{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-742.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 45, § 45-742.2","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in this act:\n\n1. \"Acid drainage\" means water with a pH of less than 6.0\n\nStandard Units and in which total acidity exceeds total alkalinity,\n\ndischarged from active, inactive, or abandoned mines and from areas\n\naffected by surface coal mining and reclamation operations.\n\n2. \"Acid-forming materials\" means earth materials that contain\n\nsulfide minerals or other materials which, if exposed to air, water,\n\nor weathering processes, will result in the formation of acids that\n\nmay create acid drainage.\n\n3. \"Adjacent area\" means land located outside the affected\n\narea, permit area, or mine plan area, depending on the context in\n\nwhich \"adjacent area\" is used, where air, surface or ground water,\n\nfish, wildlife, vegetation or other resources protected by this act\n\nmay be adversely impacted by surface coal mining and reclamation\n\noperations.\n\n4. \"Affected area\" means, with respect to surface mining\n\nactivities, any land or water upon or in which those activities are\n\nconducted or located. With respect to underground mining\n\nactivities, \"affected area\" means any water or surface land upon or\n\nin which those activities are conducted or located, and land or\n\nwater which is located above underground mine workings.\n\n5. \"Approximate original contour\" means that surface\n\nconfiguration achieved by backfilling and grading of the mined areas\n\nso that the reclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads,\n\nclosely resembles the general surface configuration of the land\n\nprior to mining and blends into and complements the drainage pattern\n\nof the surrounding terrain, with all highwalls, spoil piles and coal\n\nrefuse piles eliminated. Water impoundments may be permitted where\n\nthe regulatory authority determines that they are in compliance with\n\nSection 745.18 of this title and applicable rules and regulations.\n\n6. \"Aquifer\" means a zone, stratum, or group of strata confined\n\nor unconfined, including perched conditions, that can store and\n\ntransmit water in sufficient quantities for a specific use.\n\n7. \"Auger mining\" means a method of mining coal at a cliff or\n\nhighwall by drilling holes laterally into an exposed coal seam from\n\nthe highwall and transporting the coal along an auger bit to the\n\nsurface.\n\n8. \"Box cut\" means the first open cut in strip mining which\n\nresults in the placing of overburden on unmined land adjacent to the\n\ninitial pit and outside the area to be mined.\n\n9. \"Coal exploration\" means the gathering of surface or\n\nsubsurface geologic, physical, or chemical data by mapping,\n\ntrenching, drilling, geophysical or other techniques necessary to\n\ndetermine the quality and quantity of overburden and coal of an area\n\nand the gathering of environmental data to establish the conditions\n\nof the area beginning before surface coal mining and reclamation\n\noperations.\n\n10. \"Coal processing plant\" means a collection of facilities\n\nwhere run-of-the-mine coal is prepared for market by chemical or\n\nphysical processing, and separated from its impurities. The\n\nprocessing plant may consist of, but not be limited to, the\n\nfollowing support facilities: loading facilities; storage and\n\nstockpile facilities; shed, shops and other buildings; water\n\ntreatment and water storage facilities; settling basins and\n\nimpoundments; coal processing and other waste disposal areas; roads,\n\nrailroads and other transport facilities; and utilities.\n\n11. \"Consolidated material\" means material of sufficient\n\nhardness or ability to resist weathering and to inhibit erosion or\n\nsloughing.\n\n12. \"Department\" means the office of the Chief Mine Inspector,\n\nincluding all employees, agents, deputies, and representatives of\n\nthe Department, herein called the Department of Mines and Mining, or\n\nsuch department, bureau or commission as may lawfully succeed to the\n\npowers and duties of such department, having primary responsibility\ning.\n\n12. \"Department\" means the office of the Chief Mine Inspector,\n\nincluding all employees, agents, deputies, and representatives of\n\nthe Department, herein called the Department of Mines and Mining, or\n\nsuch department, bureau or commission as may lawfully succeed to the\n\npowers and duties of such department, having primary responsibility\n\nfor administering all titles of the Surface Mining Law.