CHAPTER 1513: COAL SURFACE MINING

As used in this chapter:

(A) “Approximate original contour” means that surface configuration achieved by backfilling and grading of a mined area so that the reclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads, closely resembles the general surface configuration of the land prior to mining and blends into and complements the drainage pattern of the surrounding terrain, with all highwalls and spoil piles eliminated; water impoundments may be permitted where the chief of the division of mineral resources management determines that they are in compliance with division (A)(8) of section 1513.16 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Coal mining and reclamation operations” means coal mining operations and all activities necessary and incident to the reclamation of such operations.

(C) “Degrees” means inclination from the horizontal.

(D) “Deposition of sediment” means placing or causing to be placed in any waters of the state, in stream beds on or off the land described in an application for a coal mining permit, or upon other lands any organic or inorganic matter that settles or is capable of settling to the bottom of the waters and onto the beds or lands.

(E) “Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public” means the existence of any condition or practice or violation of a permit or other requirement of this chapter or rule adopted thereunder in a coal mining and reclamation operation, which condition, practice, or violation could reasonably be expected to cause substantial physical harm to persons outside the permit area before the condition, practice, or violation can be abated. A reasonable expectation of death or serious injury before abatement exists if a rational person subjected to the same conditions or practices giving rise to the peril would not expose oneself to the danger during the time necessary for abatement.

(F) “Lands eligible for remining” means those lands that otherwise would be eligible for expenditures under division (C)(1) of section 1513.37 of the Revised Code.

(G) “Mountain top removal” means a coal mining operation that will remove an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or hill by removing all of the overburden and creating a level plateau with no highwalls remaining instead of restoring to approximate original contour, and is capable of supporting postmining uses in accordance with the requirements established by the chief.

(H) “Operation” or “coal mining operation” means:

(1) Activities conducted on the surface of lands in connection with a coal mine, the removal of coal from coal refuse piles, and surface impacts incident to an underground coal mine. Such activities include excavation for the purpose of obtaining coal, including such common methods as contour, strip, auger, mountaintop removal, box cut, open pit, and area mining; the use of explosives and blasting; in situ distillation or retorting; leaching or other chemical or physical processing; and the cleaning, concentrating, or other processing or preparation of coal. Such activities also include the loading of coal at or near the mine site. Such activities do not include any of the following:

(a) The extraction of coal incidental to the extraction of other minerals if the weight of coal extracted is less than one-sixth the total weight of minerals removed, including coal;

(b) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of federal, state, or local highway or other government-financed construction when approved by the chief;

(c) Coal exploration subject to section 1513.072 of the Revised Code.

(2) The areas upon which such activities occur or where such activities disturb the natural land surface. Such areas include any adjacent land the use of which is incidental to any such activities, all lands affected by the construction of new roads or the improvement or use of existing roads to gain access to the site of such activities, and for hauling, and excavation, workings, impoundments, dams, ventilation shafts, entryways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles, overburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks, holes or depressions, repair areas, storage areas, processing areas, shipping areas, and other areas upon which are sited structures, facilities, or other property or materials on the surface, resulting from or incident to such activities. Separation by a stream, roadway, or utility easement does not preclude two or more contiguous tracts of land from being considered contiguous.

(I) “Operator” means any person conducting a coal mining operation.

(J) “Overburden” means all of the earth and other materials, except topsoil, covering a natural deposit of coal, and also means such earth and other materials after removal from their natural state in the process of coal mining.

(K) “Permit” means a permit to conduct coal mining and reclamation operations issued by the chief pursuant to section 1513.07 or 1513.074 of the Revised Code.

(L) “Permit area” means the area of land to be affected indicated on the approved map submitted by the operator with the application required by section 1513.07 or 1513.074 of the Revised Code.

(M) “Person” has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any political subdivision, instrumentality, or agency of this state or the United States.

(N) “Pollution” means placing any sediments, solids, or waterborne mining related wastes, including, but not limited to, acids, metallic cations, or their salts, in excess of amounts prescribed by the chief into any waters of the state or affecting the properties of any waters of the state in a manner that renders those waters harmful or inimical to the public health, or to animal or aquatic life, or to the use of the waters for domestic water supply, industrial or agricultural purposes, or recreation.

(O) “Prime farmland” has the same meaning as that previously prescribed by the secretary of the United States department of agriculture as published in the federal register on August 23, 1977, or subsequent revisions thereof, on the basis of such factors as moisture availability, temperature regime, chemical balance, permeability, surface layer composition, susceptibility to flooding, and erosion characteristics and that historically has been used for intensive agricultural purposes, and as published in the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(P) “Reclamation” means backfilling, grading, resoiling, planting, and other work that has the effect of restoring an area of land affected by coal mining so that it may be used for forest growth, grazing, agricultural, recreational, and wildlife purpose, or some other useful purpose of equal or greater value than existed prior to any mining.

(Q) “Spoil bank” means a deposit of removed overburden.

(R) “Steep slope” means any slope above twenty degrees or such lesser slope as may be defined by the chief after considering soil, climate, and other characteristics of a region.

(S) “Strip mining” means those coal mining and reclamation operations incident to the extraction of coal from the earth by removing the materials over a coal seam, before recovering the coal, by auger coal mining, or by recovery of coal from a deposit that is not in its original geologic location.

(T) “Unwarranted failure to comply” means the failure of a permittee to prevent the occurrence of any violation of any requirement of this chapter due to indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonable care, or the failure to abate any violation of the permit or this chapter due to indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonable care.

(U) “Waters of the state” means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, regardless of the depth of the strata in which underground water is located, that are situated wholly or partly within, or border upon, this state, or are within its jurisdiction.

(V) “Public roadway” means a road that is all of the following:

(1) Designated as a public road in the jurisdiction within which it is located;

(2) Constructed in a manner consistent with other public roads within the jurisdiction within which it is located;

(3) Regularly maintained with public funds;

(4) Subject to and available for substantial use by the public.

(W) “Performance security” means a form of financial assurance, including, without limitation, a surety bond issued by a surety licensed to do business in this state; an annuity; cash; a negotiable certificate of deposit; an irrevocable letter of credit that automatically renews; a negotiable bond of the United States, this state, or a municipal corporation in this state; a trust fund of which the state is named a conditional beneficiary; or other form of financial guarantee or financial assurance that is acceptable to the chief.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000; 04-06-2007

(A) The division of mineral resources management shall administer, enforce, and implement this chapter. The chief of the division of mineral resources management shall do all of the following:

(1) Adopt, amend, and rescind rules:

(a) To administer and enforce this chapter;

(b) To implement the requirements of this chapter for the reclamation of lands affected by coal mining, including such rules governing mining practices and procedures, segregation and placement of soil and topsoil, backfilling, grading, terracing, resoiling, soil conditioning and reconditioning, planting, establishment of drainage patterns, construction of impoundments, and the construction, maintenance, and disposition of haul roads, ditches, and dikes, as may be necessary or desirable, under varying conditions of slope, drainage, physical and chemical characteristics of soil and overburden, erodability of materials, season, growth characteristics of plants, and other factors affecting coal mining and reclamation, to facilitate the return of the land to a condition required by this chapter; to prevent pollution or substantial diminution of waters of the state, substantial erosion, substantial deposition of sediment, landslides, accumulation and discharge of acid water, and flooding, both during mining and reclamation and thereafter; to restore the recharge capacity of the mined area to approximate premining conditions; and to ensure full compliance with all requirements of this chapter relating to reclamation, and the attainment of those objectives in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare to which these reclamation requirements are directed;

(c) To meet the requirements of the “Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977,” 91 Stat. 445, 30 U.S.C. 1201.

(2) Issue orders to enforce this chapter and rules adopted under it;

(3) Adopt rules for the internal management of the division that do not affect private rights;

(4) Adopt programs, rules, and procedures designed to assist the coal operator in this state with the permitting process and complying with the environmental standards of this chapter. Upon request of the applicant for a permit, the chief shall make a determination of the probable hydrologic consequences required in division (B)(1)(k) of section 1513.07 of the Revised Code within sixty days after a permit has been submitted to the division for those applications requesting the chief to perform the study. The chief shall perform the chemical analysis of test borings or core samplings for operators who have a total annual production of coal at all locations that does not exceed one hundred thousand tons.

(5) Adopt programs, rules, and procedures designed to ensure that reclamation is performed on operations for which the performance security has been forfeited pursuant to section 1513.16 of the Revised Code;

(6) Receive, administer, and expend moneys obtained from the United States department of the interior and other federal agencies to implement the state’s permanent coal regulatory program;

(7)(a) Regulate the beneficial use of coal combustion byproducts at coal mining and reclamation operations and abandoned mine lands that are regulated under this chapter and rules adopted under it. The beneficial use of coal combustion byproducts at such coal mining and reclamation operations and abandoned mine lands is subject to all applicable performance standards and requirements established under this chapter and rules adopted under it, including, without limitation, standards and requirements established under section 1513.16 of the Revised Code and rules adopted pursuant to it.

The beneficial use of coal combustion byproducts that is authorized at coal mining and reclamation operations and abandoned mine lands that are regulated under this chapter and rules adopted under it is not subject to the following provisions of Chapters 3734. and 6111. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those provisions:

(i) Permit and license requirements for solid waste facilities established under sections 3734.02 and 3734.05 of the Revised Code;

(ii) The prohibition against the open dumping of solid wastes established in section 3734.03 of the Revised Code;

(iii) Solid waste generation and disposal fees established under sections 3734.57 to 3734.574 of the Revised Code;

(iv) Permit to install and plan approval requirements established under sections 6111.03, 6111.44, and 6111.45 of the Revised Code.

