistent with this section. The cabinet shall

recognize the distinct differences between the surface effects of underground

mining and strip mining, as also provided in KRS 350.151, in promul gating

permitting requirements for these operations.

(13) Any valid permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall carry with it the right of

successive renewal upon expiration with respect to areas within the boundaries of

the existing permit. An applicant for renewal of a permit shall pay a basic fee set by

regulation, not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750). The holders of the

permit may apply for renewal and the renewal shall be issued, provided that on

application for renewal the burden shall be on the opponents of renewal, subsequent

to the fulfillment of the public notice requirements of this chapter, unless it is

established and written findings by the cabinet are made that:

(a) The terms and conditions of the existing permit are not being sat isfactorily

met;

(b) The present surface coal mining and reclamation operation is not in

compliance with the environmental protection standards of this chapter;

(c) The renewal requested substantially jeopardizes the applicant's continuing

responsibility on existing permit areas;

(d) The applicant has not provided evidence that the performance bond in effect

for the operation will continue in full force and effect for any renewal

requested in the application as well as any additional bond the cabinet might

require; or

(e) Any additional revised or updated information required by the cabinet has not

been provided.

Prior to the approval of any renewal of permit, the cabinet shall provide notice to

the appropriate public authorities.

(14) If an application for renewal of a valid permit includes a proposal to extend the

mining operation beyond the boundaries authorized in the existing permit, the

portion of the application for renewal of a valid permit which addresses any new

areas of surface disturbance shall b e subject to the full standards applicable to new

applications under this chapter.

(15) Any permit renewal shall be for a term not to exceed the period of the original

permit. Application for permit renewal shall be made at least one hundred twenty

(120) days prior to the expiration of the valid permit.

(16) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section, a permit shall terminate if the

permittee has not commenced the surface coal mining operations covered by the

permit within three (3) years of the issuance of the permit. However, the cabinet

may grant reasonable extensions of time upon a showing that the extensions are

necessary by reason of litigation precluding commencement of operations, or

threatening substantial economic loss to the permittee, or by reason of conditions

beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the permittee. With

respect to coal to be mined for use in a synthetic fuel facility or specific major

electric generating facility, the permittee shall be deemed to have commenced

surface mining operations at the time the construction of the synthetic fuel or

generating facility is initiated.

(17) Each application for a permit or revision for auger mining on a previously mined

area shall contain information to describe the area to be affected, to show that the

proposed method of operation will result in stable post -mining conditions, and

reduce or eliminate adverse environmental conditions created by previous mining

activities. If the cabinet determines that the affected ar ea cannot be stabilized and

reclaimed subsequent to augering or that the operation will result in an adverse

impact to the proposed or adjacent area, the permit or revision shall not be issued.

The cabinet shall, consistent with all applicable requirements of this chapter, issue a

permit or revision if the applicant demonstrates that the proposed coal mining

operations will provide for reduction or elimination of the highwall, or reduction or

abatement of adverse impacts resulting from past mining activitie s, or stabilization

or enhancement of a previously mined area. The cabinet shall insure that all

reasonably available spoil material will be used to backfill the highwall to the

extent practical and feasible; provided, however, that in all cases the holes be

properly sealed and backfilled to a minimum of four (4) feet above the coal seam

being mined.

(18) All operations involving the loading of coal which do not separate the coal from its

impurities, and which are not located at or near the mine site, shall be exempt from

the requirements of this chapter.