\n\n13. \"Director\" means the Chief Mine Inspector of the State of\n\nOklahoma or such officer, bureau or commission as may lawfully\n\nsucceed to the powers and duties of such Chief Mine Inspector or\n\nsuch employee, agent, deputy or representative of the Chief Mine\n\nInspector as shall be designated by the Chief Mine Inspector to\n\nperform any actions required by this act.\n\n14. \"Disturbed area\" means an area where vegetation, topsoil,\n\nor overburden is removed by surface coal mining operations or upon\n\nwhich topsoil, spoil, coal processing waste or noncoal waste is\n\nplaced. Those areas are \"disturbed\" until reclamation of those\n\nareas is complete and the bond or other assurance of performance is\n\nreleased.\n\n15. \"Diversion\" means a channel, embankment, or other manmade\n\nstructure constructed for the purpose of diverting the flow of water\n\nfrom one area to another:\n\na. Permanent diversion means a diversion remaining after\n\nsurface coal mining and reclamation are completed and\n\nwhich has been approved for retention by the\n\nDepartment and other appropriate state and federal\n\nagencies,\n\nb. Temporary diversion means a diversion which is used\n\nduring coal exploration or surface coal mining and\n\nreclamation operations, and not approved by the\n\nDepartment to remain after reclamation as part of the\n\napproved postmining land use.\n\n16. \"Ephemeral stream\" means a stream which flows only in\n\ndirect response to precipitation in the immediate watershed or in\n\nresponse to the melting of snow and ice, and which has a channel\n\nbottom that is always above the local water table.\n\n17. \"Ground water\" means subsurface water that fills available\n\nopenings in rock or soil materials such that they may be considered\n\nwater-saturated.\n\n18. \"Head-of-hollow fill\" means a fill structure consisting of\n\nany material, other than coal processing waste and organic material,\n\nplaced in the uppermost reaches of a hollow where side slopes of the\n\nexisting hollow measured at the steepest point are greater than\n\ntwenty (20) degrees or the average slope of the profile of the\n\nhollow from the toe of the fill to the top of the fill is greater\n\nthan ten (10) degrees. In fills with less than two hundred fifty\n\nthousand (250,000) cubic yards of material, associated with contour\n\nmining, the top surface of the fill will be at the elevation of the\n\ncoal seam. In all other head-of-hollow fills, the top surface of\n\nthe fill, when completed, is at approximately the same elevation as\n\nthe adjacent ridge line, and no significant area of natural drainage\n\noccurs above the fill draining into the fill area.\n\n19. \"Highwall\" means the face of exposed overburden and coal in\n\nan open cut of a surface or for entry to an underground coal mine.\n\n20. \"Hydrologic balance\" means the relationship between the\n\nquality and quantity of inflow to, outflow from and storage in a\n\nhydrologic unit such as a drainage basin, aquifer, soil zone, lake,\n\nor reservoir. It encompasses the quantity and quality relationships\n\nbetween precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and the change in ground\n\nand surface water storage.\n\n21. \"Hydrologic regime\" means the entire state of water\n\nmovement in a given area. It is a function of the climate, and\n\nincludes the phenomena by which water first occurs as atmospheric\n\nwater vapor, passes into a liquid or solid form and falls as\n\nprecipitation, moves along or into the ground surface, and returns\n\nto the atmosphere as vapor by means of evaporation and\n\ntranspiration.\nr storage.\n\n21. \"Hydrologic regime\" means the entire state of water\n\nmovement in a given area. It is a function of the climate, and\n\nincludes the phenomena by which water first occurs as atmospheric\n\nwater vapor, passes into a liquid or solid form and falls as\n\nprecipitation, moves along or into the ground surface, and returns\n\nto the atmosphere as vapor by means of evaporation and\n\ntranspiration.