Nothing in division (A)(7) of this section shall be construed to limit any other requirements that are applicable to the beneficial use of coal combustion byproducts and that are established under Chapter 3704., 3714., 3734., or 6111. of the Revised Code or under local or federal laws, including, without limitation, requirements governing air pollution control permits, hazardous waste, national pollutant discharge elimination system permits, and section 401 water quality certifications.

(b) As used in division (A)(7) of this section:

(i) “Coal combustion byproducts” means fly ash, bottom ash, coal slag, flue gas desulphurization and fluidized bed combustion byproducts, air or water pollution control residues from the operation of a coal-fired electric or steam generation facility, and any material from a clean coal technology demonstration project or other innovative process at a coal-fired electric or steam generation facility.

(ii) “Beneficial use” means the use of coal combustion byproducts in a manner that is not equivalent to the establishment of a disposal system or a solid waste disposal facility and that is unlikely to affect human health or safety or the environment adversely or to degrade the existing quality of the land, air, or water. “Beneficial use” includes, without limitation, land application uses for agronomic value; land reclamation uses; and discrete, controlled uses for structural fill, pavement aggregate, pipe bedding aggregate, mine sealing, alternative drainage or capping material, and pilot demonstration projects.

(iii) “Structural fill” means the discrete, controlled use of a coal combustion byproduct as a substitute for a conventional aggregate, raw material, or soil under or immediately adjacent to a building or structure. “Structural fill” does not include uses that involve general filling or grading operations or valley fills.

(iv) “Pavement aggregate” means the discrete, controlled use of a coal combustion byproduct as a subbase material or drainage layer under or immediately adjacent to a paved road or a paved parking lot where the coal combustion byproduct is a substitute for a conventional aggregate, raw material, or soil.

(v) “Pipe bedding aggregate” means the discrete, controlled use of a coal combustion byproduct as a substitute for a conventional aggregate, raw material, or soil under, around, or immediately adjacent to a water, sewer, or other pipeline.

(vi) “Coal-fired electric or steam generation facility” includes any boiler that is fired with coal or with coal in combination with petroleum coke, oil, natural gas, or any other fossil fuel.

(vii) “Solid waste disposal facility” means a facility for the disposal of solid wastes as provided in Chapter 3734. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it.

(viii) “Disposal system” has the same meaning as in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code.

(8) Establish programs and adopt rules and procedures governing terms, limitations, and conditions for the use of diesel equipment in an underground coal mine.

(B) The chief, by rule, may designate as unsuitable for coal mining natural areas maintained on the registry of natural areas of the department of natural resources pursuant to Chapter 1517. of the Revised Code, wild, scenic, or recreational river areas designated pursuant to that chapter, publicly owned or dedicated parks, and other areas of unique and irreplaceable natural beauty or condition, or areas within specified distances of a public road, occupied dwelling, public building, school, church, community, or institutional building, public park, or cemetery. Such a designation may include land adjacent to the perimeters of those areas that may be necessary to protect their integrity.

(C)(1) The adoption, amendment, and rescission of rules under divisions (A)(1), (4), (5), and , (8), (B) , and (J) of this section are subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(2) The issuance of orders under division (A)(2) of this section and appeals therefrom are not governed by or subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, but are governed by this chapter.

(D)(1) When the chief or an authorized representative of the chief determines that any condition or practice exists or that any permittee is in violation of any requirement of this chapter or any permit condition required by this chapter, which condition, practice, or violation creates an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public or is causing, or can reasonably be expected to cause, significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources, the chief or the authorized representative immediately shall order the cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations or the portion thereof relevant to the condition, practice, or violation. The cessation order shall remain in effect until the chief or the authorized representative determines that the condition, practice, or violation has been abated or until the order is modified, vacated, or terminated by the chief or the authorized representative pursuant to division (D)(4) of this section or by the reclamation commission pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code. When the chief or the authorized representative finds that the ordered cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations or any portion thereof will not completely abate the imminent danger to the health or safety of the public or the significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources, the chief or the authorized representative, in addition to the cessation order, shall order the operator to take whatever steps the chief or the authorized representative considers necessary to abate the imminent danger or the significant environmental harm.

(2) When the chief or an authorized representative of the chief determines that any person is in violation of any requirement of this chapter or any permit condition required by this chapter, but the violation does not create an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public or cannot reasonably be expected to cause significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources, the chief or the authorized representative shall issue a notice of violation to the person or the person’s agent fixing a reasonable time for the abatement of the violation, provided that the time afforded a person to abate the violation shall not exceed the time limitations prescribed by the secretary of the interior in 30 C.F.R. Part 843 for an approvable state regulatory program under the “Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977,” 91 Stat. 445, 30 U.S.C. 1201.

If, upon expiration of the period of time as originally fixed or subsequently extended for good cause shown and upon the written finding of the chief or the authorized representative, the chief or the authorized representative finds that the violation has not been abated, the chief or the authorized representative immediately shall order the cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations or the portion thereof relevant to the violation. The cessation order shall remain in effect until the chief or the authorized representative determines that the violation has been abated or until the order is modified, vacated, or terminated by the chief or the authorized representative pursuant to division (D)(4) of this section or by the reclamation commission pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code. In a cessation order issued under division (D)(2) of this section, the chief or the authorized representative shall prescribe the steps necessary to abate the violation in the most expeditious manner possible.

(3) When in the judgment of the chief or an authorized representative of the chief a pattern of violations of any requirements of this chapter or any permit conditions required by this chapter exists or has existed and the violations are caused by the unwarranted failure of the permittee to comply with any requirements of this chapter or any permit conditions or are willfully caused by the permittee, the chief or the authorized representative immediately shall issue an order to the permittee to show cause why the permit should not be suspended or revoked. If a hearing is requested, the chief shall inform all interested parties of the time and place of the hearing and conduct the hearing pursuant to division (D) of section 1513.13 of the Revised Code. Upon the permittee’s failure to show cause why the permit should not be suspended or revoked, the chief or the authorized representative immediately shall suspend or revoke the permit.

(4) Notices of violation and orders issued pursuant to this section shall set forth with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and the remedial action required, the period of time established for abatement, and a reasonable description of the portion of the coal mining and reclamation operation to which the notice or order applies. Each notice or order issued under this section shall be given promptly to the alleged violator or the agent of the alleged violator by the chief or an authorized representative of the chief who issues the notice or order. Notices and orders shall be in writing and shall be signed by the chief or the authorized representative and may be modified, vacated, or terminated by the chief or the authorized representative. Any notice or order issued pursuant to this section that requires cessation of mining by the operator shall expire within thirty days after actual notice to the operator unless a public hearing pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code is held at the site or within such reasonable proximity to the site that any viewings of the site can be conducted during the course of the public hearing.

(E)(1) A person who violates a permit condition or any other provision of this chapter may be assessed a civil penalty by the chief, except that if the violation leads to the issuance of a cessation order under division (D) of this section, the civil penalty shall be assessed for each day until the person initiates the necessary corrective steps. The penalty shall not exceed five thousand dollars for each violation. Each day of continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation for purposes of penalty assessments. In determining the amount of the penalty, consideration shall be given to the person’s history of previous violation at the particular coal mining operation; the seriousness of the violation, including any irreparable harm to the environment and any hazard to the health or safety of the public; whether the person was negligent; and the demonstrated diligence of the person charged in attempting to achieve rapid compliance after notification of the violation.

(2) A civil penalty shall be assessed by the chief only after the person charged with a violation under division (E)(1) of this section has been given an opportunity for a public hearing. If a person charged with such a violation fails to avail oneself of the opportunity for a public hearing, a civil penalty shall be assessed by the chief after the chief has determined that a violation did occur, and the amount of the penalty that is warranted, and has issued an order requiring that the penalty be paid.

(3) Upon the issuance of a notice or order charging that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the chief shall inform the operator within thirty days of the proposed amount of the penalty and provide opportunity for an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code. The person charged with the penalty then shall have thirty days to pay the proposed penalty in full or, if the person wishes to contest either the amount of the penalty or the fact of the violation, file a petition for review of the proposed assessment with the secretary of the reclamation commission pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code. If, after the hearing, the commission affirms or modifies the proposed amount of the penalty, the person charged with the penalty then shall have thirty days after receipt of the written decision to pay the amount in full or file an appeal with the court of appeals in accordance with section 1513.14 of the Revised Code. At the time the petition for review of the proposed assessment is filed with the secretary, the person shall forward the amount of the penalty to the secretary for placement in the reclamation penalty fund, which is hereby created. The fund shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state, but shall not be a part of the state treasury. Pursuant to administrative or judicial review of the penalty, the secretary, within thirty days, shall remit the appropriate amount of the penalty to the person, with interest, if it is determined that no violation occurred or that the amount of the penalty should be reduced, and the secretary shall forward the balance of the penalty or, if the penalty was not reduced, the entire amount of the penalty, with interest, to the chief for deposit in the reclamation forfeiture fund created in section 1513.18 of the Revised Code. Failure to forward the money to the secretary within thirty days after the chief informs the operator of the proposed amount of the penalty shall result in a waiver of all legal rights to contest the violation or the amount of the penalty. Within fifteen days after being informed of the penalty, the person charged with the penalty may request in writing an informal assessment conference to review the amount of the penalty. The conference shall be presided over by the chief or an individual appointed by the chief other than the inspector that issued the notice of violation or order upon which the penalty is based. The chief shall adopt rules governing procedures to be followed in informal conferences. Time allowed for payment of the penalty or appeal to the commission shall be tolled while the penalty is being reviewed in an informal conference.

(4) An operator who fails to correct a violation for which a notice of violation or order has been issued under division (D) of this section within the period permitted for its correction shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars for each day during which the failure or violation continues. However, a civil penalty shall not be assessed under division (E)(4) of this section if the commission orders the suspension of the abatement requirement after determining, based upon the findings of an expedited hearing held under section 1513.13 of the Revised Code at the request of the operator, that the operator will suffer irreparable loss or damage from the application of the abatement requirement or if the court orders suspension of the abatement requirement pursuant to review proceedings held under section 1513.14 of the Revised Code at the request of the operator.

(F) The chief may enter into a cooperative agreement with the secretary of the interior to provide for state regulation of coal mining and reclamation operations on federal lands within the state.

(G) The chief may prohibit augering if necessary to maximize the utilization, recoverability, or conservation of the solid fuel resources or to protect against adverse water quality impacts.

(H) The chief shall transmit copies of all schedules submitted under section 1513.07 of the Revised Code pertaining to violations of air or water quality laws and rules adopted and orders issued under those laws in connection with coal mining operations to the director of environmental protection for verification.

(I) For the purposes of sections 1513.18, 1513.24, 1513.37, and 1514.06 of the Revised Code, the chief triennially shall determine the average wage rate for companies performing reclamation work for the division under those sections by averaging the wage rate paid by all companies performing such reclamation work during the three years immediately preceding the determination. However, in making the initial determination under this division, the chief shall average the wage rate paid by all companies performing such reclamation work during the ten years immediately preceding October 29, 1995.

(J) If this state becomes covered by a state programmatic general permit issued by the United States army corps of engineers for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States by operations that conduct surface and underground coal mining and reclamation operations and the restoration of abandoned mine lands, the chief may establish programs and adopt rules and procedures designed to implement the terms, limitations, and conditions of the permit. The purpose of the programs, rules, and procedures shall be to enable the state to reduce or eliminate duplicative state and federal project evaluation, simplify the regulatory approval process, provide environmental protection for aquatic resources that is equivalent to federal protection, and satisfy the requirements of the United States army corps of engineers regulatory program under which the permit is issued and that is established under section 404 of the “Federal Water Pollution Control Act,” 86 Stat. 48 (1972), 33 U.S.C. 1344, as amended by the “Clean Water Act of 1977,” 91 Stat. 1600, 33 U.S.C. 1344; section 10 of the “Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899,” 30 Stat. 1151, 33 U.S.C. 403; and section 103 of the “Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972,” 86 Stat. 1055, 33 U.S.C. 1413.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000; 04-06-2007

The chief of the division of mineral resources management shall designate certain employees of the division as mineral resources inspectors for the purpose of enforcing the coal mining laws and the surface mining laws. Those inspectors may enter upon and inspect any coal or surface mining operation at any time, and, upon entering the permit area , an inspector shall notify the operator and shall furnish proper identification. After the final maps have been approved, the inspector shall notify the nearest mine office of the operator and advise of the inspection. Inspectors may serve and execute warrants and other processes of law issued in the enforcement of this chapter and Chapter 1514. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under them.

The inspectors, while in the normal, lawful, and peaceful pursuit of their duties, may enter upon, cross over, and remain upon privately owned lands for such purposes, and shall not be subject to arrest for trespass while so engaged or for such cause thereafter.

Before a person, other than a person who was an inspector of coal or surface mining operations or oil and gas operations on July 1, 1999, is eligible for appointment as a mineral resources inspector, the person shall pass an examination prepared and administered by the department of administrative services and shall serve for a probationary period of six months to the satisfaction of the chief. The chief may hire , pending the administration of a civil service examination and establishment of a civil service eligibility list, a person as a mineral resources inspector, who shall have the same authority as an inspector hired from an eligible list. This section does not affect the status of any person employed as an inspector of coal or surface mining operations or oil and gas operations prior to July 1, 1999.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000; 07-01-2007

No employee of the state performing any function or duty under Chapter 1513. or 1514. of the Revised Code shall:

(A) Engage in coal or surface mining operations as a sole proprietor or as a partner;

(B) Be an officer, director, stockholder, owner, or part-owner of any corporation engaged in coal or surface mining operations;

(C) Be employed as an attorney, agent, or in any other capacity by any person engaged in coal or surface mining operations;

(D) Have a direct or indirect financial interest in any coal mining or reclamation operation.

Any person who violates this section shall be removed from office or dismissed from employment.

Effective Date: 09-01-1981

There is hereby created a reclamation commission consisting of seven members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. For the purposes of hearing appeals under section 1513.13 of the Revised Code that involve mine safety issues, the reclamation commission shall consist of two additional members appointed specifically for that function by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. All terms of office shall be for five years, commencing on the twenty-ninth day of June and ending on the twenty-eighth day of June. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the appointment was made. Each vacancy occurring on the commission shall be filled by appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member’s term until the member’s successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

Two of the appointees to the commission shall be persons who, at the time of their appointment, own and operate a farm or are retired farmers. Notwithstanding section 1513.04 of the Revised Code, one of the appointees to the commission shall be a person who, at the time of appointment, is the representative of an operator of a coal mine. One of the appointees to the commission shall be a person who, by reason of the person’s previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as a representative of the public. One of the appointees to the commission shall be a person who, by reason of previous training and experience, can be classed as one learned and experienced in modern forestry practices. One of the appointees to the commission shall be a person who, by reason of previous training and experience, can be classed as one learned and experienced in agronomy. One of the appointees to the commission shall be either a person who, by reason of previous training and experience, can be classed as one capable and experienced in earth-grading problems, or a civil engineer. Beginning not later than five years after the effective date of this amendment, at least one of the seven appointees to the commission shall be an attorney at law who is admitted to practice in this state and is familiar with mining issues. Not more than four members shall be members of the same political party.

The two additional members of the commission who are appointed specifically to hear appeals that involve mine safety issues shall be individuals who, because of previous vocation, employment, or affiliation, can be classified as representatives of employees currently engaged in mining operations. One shall be a representative of coal miners, and one shall be a representative of aggregates miners. Prior to making the appointment, the governor shall request the highest ranking officer in the major employee organization representing coal miners in this state to submit to the governor the names and qualifications of three nominees and shall request the highest ranking officer in the major employee organization representing aggregates miners in this state to do the same. The governor shall appoint one person nominated by each organization to the commission. The nominees shall have not less than five years of practical experience in dealing with mine health and safety issues and at the time of the nomination shall be employed in positions that involve the protection of the health and safety of miners. The major employee organization representing coal miners and the major employee organization representing aggregates miners shall represent a membership consisting of the largest number of coal miners and aggregates miners, respectively, in this state compared to other employee organizations in the year prior to the year in which the appointments are made.

When the commission hears an appeal that involves a coal mining safety issue, one of the commission members who owns and operates a farm or is a retired farmer shall be replaced by the additional member who is a representative of coal miners. When the commission hears an appeal that involves an aggregates mining safety issue, one of the commission members who owns and operates a farm or is a retired farmer shall be replaced by the additional member who is a representative of aggregates miners. Neither of the additional members who are appointed specifically to hear appeals that involve mine safety issues shall be considered to be members of the commission for any other purpose, and they shall not participate in any other matters that come before the commission.

The commission may appoint a secretary to hold office at its pleasure. A commission member may serve as secretary. The secretary shall perform such duties as the commission prescribes, and shall receive such compensation as the commission fixes in accordance with such schedules as are provided by law for the compensation of state employees.

The commission shall appoint one or more hearing officers who shall be attorneys at law admitted to practice in this state to conduct hearings under this chapter.

Four members constitute a quorum, and no action of the commission shall be valid unless it has the concurrence of at least four members. The commission shall keep a record of its proceedings.

Each member shall be paid as compensation for work as a member one hundred fifty dollars per day when actually engaged in the performance of work as a member and when engaged in travel necessary in connection with such work. In addition to such compensation each member shall be reimbursed for all traveling, hotel, and other expenses, in accordance with the current travel rules of the office of budget and management, necessarily incurred in the performance of the member’s work as a member.

Annually one member shall be elected as chairperson and another member shall be elected as vice-chairperson for terms of one year.

The governor may remove any member of the commission from office for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, after delivering to the member the charges against the member in writing with at least ten days’ written notice of the time and place at which the governor will publicly hear the member, either in person or by counsel, in defense of the charges against the member. If the member is removed from office, the governor shall file in the office of the secretary of state a complete statement of the charges made against the member and a complete report of the proceedings. The action of the governor removing a member from office is final.

The commission shall adopt rules governing procedure of appeals under section 1513.13 of the Revised Code and may, for its own internal management, adopt rules that do not affect private rights.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

Effective Date: 03-18-1983

(A)(1) No operator shall conduct a coal mining operation without a permit for the operation issued by the chief of the division of mineral resources management.

(2) All permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be issued for a term not to exceed five years, except that, if the applicant demonstrates that a specified longer term is reasonably needed to allow the applicant 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 chief may grant a permit for the longer term. A successor in interest to a permittee who applies for a new permit within thirty days after succeeding to the interest and who is able to obtain the performance security of the original permittee may continue coal mining and reclamation operations according to the approved mining and reclamation plan of the original permittee until the successor’s application is granted or denied.

(3) A permit shall terminate if the permittee has not commenced the coal mining operations covered by the permit within three years after the issuance of the permit, except that the chief may grant reasonable extensions of the time upon a showing that the extensions are necessary by reason of litigation precluding the commencement 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, and except that with respect to coal to be mined for use in a synthetic fuel facility or specified major electric generating facility, the permittee shall be deemed to have commenced coal mining operations at the time construction of the synthetic fuel or generating facility is initiated.