\n\n22. \"Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public\"\n\nmeans the existence of any condition or practice, or any violation\n\nof a permit or other requirements of this act in a surface coal\n\nmining and reclamation operation, which condition, practice, or\n\nviolation could reasonably be expected to cause substantial physical\n\nharm to persons outside the permit area before such condition,\n\npractice, or violation can be abated. A reasonable expectation of\n\ndeath or serious injury before abatement exists if a rational\n\nperson, subjected to the same condition or practice giving rise to\n\nthe peril, would not expose oneself to the danger during the time\n\nnecessary for abatement.\n\n23. \"Impoundment\" means a closed basin, naturally formed or\n\nartificially built, which is dammed or excavated for the retention\n\nof water, sediment, or waste.\n\n24. \"In situ processes\" means activities conducted on the\n\nsurface or underground in connection with in-place distillation,\n\nretorting, leaching, or other chemical or physical processing of\n\ncoal, to include, but not be limited to, in situ gasification, in\n\nsitu leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining and\n\nfluid recovery mining.\n\n25. \"Intermittent stream\" means a stream or reach of a stream\n\nthat drains a watershed of at least one (1) square mile, or a stream\n\nor reach of a stream that is below the local water table for at\n\nleast some part of the year, and obtains its flow from both surface\n\nrunoff and ground water discharge.\n\n26. \"Operator\" means any person, partnership, firm or\n\ncorporation engaged in coal mining who removes or intends to remove\n\nmore than two hundred fifty (250) tons from the earth within twelve\n\n(12) consecutive months in any one location.\n\n27. \"Other minerals\" means clay, stone, sand, gravel,\n\nmetalliferous and nonmetalliferous ores, and any other solid\n\nmaterial or substances of commercial value excavated in solid form\n\nfrom natural deposits on or in the earth, exclusive of coal and\n\nthose minerals which occur naturally in liquid or gaseous form.\n\n28. \"Overburden\" means all of the earth and other materials,\n\nexcluding topsoil, which lie above natural deposits of coal and\n\nother minerals, and also means such earth and other materials\n\ndisturbed from their natural state in the process of surface mining.\n\n29. \"Peak\" means an upward projecting point of overburden\n\ncreated in the surface mining process.\n\n30. \"Perennial stream\" means a stream or part of a stream that\n\nflows continuously during all of the calendar year as a result of\n\ngroundwater discharge or surface runoff.\n\n31. \"Performance bond\" means the indemnity instrument in a sum\n\ncertain, supported by a surety's guarantee, pledge of collateral or\n\nother acceptable contractual guarantee, by which the permit\n\napplicant assures faithful performance of all the applicable permit\n\nrequirements of this act and the rules and regulations promulgated\n\nthereunder.\n\n32. \"Permit\" means a permit to conduct surface coal mining and\n\nreclamation operations issued by the Department pursuant to state\n\nlaw.\n\n33. \"Permit area\" means the area, including all natural and\n\nhuman resources, included within the boundaries specified in a\n\npermit, whether or not the areas will be impacted by surface coal\n\nmining and reclamation operations, which are designated on the\n\napproved maps submitted by the applicant with his permit application\n\nand covered by the performance and reclamation bonds as required.\n\n34. \"Permittee\" means a person holding a \"permit\" to conduct\nal and\n\nhuman resources, included within the boundaries specified in a\n\npermit, whether or not the areas will be impacted by surface coal\n\nmining and reclamation operations, which are designated on the\n\napproved maps submitted by the applicant with his permit application\n\nand covered by the performance and reclamation bonds as required.\n\n34. \"Permittee\" means a person holding a \"permit\" to conduct\n\nsurface coal mining and reclamation operations issued by the\n\nDepartment pursuant to state law.\n\n35. \"Pit\" means a tract of land from which overburden or\n\nminerals have been or are being removed in the process of surface\n\nmining.\n\n36. \"Prime farmland\" means lands which meet the criteria of the\n\nDepartment, which shall prescribe criteria at least as stringent as\n\ncriteria prescribed by the United States Secretary of Agriculture on\n\nthe basis of such factors as moisture availability, temperature\n\nregime, chemical balance, permeability, surface layer composition,\n\nsusceptibility to flooding, and erosion characteristics, and which\n\nhistorically have been used for intensive agricultural purposes.