(4)(a) Any 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 permit. The holders of the permit may apply for renewal and the renewal shall be issued unless the chief determines by written findings, subsequent to fulfillment of the public notice requirements of this section and section 1513.071 of the Revised Code through demonstrations by opponents of renewal or otherwise, that one or more of the following circumstances exists:

(i) The terms and conditions of the existing permit are not being satisfactorily met.

(ii) The present coal mining and reclamation operation is not in compliance with the environmental protection standards of this chapter.

(iii) The renewal requested substantially jeopardizes the operator’s continuing responsibilities on existing permit areas.

(iv) The applicant has not provided evidence that the performance security in effect for the operation will continue in effect for any renewal requested in the application.

(v) Any additional, revised, or updated information required by the chief has not been provided. Prior to the approval of any renewal of a permit, the chief shall provide notice to the appropriate public authorities as prescribed by rule of the chief.

(b) 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 that addresses any new land areas shall be subject to the full standards applicable to new applications under this chapter.

(c) A permit renewal shall be for a term not to exceed the period of the original permit established by this chapter. Application for permit renewal shall be made at least one hundred twenty days prior to the expiration of the valid permit.

(5) A permit issued pursuant to this chapter does not eliminate the requirements for obtaining a permit to install or modify a disposal system or any part thereof or to discharge sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into the waters of the state in accordance with Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) The permit application shall be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the chief and shall contain, among other things, all of the following:

(a) The names and addresses of all of the following:

(i) The permit applicant;

(ii) Every legal owner of record of the property, surface and mineral, to be mined;

(iii) The holders of record of any leasehold interest in the property;

(iv) Any purchaser of record of the property under a real estate contract;

(v) The operator if different from the applicant;

(vi) If any of these are business entities other than a single proprietor, the names and addresses of the principals, officers, and statutory agent for service of process.

(b) The names and addresses of the owners of record of all surface and subsurface areas adjacent to any part of the permit area;

(c) A statement of any current or previous coal mining permits in the United States held by the applicant, the permit identification, and any pending applications;

(d) If the applicant is a partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity, the following where applicable: the names and addresses of every officer, partner, director, or person performing a function similar to a director, of the applicant, the name and address of any person owning, of record, ten per cent or more of any class of voting stock of the applicant, a list of all names under which the applicant, partner, or principal shareholder previously operated a coal mining operation within the United States within the five-year period preceding the date of submission of the application, and a list of the person or persons primarily responsible for ensuring that the applicant complies with the requirements of this chapter and rules adopted pursuant thereto while mining and reclaiming under the permit;

(e) A statement of whether the applicant, any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control with the applicant, any partner if the applicant is a partnership, any officer, principal shareholder, or director if the applicant is a corporation, or any other person who has a right to control or in fact controls the management of the applicant or the selection of officers, directors, or managers of the applicant:

(i) Has ever held a federal or state coal mining permit that in the five-year period prior to the date of submission of the application has been suspended or revoked or has had a coal mining bond, performance security, or similar security deposited in lieu of bond forfeited and, if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved;

(ii) Has been an officer, partner, director, principal shareholder, or person having the right to control or has in fact controlled the management of or the selection of officers, directors, or managers of a business entity that has had a coal mining or surface mining permit that in the five-year period prior to the date of submission of the application has been suspended or revoked or has had a coal mining or surface mining bond, performance security, or similar security deposited in lieu of bond forfeited and, if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved.

(f) A copy of the applicant’s advertisement to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed site at least once a week for four successive weeks, which shall include the ownership of the proposed mine, a description of the exact location and boundaries of the proposed site sufficient to make the proposed operation readily identifiable by local residents, and the location where the application is available for public inspection;

(g) A description of the type and method of coal mining operation that exists or is proposed, the engineering techniques proposed or used, and the equipment used or proposed to be used;

(h) The anticipated or actual starting and termination dates of each phase of the mining operation and number of acres of land to be affected;

(i) An accurate map or plan, to an appropriate scale, clearly showing the land to be affected and the land upon which the applicant has the legal right to enter and commence coal mining operations, copies of those documents upon which is based the applicant’s legal right to enter and commence coal mining operations, and a statement whether that right is the subject of pending litigation. This chapter does not authorize the chief to adjudicate property title disputes.

(j) The name of the watershed and location of the surface stream or tributary into which drainage from the operation will be discharged;

(k) 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, providing information on the quantity and quality of water in surface and ground water 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 chief of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated mining in the area upon the hydrology of the area and particularly upon water availability, but this determination shall not be required until hydrologic information of the general area prior to mining is made available from an appropriate federal or state agency; however, the permit shall not be approved until the information is available and is incorporated into the application;

(l) When requested by the chief, the climatological factors that are peculiar to the locality of the land to be affected, including the average seasonal precipitation, the average direction and velocity of prevailing winds, and the seasonal temperature ranges;

(m) Accurate maps prepared by or under the direction of and certified by a qualified registered professional engineer, registered surveyor, or licensed landscape architect to an appropriate scale clearly showing all types of information set forth on topographical maps of the United States geological survey of a scale of not more than four hundred feet to the inch, including all artificial features and significant known archeological sites. The map, among other things specified by the chief, shall show all boundaries of the land to be affected, the boundary lines and names of present owners of record of all surface areas abutting the permit area, and the location of all buildings within one thousand feet of the permit area.

(n)(i) Cross-section maps or plans of the land to be affected including the actual area to be mined, prepared by or under the direction of and certified by a qualified registered professional engineer or certified professional geologist with assistance from experts in related fields such as hydrology, hydrogeology, geology, and landscape architecture, showing pertinent elevations and locations of test borings or core samplings and depicting the following information: the nature and depth of the various strata of overburden; the nature and thickness of any coal or rider seam above the coal seam to be mined; the nature of the stratum immediately beneath the coal seam to be mined; all mineral crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal to be mined within the area to be affected; existing or previous coal mining limits; the location and extent of known workings of any underground mines, including mine openings to the surface; the location of spoil, waste, or refuse areas and topsoil preservation areas; the location of all impoundments for waste or erosion control; any settling or water treatment facility; constructed or natural drainways and the location of any discharges to any surface body of water on the land to be affected or adjacent thereto; profiles at appropriate cross sections of the anticipated final surface configuration that will be achieved pursuant to the operator’s proposed reclamation plan; the location of subsurface water, if encountered; the location and quality of aquifers; and the estimated elevation of the water table. Registered surveyors shall be allowed to perform all plans, maps, and certifications under this chapter as they are authorized under Chapter 4733. of the Revised Code.

(ii) A statement of the quality and locations of subsurface water. The chief shall provide by rule the number of locations to be sampled, frequency of collection, and parameters to be analyzed to obtain the statement required.

(o) A statement of the results of test borings or core samplings from the permit area, including logs of the drill holes, the thickness of the coal seam found, an analysis of the chemical properties of the coal, the sulfur content of any coal seam, chemical analysis of potentially acid or toxic forming sections of the overburden, and chemical analysis of the stratum lying immediately underneath the coal to be mined, except that this division may be waived by the chief with respect to the specific application by a written determination that its requirements are unnecessary. If the test borings or core samplings from the permit area indicate the existence of potentially acid forming or toxic forming quantities of sulfur in the coal or overburden to be disturbed by mining, the application also shall include a statement of the acid generating potential and the acid neutralizing potential of the rock strata to be disturbed as calculated in accordance with the calculation method established under section 1513.075 of the Revised Code or with another calculation method.

(p) For those lands in the permit application that a reconnaissance inspection suggests may be prime farmlands, a soil survey shall be made or obtained according to standards established by the secretary of the United States department of agriculture in order to confirm the exact location of the prime farmlands, if any;

(q) A certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state certifying that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force for the coal mining and reclamation operations for which the permit is sought or evidence that the applicant has satisfied other state self-insurance requirements. The policy shall provide for personal injury and property damage protection in an amount adequate to compensate any persons damaged as a result of coal mining and reclamation operations, including the use of explosives, and entitled to compensation under the applicable provisions of state law. The policy shall be maintained in effect during the term of the permit or any renewal, including the length of all reclamation operations. The insurance company shall give prompt notice to the permittee and the chief if the public liability insurance policy lapses for any reason including the nonpayment of insurance premiums. Upon the lapse of the policy, the chief may suspend the permit and all other outstanding permits until proper insurance coverage is obtained.

(r) The business telephone number of the applicant;

(s) If the applicant seeks an authorization under division (E)(7) of this section to conduct coal mining and reclamation operations on areas to be covered by the permit that were affected by coal mining operations before August 3, 1977, that have resulted in continuing water pollution from or on the previously mined areas, such additional information pertaining to those previously mined areas as may be required by the chief, including, without limitation, maps, plans, cross sections, data necessary to determine existing water quality from or on those areas with respect to pH, iron, and manganese, and a pollution abatement plan that may improve water quality from or on those areas with respect to pH, iron, and manganese.

(2) Information pertaining to coal seams, test borings, core samplings, or soil samples as required by this section shall be made available by the chief to any person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected, except that information that pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the coal, excluding information regarding mineral or elemental content that is potentially toxic in the environment, shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of public record.

(3)(a) If the chief finds that the probable total annual production at all locations of any operator will not exceed three hundred thousand tons, the following activities, upon the written request of the operator in connection with a permit application, shall be performed by a qualified public or private laboratory or another public or private qualified entity designated by the chief, and the cost of the activities shall be assumed by the chief, provided that sufficient moneys for such assistance are available:

(i) The determination of probable hydrologic consequences required under division (B)(1)(k) of this section;

(ii) The development of cross-section maps and plans required under division (B)(1)(n)(i) of this section;

(iii) The geologic drilling and statement of results of test borings and core samplings required under division (B)(1)(o) of this section;

(iv) The collection of archaeological information required under division (B)(1)(m) of this section and any other archaeological and historical information required by the chief, and the preparation of plans necessitated thereby;

(v) Pre-blast surveys required under division (E) of section 1513.161 of the Revised Code;

(vi) The collection of site-specific resource information and production of protection and enhancement plans for fish and wildlife habitats and other environmental values required by the chief under this chapter.

(b) A coal operator that has received assistance under division (B)(3)(a) of this section shall reimburse the chief for the cost of the services rendered if the chief finds that the operator’s actual and attributed annual production of coal for all locations exceeds three hundred thousand tons during the twelve months immediately following the date on which the operator was issued a coal mining and reclamation permit.

(4) Each applicant for a permit shall submit to the chief as part of the permit application a reclamation plan that meets the requirements of this chapter.

(5) Each applicant for a coal mining and reclamation permit shall file a copy of the application for a permit, excluding that information pertaining to the coal seam itself, for public inspection with the county recorder or an appropriate public office approved by the chief in the county where the mining is proposed to occur.

(6) Each applicant for a coal mining and reclamation permit shall submit to the chief as part of the permit application a blasting plan that describes the procedures and standards by which the operator will comply with section 1513.161 of the Revised Code.

(C) Each reclamation plan submitted as part of a permit application shall include, in the detail necessary to demonstrate that reclamation required by this chapter can be accomplished, a statement of:

(1) The identification of the lands subject to coal mining operations over the estimated life of those operations and the size, sequence, and timing of the subareas for which it is anticipated that individual permits for mining will be sought;

(2) The condition of the land to be covered by the permit prior to any mining including all of the following:

(a) The uses existing at the time of the application and, if the land has a history of previous mining, the uses that preceded any mining;

(b) The capability of the land prior to any mining to support a variety of uses, giving consideration to soil and foundation characteristics, topography, and vegetative cover and, if applicable, a soil survey prepared pursuant to division (B)(1)(p) of this section;

(c) The productivity of the land prior to mining, including appropriate classification as prime farmlands as well as the average yield of food, fiber, forage, or wood products obtained from the land under high levels of management.

(3) The use that is proposed to be made of the land following reclamation, including information regarding the utility and capacity of the reclaimed land to support a variety of alternative uses, the relationship of the proposed use to existing land use policies and plans, and the comments of any owner of the land and state and local governments or agencies thereof that would have to initiate, implement, approve, or authorize the proposed use of the land following reclamation;

(4) A detailed description of how the proposed postmining land use is to be achieved and the necessary support activities that may be needed to achieve the proposed land use;

(5) The engineering techniques proposed to be used in mining and reclamation and a description of the major equipment; a plan for the control of surface water drainage and of water accumulation; a plan, where appropriate, for backfilling, soil stabilization, and compacting, grading, and appropriate revegetation; a plan for soil reconstruction, replacement, and stabilization, pursuant to the performance standards in section 1513.16 of the Revised Code, for those food, forage, and forest lands identified in that section; and an estimate of the cost per acre of the reclamation, including a statement as to how the permittee plans to comply with each of the requirements set out in section 1513.16 of the Revised Code;

(6) A description of the means by which the utilization and conservation of the solid fuel resource being recovered will be maximized so that reaffecting the land in the future can be minimized;

(7) A detailed estimated timetable for the accomplishment of each major step in the reclamation plan;

(8) A description of the degree to which the coal mining and reclamation operations are consistent with surface owner plans and applicable state and local land use plans and programs;

(9) The steps to be taken to comply with applicable air and water quality laws and regulations and any applicable health and safety standards;

(10) A description of the degree to which the reclamation plan is consistent with local physical, environmental, and climatological conditions;

(11) A description of all lands, interests in lands, or options on such interests held by the applicant or pending bids on interests in lands by the applicant, which lands are contiguous to the area to be covered by the permit;

(12) The results of test borings that the applicant has made at the area to be covered by the permit, or other equivalent information and data in a form satisfactory to the chief, including the location of subsurface water, and an analysis of the chemical properties, including acid forming properties of the mineral and overburden; except that information that pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the coal, excluding information regarding mineral or elemental contents that are potentially toxic in the environment, shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of public record;

(13) A detailed description of the measures to be taken during the mining and reclamation process to ensure the protection of all of the following:

(a) The quality of surface and ground water systems, both on- and off-site, from adverse effects of the mining and reclamation process;

(b) The rights of present users to such water;

(c) The quantity of surface and ground water systems, both on- and off-site, from adverse effects of the mining and reclamation process or, where such protection of quantity cannot be assured, provision of alternative sources of water.

(14) Any other requirements the chief prescribes by rule.

(D)(1) Any information required by division (C) of this section that is not on public file pursuant to this chapter shall be held in confidence by the chief.

(2) With regard to requests for an exemption from the requirements of this chapter for coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals, as described in division (H)(1)(a) of section 1513.01 of the Revised Code, confidential information includes and is limited to information concerning trade secrets or privileged commercial or financial information relating to the competitive rights of the persons intending to conduct the extraction of minerals.

(E)(1) Upon the basis of a complete mining application and reclamation plan or a revision or renewal thereof, as required by this chapter, and information obtained as a result of public notification and public hearing, if any, as provided by section 1513.071 of the Revised Code, the chief shall grant, require modification of, or deny the application for a permit in a reasonable time set by the chief and notify the applicant in writing. The applicant for a permit or revision of a permit has the burden of establishing that the application is in compliance with all the requirements of this chapter. Within ten days after the granting of a permit, the chief shall notify the boards of township trustees and county commissioners, the mayor, and the legislative authority in the township, county, and municipal corporation in which the area of land to be affected is located that a permit has been issued and shall describe the location of the land. However, failure of the chief to notify the local officials shall not affect the status of the permit.

(2) No permit application or application for revision of an existing permit shall be approved unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the chief finds in writing on the basis of the information set forth in the application or from information otherwise available, which shall be documented in the approval and made available to the applicant, all of the following:

(a) The application is accurate and complete and all the requirements of this chapter have been complied with.

(b) The applicant has demonstrated that the reclamation required by this chapter can be accomplished under the reclamation plan contained in the application.

(c)(i) Assessment of the probable cumulative impact of all anticipated mining in the general and adjacent area on the hydrologic balance specified in division (B)(1)(k) of this section has been made by the chief, and the proposed operation has been designed to prevent material damage to hydrologic balance outside the permit area.

(ii) There shall be an ongoing process conducted by the chief in cooperation with other state and federal agencies to review all assessments of probable cumulative impact of coal mining in light of post-mining data and any other hydrologic information as it becomes available to determine if the assessments were realistic. The chief shall take appropriate action as indicated in the review process.

(d) The area proposed to be mined is not included within an area designated unsuitable for coal mining pursuant to section 1513.073 of the Revised Code or is not within an area under study for such designation in an administrative proceeding commenced pursuant to division (A)(3)(c) or (B) of section 1513.073 of the Revised Code unless in an area as to which an administrative proceeding has commenced pursuant to division (A)(3)(c) or (B) of section 1513.073 of the Revised Code, the operator making the permit application demonstrates that, prior to January 1, 1977, the operator made substantial legal and financial commitments in relation to the operation for which a permit is sought.

(e) In cases where the private mineral estate has been severed from the private surface estate, the applicant has submitted to the chief one of the following:

(i) The written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of coal by strip mining methods;

(ii) A conveyance that expressly grants or reserves the right to extract the coal by strip mining methods;

(iii) If the conveyance does not expressly grant the right to extract coal by strip mining methods, the surface-subsurface legal relationship shall be determined under the law of this state. This chapter does not authorize the chief to adjudicate property rights disputes.

(3)(a) The applicant shall file with the permit application a schedule listing all notices of violations of any law, rule, or regulation of the United States or of any department or agency thereof or of any state pertaining to air or water environmental protection incurred by the applicant in connection with any coal mining operation during the three-year period prior to the date of application. The schedule also shall indicate the final resolution of such a notice of violation. Upon receipt of an application, the chief shall provide a schedule listing all notices of violations of this chapter pertaining to air or water environmental protection incurred by the applicant during the three-year period prior to receipt of the application and the final resolution of all such notices of violation. The chief shall provide this schedule to the applicant for filing by the applicant with the application filed for public review, as required by division (B)(5) of this section. When the schedule or other information available to the chief indicates that any coal mining operation owned or controlled by the applicant is currently in violation of such laws, the permit shall not be issued until the applicant submits proof that the violation has been corrected or is in the process of being corrected to the satisfaction of the regulatory authority, department, or agency that has jurisdiction over the violation and that any civil penalties owed to the state for a violation and not the subject of an appeal have been paid. No permit shall be issued to an applicant after a finding by the chief that the applicant or the operator specified in the application controls or has controlled mining operations with a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of this chapter of a nature and duration to result in irreparable damage to the environment as to indicate an intent not to comply with or a disregard of this chapter.

(b) For the purposes of division (E)(3)(a) of this section, any violation resulting from an unanticipated event or condition at a surface coal mining operation on lands eligible for remining under a permit held by the person submitting an application for a coal mining permit under this section shall not prevent issuance of that permit. As used in this division, “unanticipated event or condition” means an event or condition encountered in a remining operation that was not contemplated by the applicable surface coal mining and reclamation permit.