\n\n37. \"Reclamation\" means, through the process of backfilling,\n\nregrading, topsoil replacement, reutilization, and revegetation\n\nactivities, the bringing back of land to its approximate original\n\ncontours and configuration, and resulting in an equal or better land\n\nuse category, and shall be consistent with the existing surrounding\n\nenvironment.\n\n38. \"Reference areas\" means land units of varying size and\n\nshape identified and maintained under appropriate management for the\n\npurpose of measuring ground cover, productivity and species\n\ndiversity that are produced naturally or by crop production methods\n\napproved by the Department. Reference areas must be representative\n\nof geology, soils, slope, aspect and vegetation in the permit area.\n\n39. \"Refuse\" means all waste material directly connected with\n\nthe production, cleaning or preparation of coal or other minerals\n\nwhich have been mined by either underground or surface mining\n\nmethod.\n\n40. \"Regulatory authority\" means the Department of Mines and\n\nMining.\n\n41. \"Ridge\" means a lengthened elevation of overburden created\n\nin the surface mining process.\n\n42. \"Significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air or\n\nwater resources\" is determined as follows:\n\na. An environmental harm is any adverse impact on land,\n\nair, or water resources, including but not limited to,\n\nplant and animal life,\n\nb. An environmental harm is imminent if a condition,\n\npractice or violation exists which:\n\n(1) is causing such harm or,\n\n(2) may reasonably be expected to cause such harm at\n\nany time before the end of the reasonable\n\nabatement time that would be set under Section\n\n775 of this title,\n\nc. An environmental harm is significant if that harm is\n\nappreciable and not immediately reparable.\n\n43. \"Slope\" means average inclination of a surface, measured\n\nfrom the horizontal; normally expressed as a unit of vertical\n\ndistance to a given number of units of horizontal distance (e.g.,\n\none unit vertical (1v) to five units horizontal (5h) = 11.3\n\ndegrees).\n\n44. \"Soil horizons\" means contrasting layers of soil lying one\n\nbelow the other, parallel or near parallel to the land surface.\n\nSoil horizons are differentiated on the basis of field\n\ncharacteristics and laboratory data. The three (3) major soil\n\nhorizons are:\n\na. \"A horizon\". The uppermost layer in the soil profile\n\noften called the surface soil. It is the part of the\n\nsoil in which organic matter is most abundant and\n\nwhere leaching of soluble or suspended particles is\n\nthe greatest,\n\nb. \"B horizon\". The layer immediately beneath the A\n\nhorizon and often called the subsoil. This middle\n\nlayer commonly contains more clay, iron or aluminum\n\nthan the A or C horizons, and\n\nc. \"C horizon\". The deepest layer of the soil profile.\nanic matter is most abundant and\n\nwhere leaching of soluble or suspended particles is\n\nthe greatest,\n\nb. \"B horizon\". The layer immediately beneath the A\n\nhorizon and often called the subsoil. This middle\n\nlayer commonly contains more clay, iron or aluminum\n\nthan the A or C horizons, and\n\nc. \"C horizon\". The deepest layer of the soil profile.\n\nIt consists of loose material or weathered rock that\n\nis relatively unaffected by biologic activity.\n\n45. \"Spoil\" means displaced overburden.\n\n46. \"Strip mining\" means those mining operations carried out by\n\nremoving the overburden lying above natural deposits of coal and\n\nother minerals, and mining directly from such natural deposits\n\nthereby exposed, but excludes auger mining, quarrying, dredging,\n\npumping or the use of hydraulic methods.\n\n47. \"Substantially disturb\" means, for purposes of coal\n\nexploration, to significantly impact upon land, air or water\n\nresources by such activities as blasting, mechanical excavation of\n\nland, drilling or altering coal or water exploratory holes or wells,\n\nconstruction or creation of roads and other access routes, and the\n\nplacement of structures, excavated earth or other debris upon the\n\nsurface of land.