(4)(a) In addition to finding the application in compliance with division (E)(2) of this section, if the area proposed to be mined contains prime farmland as determined pursuant to division (B)(1)(p) of this section, the chief, after consultation with the secretary of the United States department of agriculture and pursuant to regulations issued by the secretary of the interior with the concurrence of the secretary of agriculture, may grant a permit to mine on prime farmland if the chief finds in writing that the operator has the technological capability to restore the mined area, within a reasonable time, to equivalent or higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area under equivalent levels of management and can meet the soil reconstruction standards in section 1513.16 of the Revised Code.

(b) Division (E)(4)(a) of this section does not apply to a permit issued prior to August 3, 1977, or revisions or renewals thereof.

(5) The chief shall issue an order denying a permit after finding that the applicant has misrepresented or omitted any material fact in the application for the permit.

(6) The chief may issue an order denying a permit after finding that the applicant, any partner, if the applicant is a partnership, any officer, principal shareholder, or director, if the applicant is a corporation, or any other person who has a right to control or in fact controls the management of the applicant or the selection of officers, directors, or managers of the applicant has been a sole proprietor or partner, officer, director, principal shareholder, or person having the right to control or has in fact controlled the management of or the selection of officers, directors, or managers of a business entity that ever has had a coal mining license or permit issued by this or any other state or the United States suspended or revoked, ever has forfeited a coal or surface mining bond, performance security, or similar security deposited in lieu of bond in this or any other state or with the United States, or ever has substantially or materially failed to comply with this chapter.

(7) When issuing a permit under this section, the chief may authorize an applicant to conduct coal mining and reclamation operations on areas to be covered by the permit that were affected by coal mining operations before August 3, 1977, that have resulted in continuing water pollution from or on the previously mined areas for the purpose of potentially reducing the pollution loadings of pH, iron, and manganese from discharges from or on the previously mined areas. Following the chief’s authorization to conduct such operations on those areas, the areas shall be designated as pollution abatement areas for the purposes of this chapter.

The chief shall not grant an authorization under division (E)(7) of this section to conduct coal mining and reclamation operations on any such previously mined areas unless the applicant demonstrates to the chief’s satisfaction that all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The applicant’s pollution abatement plan for mining and reclaiming the previously mined areas represents the best available technology economically achievable.

(b) Implementation of the plan will potentially reduce pollutant loadings of pH, iron, and manganese resulting from discharges of surface waters or ground water from or on the previously mined areas within the permit area.

(c) Implementation of the plan will not cause any additional degradation of surface water quality off the permit area with respect to pH, iron, and manganese.

(d) Implementation of the plan will not cause any additional degradation of ground water.

(e) The plan meets the requirements governing mining and reclamation of such previously mined pollution abatement areas established by the chief in rules adopted under section 1513.02 of the Revised Code.

(f) Neither the applicant; any partner, if the applicant is a partnership; any officer, principal shareholder, or director, if the applicant is a corporation; any other person who has a right to control or in fact controls the management of the applicant or the selection of officers, directors, or managers of the applicant; nor any contractor or subcontractor of the applicant, has any of the following:

(i) Responsibility or liability under this chapter or rules adopted under it as an operator for treating the discharges of water pollutants from or on the previously mined areas for which the authorization is sought;

(ii) Any responsibility or liability under this chapter or rules adopted under it for reclaiming the previously mined areas for which the authorization is sought;

(iii) During the eighteen months prior to submitting the permit application requesting an authorization under division (E)(7) of this section, had a coal mining and reclamation permit suspended or revoked under division (D)(3) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code for violating this chapter or Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code or rules adopted under them with respect to water quality, effluent limitations, or surface or ground water monitoring;

(iv) Ever forfeited a coal or surface mining bond, performance security, or similar security deposited in lieu of a bond in this or any other state or with the United States.

(8) In the case of the issuance of a permit that involves a conflict of results between various methods of calculating potential acidity and neutralization potential for purposes of assessing the potential for acid mine drainage to occur at a mine site, the permit shall include provisions for monitoring and record keeping to identify the creation of unanticipated acid water at the mine site. If the monitoring detects the creation of acid water at the site, the permit shall impose on the permittee additional requirements regarding mining practices and site reclamation to prevent the discharge of acid mine drainage from the mine site. As used in division (E)(8) of this section, “potential acidity” and “neutralization potential” have the same meanings as in section 1513.075 of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) During the term of the permit, the permittee may submit an application for a revision of the permit, together with a revised reclamation plan, to the chief.

(2) An application for a revision of a permit shall not be approved unless the chief finds that reclamation required by this chapter can be accomplished under the revised reclamation plan. The revision shall be approved or disapproved within ninety days after receipt of a complete revision application. The chief shall establish, by rule, criteria for determining the extent to which all permit application information requirements and procedures, including notice and hearings, shall apply to the revision request, except that any revisions that propose significant alterations in the reclamation plan, at a minimum, shall be subject to notice and hearing requirements.

(3) Any extensions to the area covered by the permit except incidental boundary revisions shall be made by application for a permit.

(G) No transfer, assignment, or sale of the rights granted under a permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be made without the written approval of the chief.

(H) The chief, within a time limit prescribed in the chief’s rules, shall review outstanding permits and may require reasonable revision or modification of a permit. A revision or modification shall be based upon a written finding and subject to notice and hearing requirements established by rule of the chief.

(I)(1) If an informal conference has been held pursuant to section 1513.071 of the Revised Code, the chief shall issue and furnish the applicant for a permit, persons who participated in the informal conference, and persons who filed written objections pursuant to division (B) of section 1513.071 of the Revised Code, with the written finding of the chief granting or denying the permit in whole or in part and stating the reasons therefor within sixty days of the conference.

(2) If there has been no informal conference held pursuant to section 1513.071 of the Revised Code, the chief shall notify the applicant for a permit within a reasonable time as provided by rule of the chief, taking into account the time needed for proper investigation of the site, the complexity of the permit application, whether or not a written objection to the application has been filed, and whether the application has been approved or disapproved in whole or in part.

(3) If the application is approved, the permit shall be issued. If the application is disapproved, specific reasons therefor shall be set forth in the notification. Within thirty days after the applicant is notified of the final decision of the chief on the permit application, the applicant or any person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected may appeal the decision to the reclamation commission pursuant to section 1513.13 of the Revised Code.

(4) Any applicant or any person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected who has participated in the administrative proceedings as an objector and is aggrieved by the decision of the reclamation commission, or if the commission fails to act within the time limits specified in this chapter, may appeal in accordance with section 1513.14 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000; 04-06-2007

(A) Simultaneously with the filing of an application for a permit or significant revision of an existing permit under section 1513.07 of the Revised Code, the applicant shall submit to the chief of the division of mineral resources management a copy of the applicant’s advertisement of the ownership, precise location, and boundaries of the land to be affected. At the time of submission, the advertisement shall be placed by the applicant in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed coal mine at least once a week for four consecutive weeks. The chief shall notify, in each county or part of a county in which a proposed area to be permitted is located, the board of county commissioners, the board of township trustees, the legislative authorities of municipal corporations, private water companies, regional councils of governments, and the boards of directors of conservancy districts informing them of the operator’s intention to conduct a coal mining operation on a particularly described tract of land and indicating the permit application number and where a copy of the proposed mining and reclamation plan may be inspected. The chief shall also notify the planning commissions with jurisdiction over all or part of the area to be permitted. These agencies, authorities, or companies may submit written comments on the application with respect to the effects of the proposed operation on the environment that are within their area of responsibility in quadruplicate to the chief within thirty days after notification by the chief of receipt of the application. The chief shall immediately transmit these comments to the applicant and make them available to the public at the same locations at which the mining application is available for inspection.

(B) A person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected or the officer or head of any federal, state, or local governmental agency or authority may file written objections to the proposed initial or revised application for a coal mining and reclamation permit with the chief within thirty days after the last publication of the notice required by division (A) of this section. The objections shall immediately be transmitted to the applicant by the chief and shall be made available to the public. If written objections are filed and an informal conference requested, the chief or the chief’s representative shall then hold an informal conference on the application for a permit within a reasonable time in the county where the largest area of the area to be permitted is located. The date, time, and location of the informal conference shall be advertised by the chief in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality at least two weeks prior to the scheduled conference date. The chief may arrange with the applicant, upon request by any objecting party, access to the proposed mining area for the purpose of gathering information relevant to the proceeding. An electronic or stenographic record shall be made of the conference proceeding unless waived by all parties. The record shall be maintained and shall be accessible to the parties until final release of the applicant’s performance security. If all parties requesting the informal conference stipulate agreement prior to the requested informal conference and withdraw their request, the informal conference need not be held.

Effective Date: 09-01-1981; 04-06-2007

(A) Coal exploration operations that substantially disturb the natural land surface shall be conducted in accordance with exploration rules adopted by the chief of the division of mineral resources management. The rules shall include, at a minimum:

(1) The requirement that prior to conducting any exploration under this section, any person shall file with the chief notice of intention to explore, which shall include a description of the exploration area and period of proposed exploration;

(2) Provisions for reclamation in accordance with the performance standards in section 1513.16 of the Revised Code of all lands disturbed in exploration, including excavations, roads, drill holes, and the removal of necessary facilities and equipment.

(B) Information submitted to the chief pursuant to this section as confidential concerning trade secrets or privileged commercial or financial information that relates to the competitive rights of the person or entity intending to explore the described area shall not be available for public examination.

(C) A person who conducts any coal exploration activities that substantially disturb the natural land surface in violation of this section or rules adopted pursuant thereto is subject to division (E) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code.

(D) No person shall remove more than two hundred fifty tons of coal pursuant to an exploration permit without the specific written approval of the chief.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000

(A)(1) Upon petition pursuant to division (B) of this section, the chief of the division of mineral resources management shall designate an area as unsuitable for all or certain types of coal mining operations if the chief determines that reclamation pursuant to the requirements of this chapter is not technologically and economically feasible.

(2) Upon petition pursuant to division (B) of this section, a surface area may be designated unsuitable for all or certain types of coal mining operations if the operations will:

(a) Be incompatible with existing state or local land use plans or programs;

(b) Affect fragile or historic lands in which the operations could result in significant damage to important historic, cultural, scientific, and esthetic values and natural systems;

(c) Affect renewable resource lands in which the operations could result in a substantial loss or reduction of long-range productivity of water supply or of food or fiber products, or aquifers and aquifer recharge areas;

(d) Affect natural hazard lands in which the operations could substantially endanger life and property, such lands to include areas subject to frequent flooding and areas of unstable geology.

(3) The chief shall develop the following:

(a) A data base and an inventory system that will permit proper evaluation of the capacity of different land areas of the state to support and permit reclamation of coal mining operations;

(b) A method or methods for implementing land use planning decisions concerning coal mining operations;

(c) Procedures for proper notice and opportunities for public participation, including a public meeting prior to making any designation or redesignation, pursuant to this section.

(4) Determinations of the unsuitability of land for coal mining, as provided for in this section, shall be integrated as closely as possible with present and future land use planning and regulation processes at the federal, state, and local levels.

(5) The requirements of this section do not apply to lands on which coal mining operations were being conducted on August 3, 1977, or under a permit issued pursuant to this chapter, or where substantial legal and financial commitments in the operation were in existence prior to January 4, 1977.

(B) A person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected may petition the chief to have an area designated as unsuitable for coal mining operations or to have such a designation terminated. The petition shall contain allegations of facts with supporting evidence that would tend to establish the allegations. The chief shall hold a public meeting in the locality of the affected area, after appropriate notice and publication of the date, time, and location of the meeting within ninety days after receipt of the petition, provided that the chief may extend the time for holding the meeting an additional two hundred ten days when, in the chief’s judgment, such additional time is needed for adequate review of the petition. Any person may appear at the meeting and present a statement or evidence regarding the petition. Within sixty days after the meeting, the chief shall issue and furnish to the petitioner and any other participant at the meeting a written decision regarding the petition, and the reasons therefor.

(C) Prior to designating any land areas as unsuitable for coal mining operations or terminating previous determinations of unsuitability, the chief shall prepare a detailed statement on:

(1) The potential coal resources of the area;

(2) The demand for coal resources;

(3) The impact of the designation on the environment, the economy, and the supply of coal.

(D) After August 3, 1977, and subject to valid existing rights, no coal mining operations except those that existed on August 3, 1977, shall be permitted:

(1) On any lands within the boundaries of units of the national park system, the national wildlife refuge systems, the national system of trails, the national wilderness preservation system, the wild and scenic rivers system, including study rivers designated under section 5(a) of the “Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” 82 Stat. 906 (1968), 16 U.S.C.A. 1274, and national recreation areas designated by act of congress;

(2) On any federal lands within the boundaries of any national forest unless approval is granted by the secretary of the United States department of the interior;

(3) That will adversely affect any publicly owned park or any places included in the national register of historic sites unless approved jointly by the chief and the federal, state, or local agency with jurisdiction over the park or the historic site;

(4) Within one hundred feet of the outside right-of-way line of any public road, except where mine access roads or haulage roads join such right-of-way line and except that the chief may permit the roads to be relocated or the area affected to lie within one hundred feet of such road if after public notice and opportunity for public meeting in the locality of the affected area a written finding is made that the interests of the public and the landowners affected thereby will be protected;

(5) Within three hundred feet from any occupied dwelling, unless waived by the owner thereof, nor within three hundred feet of any public building, school, church, community, or institutional building, or public park, nor within one hundred feet of a cemetery.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000

An operator may file an application for an extension of a currently active permit to land contiguous to the permit area of the permit. The application shall be subject to the full standards applicable to new applications under this chapter, except that the applicant may incorporate by reference current information contained in the application for the original permit. If the original permit is unavailable or the information is not current, the applicant shall replace or supply such information at all appropriate locations.

Effective Date: 03-18-1983

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Potential acidity” means a laboratory measurement of the amount of acidity that could be produced by material in a rock strata proposed to be disturbed by mining and that is expressed by a numeral indicating the number of tons of that acidity that would be present in one thousand tons of disturbed overburden.

(2) “Neutralization potential” means a laboratory measurement of the alkalinity of a rock strata expressed as the amount of acidity that would be neutralized by material proposed to be disturbed by mining and that is expressed by a numeral indicating the number of tons of that alkalinity that would be present in one thousand tons of disturbed overburden.

(3) “Test borings or core samplings” refer to test borings or core samplings performed on rock strata in an area proposed to be covered by a permit for a coal mining operation, the results of which must be stated in the permit application in accordance with division (B)(1)(o) of section 1513.07 of the Revised Code.

(B) For purposes of the determination of the chief of the division of mineral resources management regarding whether to approve an application for a permit for a coal mining operation based on criteria established in divisions (E)(2)(a) and (c) of section 1513.07 of the Revised Code and related performance standards established in division (A)(10) of section 1513.16 of the Revised Code, the potential acidity and the neutralization potential of the rock strata that would be disturbed under the permit may be calculated in accordance with this section.

(C) The measurement of potential acidity may be based on laboratory analyses of the sulfur content of the coal and overburden to be disturbed by mining. If the results of test borings or core samplings include laboratory analyses of the pyritic form of sulfur, the applicant may base the calculation of the potential acidity for the area on the pyritic sulfur content of the coal and overburden to be disturbed by mining rather than on the total sulfur content.

(D) The tons of rock in the area represented by each core hole resulting from test boring or core sampling may be estimated and used to calculate the tons of potential acidity and tons of neutralization potential for each rock stratum. The sum of those values across the proposed permit area may be used to calculate the site’s overall neutralization potential and potential acidity.

(E) The proposed permit area may not be considered to have the potential to create acid or other toxic mine drainage if either of the following applies:

(1) The numeral that indicates the site’s overall neutralization potential divided by the numeral that indicates the site’s overall potential acidity results in a quotient that is equal to or greater than two.

(2) The numeral that indicates the neutralization potential subtracted from the numeral that indicates the potential acidity results in a remainder that is equal to or less than either of the following:

(a) Negative five in the case that the total sulfur content of rock strata is used to calculate potential acidity;

(b) Negative ten in the case that the pyritic sulfur content of rock strata is used to calculate potential acidity.

Effective Date: 04-06-2007

(A) After a coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved, the applicant shall file with the chief of the division of mineral resources management, on a form prescribed and furnished by the chief, the performance security required under this section.

(B) Using the information contained in the permit application; the requirements contained in the approved permit and reclamation plan; and, after considering the topography, geology, hydrology, and revegetation potential of the area of the approved permit, the probable difficulty of reclamation; the chief shall determine the estimated cost of reclamation under the initial term of the permit if the reclamation has to be performed by the division of mineral resources management in the event of forfeiture of the performance security by the applicant. The chief shall send written notice of the amount of the estimated cost of reclamation by certified mail to the applicant. The applicant shall send written notice to the chief indicating the method by which the applicant will provide the performance security pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(C) The applicant shall provide the performance security in an amount using one of the following:

(1) If the applicant elects to provide performance security without reliance on the reclamation forfeiture fund created in section 1513.18 of the Revised Code, the amount of the estimated cost of reclamation as determined by the chief under division (B) of this section for the increments of land on which the operator will conduct a coal mining and reclamation operation under the initial term of the permit as indicated in the application;

(2) If the applicant elects to provide performance security together with reliance on the reclamation forfeiture fund through payment of the additional tax on the severance of coal that is levied under division (A)(8) of section 5749.02 of the Revised Code, an amount of twenty-five hundred dollars per acre of land on which the operator will conduct coal mining and reclamation under the initial term of the permit as indicated in the application. However, in order for an applicant to be eligible to provide performance security in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section, the applicant, an owner and controller of the applicant, or an affiliate of the applicant shall have held a permit issued under this chapter for any coal mining and reclamation operation for a period of not less than five years. In the event of forfeiture of performance security that was provided in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section, the difference between the amount of that performance security and the estimated cost of reclamation as determined by the chief under division (B) of this section shall be obtained from money in the reclamation forfeiture fund as needed to complete the reclamation.

The performance security provided under division (C) of this section for the entire area to be mined under one permit issued under this chapter shall not be less than ten thousand dollars.

The performance security shall cover areas of land affected by mining within or immediately adjacent to the permitted area, so long as the total number of acres does not exceed the number of acres for which the performance security is provided. However, the authority for the performance security to cover areas of land immediately adjacent to the permitted area does not authorize a permittee to mine areas outside an approved permit area. As succeeding increments of coal mining and reclamation operations are to be initiated and conducted within the permit area, the permittee shall file with the chief additional performance security to cover the increments in accordance with this section. If a permittee intends to mine areas outside the approved permit area, the permittee shall provide additional performance security in accordance with this section to cover the areas to be mined.