\n\n48. \"Surface coal mining and reclamation operations\" means\n\nsurface mining operations and all activities necessary and incident\n\nto the reclamation of such operations.\n\n49. \"Surface coal mining operations\" means:\n\na. Activities conducted on the surface of lands in\n\nconnection with a surface coal mine or surface\n\noperations and surface impacts incident to an\n\nunderground coal mine. Such activities include\n\nexcavation for the purpose of obtaining coal,\n\nincluding such common methods as contour, strip,\n\nauger, mountaintop removal, box cut, open pit, and\n\narea mining, the uses of explosives and blasting, in\n\nsitu distillation or retorting, leaching or other\n\nchemical or physical processing, and the cleaning,\n\nconcentrating, or other processing or preparation,\n\nloading of coal at or near the mine site. Such\n\nactivities do not include the extraction of coal\n\nincidental to the extraction of other minerals where\n\ncoal does not exceed sixteen and two-thirds percent\n\n(16 2/3%) of the tonnage of minerals removed for the\n\npurposes of commercial use or sale or coal\n\nexploration, subject to Section 745.11 of this title,\n\nand\n\nb. The areas upon which such activities occur or where\n\nsuch activities disturb the natural land surface.\n\nSuch areas shall also include any adjacent land, the\n\nuse of which is incidental to any such activities, all\n\nlands affected by the construction of new roads or\n\nimprovement or use of existing roads to gain access to\n\nthe site of such activities and for haulage and\n\nexcavations, workings, impoundments, dams, ventilation\n\nshafts, entryways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles,\n\noverburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks, tailings,\n\nholes or depressions, repair areas, storage areas,\n\nprocessing areas, shipping areas and other areas upon\n\nwhich are sited structures, facilities, or other\n\nproperty or materials on the surface, resulting from\n\nor incident to such activities.\n\n50. \"Surface water\" means water, either flowing or standing, on\n\nthe surface of the earth.\n\n51. \"Topsoil\" means the \"A\" soil horizon, which is the\n\nuppermost layer of the three (3) major soil horizons.\n\n52. \"Underground mining activities\" means a combination of:\n\na. Surface operations incident to underground extraction\n\nof coal or in situ processing, such as construction,\n\nuse, maintenance, and reclamation of roads, above-\n\nground repair areas, storage areas, processing areas,\n\nshipping areas, areas upon which are sited support\n\nfacilities including hoist and ventilating ducts,\n\nareas utilized for the disposal and storage of waste,\n\nand areas on which materials incident to underground\n\nmining operations are placed, and\nl or in situ processing, such as construction,\n\nuse, maintenance, and reclamation of roads, above-\n\nground repair areas, storage areas, processing areas,\n\nshipping areas, areas upon which are sited support\n\nfacilities including hoist and ventilating ducts,\n\nareas utilized for the disposal and storage of waste,\n\nand areas on which materials incident to underground\n\nmining operations are placed, and\n\nb. Underground operations such as underground\n\nconstruction, operation, and reclamation of shafts,\n\nadits, underground support facilities, in situ\n\nprocessing, and underground mining, hauling, storage,\n\nand blasting, and\n\nc. The areas in which activities enumerated above occur\n\nor where such activities disturb the natural land\n\nsurface.\n\n53. \"Unwarranted failure to comply\" means the failure of a\n\npermittee to prevent the occurrence of any violation of his permit\n\nor any requirement of this act due to indifference, lack of\n\ndiligence, or lack of reasonable care, or the failure to abate any\n\nviolation of such permit or the act due to indifference, lack of\n\ndiligence, or lack of reasonable care.\n\n54. \"Water table\" means the upper surface of a zone of\n\nsaturation, where the body of ground water is not confined by an\n\noverlying impermeable zone.","path":["OK Code","Title 45"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os45.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"8be3242232162ac33c3d9a7501d3ccf55bdd434b84fe03f0e51fae0cb4ca0ddc","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-742.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-45-45-744"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}