An applicant shall provide performance security in accordance with division (C)(1) of this section in the full amount of the estimated cost of reclamation as determined by the chief for a permitted coal preparation plant or coal refuse disposal area that is not located within a permitted area of a mine. A permittee shall provide the performance security not later than one year after April 6, 2007, for a permitted coal preparation plant or coal refuse disposal area that is in existence on April 6, 2007, and that is not located within a permitted area of a mine.

(D) A permittee’s liability under the performance security shall be limited to the obligations established under the permit, which include completion of the reclamation plan in order to make the land capable of supporting the postmining land use that was approved in the permit. The period of liability under the performance security shall be for the duration of the coal mining and reclamation operation and for a period coincident with the operator’s responsibility for revegetation requirements under section 1513.16 of the Revised Code.

(E) The amount of the estimated cost of reclamation determined under division (B) of this section and the amount of a permittee’s performance security provided in accordance with division (C)(1) of this section may be adjusted by the chief as the land that is affected by mining increases or decreases or if the cost of reclamation increases or decreases. If the performance security was provided in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section and the chief has issued a cessation order under division (D)(2) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code for failure to abate a violation of the contemporaneous reclamation requirement under division (A)(15) of section 1513.16 of the Revised Code, the chief may require the permittee to increase the amount of performance security from twenty-five hundred dollars per acre of land to five thousand dollars per acre of land.

The chief shall notify the permittee, each surety, and any person who has a property interest in the performance security and who has requested to be notified of any proposed adjustment to the performance security. The permittee may request an informal conference with the chief concerning the proposed adjustment, and the chief shall provide such an informal conference.

If the chief increases the amount of performance security under this division, the permittee shall provide additional performance security in an amount determined by the chief. If the chief decreases the amount of performance security under this division, the chief shall determine the amount of the reduction of the performance security and send written notice of the amount of reduction to the permittee. The permittee may reduce the amount of the performance security in the amount determined by the chief.

(F) A permittee may request a reduction in the amount of the performance security by submitting to the chief documentation proving that the amount of the performance security provided by the permittee exceeds the estimated cost of reclamation if the reclamation would have to be performed by the division in the event of forfeiture of the performance security. The chief shall examine the documentation and determine whether the permittee’s performance security exceeds the estimated cost of reclamation. If the chief determines that the performance security exceeds that estimated cost, the chief shall determine the amount of the reduction of the performance security and send written notice of the amount to the permittee. The permittee may reduce the amount of the performance security in the amount determined by the chief. Adjustments in the amount of performance security under this division shall not be considered release of performance security and are not subject to section 1513.16 of the Revised Code.

(G) If the performance security is a bond, it shall be executed by the operator and a corporate surety licensed to do business in this state. If the performance security is a cash deposit or negotiable certificates of deposit of a bank or savings and loan association, the bank or savings and loan association shall be licensed and operating in this state. The cash deposit or market value of the securities shall be equal to or greater than the amount of the performance security required under this section. The chief shall review any documents pertaining to the performance security and approve or disapprove the documents. The chief shall notify the applicant of the chief’s determination.

(H) If the performance security is a bond, the chief may accept the bond of the applicant itself without separate surety when the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the chief the existence of a suitable agent to receive service of process and a history of financial solvency and continuous operation sufficient for authorization to self-insure or bond the amount.

(I) Performance security provided under this section may be held in trust, provided that the state is the conditional beneficiary of the trust and the custodian of the performance security held in trust is a bank, trust company, or other financial institution that is licensed and operating in this state. The chief shall review the trust document and approve or disapprove the document. The chief shall notify the applicant of the chief’s determination.

(J) If a surety, bank, savings and loan association, trust company, or other financial institution that holds the performance security required under this section becomes insolvent, the permittee shall notify the chief of the insolvency, and the chief shall order the permittee to submit a plan for replacement performance security within thirty days after receipt of notice from the chief. If the permittee provided performance security in accordance with division (C)(1) of this section, the permittee shall provide the replacement performance security within ninety days after receipt of notice from the chief. If the permittee provided performance security in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section, the permittee shall provide the replacement performance security within one year after receipt of notice from the chief, and, for a period of one year after the permittee’s receipt of notice from the chief or until the permittee provides the replacement performance security, whichever occurs first, money in the reclamation forfeiture fund shall be the permittee’s replacement performance security in an amount not to exceed the estimated cost of reclamation as determined by the chief.

(K) A permittee’s responsibility for repairing material damage and replacement of water supply resulting from subsidence may be satisfied by liability insurance required under this chapter in lieu of the permittee’s performance security if the liability insurance policy contains terms and conditions that specifically provide coverage for repairing material damage and replacement of water supply resulting from subsidence.

(L) If the performance security provided in accordance with this section exceeds the estimated cost of reclamation, the chief may authorize the amount of the performance security that exceeds the estimated cost of reclamation together with any interest or other earnings on the performance security to be paid to the permittee.

(M) A permittee that held a valid coal mining and reclamation permit immediately prior to April 6, 2007, shall provide, not later than a date established by the chief, performance security in accordance with division (C)(1) or (2) of this section, rather than in accordance with the law as it existed prior to that date, by filing it with the chief on a form that the chief prescribes and furnishes. Accordingly, for purposes of this section, “applicant” is deemed to include such a permittee.

(N) As used in this section:

(1) “Affiliate of the applicant” means an entity that has a parent entity in common with the applicant.

(2) “Owner and controller of the applicant” means a person that has any relationship with the applicant that gives the person authority to determine directly or indirectly the manner in which the applicant conducts coal mining operations.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000; 04-06-2007; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007

(A) If an operator becomes insolvent, the division of mineral resources management shall have a priority lien in front of all other interested creditors against the assets of that operator for the amount of any reclamation that is required as a result of the operator’s mining activities. The chief of the division of mineral resources management shall file a statement in the office of the county recorder of each county in which the mined land lies of the estimated cost to reclaim the land. The estimated cost to reclaim the land shall include the direct and indirect costs of the development, design, construction, management, and administration of the reclamation. The statement shall constitute a lien on the assets of the operator as of the date of the filing. The lien shall continue in force so long as any portion of the lien remains unpaid or until the chief issues a certificate of release of the lien. If the chief issues a certificate of release of the lien, the chief shall file the certificate of release in the office of each applicable county recorder.

(B) The chief promptly shall issue a certificate of release of a lien under any of the following circumstances:

(1) Upon the repayment in full of the money that is necessary to complete the reclamation;

(2) Upon the transfer of an existing permit that includes the areas of the operation for which reclamation was not completed to a different operator;

(3) Any other circumstance that the chief determines to be in the best interests of the state.

(C) The chief may modify the amount of a lien under this section. If the chief modifies a lien, the chief shall file a statement in the office of the county recorder of each applicable county of the new amount of the lien.

(D) The chief may authorize an agent to hold a certificate of release in escrow for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty days for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of unreclaimed mine land.

(E) All money from the collection of liens under this section shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the reclamation forfeiture fund created in section 1513.18 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 04-06-2007

(A) The chief of the division of mineral resources management shall cause to be made such inspections of any coal mining and reclamation operations as the chief considers necessary. The chief and authorized representatives of the chief have a right of entry to, upon, or through any area of land upon which coal mining and reclamation operations are being conducted or upon which the chief or authorized representative has reason to believe such operations are being conducted for the purpose of performing such inspections.

(B) For the purpose of administration and enforcement of any requirement of this chapter or in the administration and enforcement of any permit under this chapter or of determining whether any person is in violation of any requirement of this chapter:

(1) The chief shall require any permittee or operator to:

(a) Establish and maintain appropriate records;

(b) Make monthly reports to the chief;

(c) Install, use, and maintain any necessary monitoring equipment or methods;

(d) Evaluate results in accordance with such methods, at such locations, intervals, and in such manner as the chief shall prescribe;

(e) Provide such other information relative to coal mining and reclamation operations as the chief considers reasonable and necessary.

(2) For those coal mining and reclamation operations that remove or disturb strata that serve as aquifers that significantly ensure the hydrologic balance of water use either on or off the mining site, the chief shall specify those:

(a) Monitoring sites to record the quantity and quality of surface drainage above and below the minesite, as well as in the potential zone of influence;

(b) Monitoring sites to record level, amount, and samples of ground water and aquifers potentially affected by the mining, including aquifers directly below the lower-most, deepest, coal seam to be mined;

(c) Records of well logs and borehole data to be maintained;

(d) Monitoring sites to record precipitation.

The monitoring and data collection and analysis required by this section shall be conducted according to standards and procedures set forth, by rule, by the chief in order to assure their reliability and validity.

(3) The authorized representatives of the chief, without advance notice and upon presentation of appropriate credentials:

(a) May enter into, upon, or through any coal mining and reclamation operations, any premises upon which the authorized representatives have a reasonable belief that such operations are being conducted, or any premises in which any records required to be maintained under division (B)(1) of this section are located;

(b) May, during office hours, have access to and copy any records and at reasonable times, without delay, any monitoring equipment or method of operation required under this chapter.

(C) The inspections by the chief or an authorized representative of the chief shall:

(1) Occur on an irregular basis averaging not less than one partial inspection per month and one complete inspection per calendar quarter for the coal mining and reclamation operation covered by each permit;

(2) Occur without prior notice to the permittee or the permittee’s agents or employees, except for necessary onsite meetings with the permittee;

(3) Include the filing of inspection records adequate to enforce the requirements of and to carry out the terms and purposes of this chapter.

(D) Each permittee shall conspicuously maintain at the entrances to the coal mining and reclamation operations a clearly visible sign that sets forth the name, business address, and phone number of the permittee and the permit number of the coal mining and reclamation operations.

(E) Each mineral resources inspector, upon detection of each violation of any requirement of this chapter, shall immediately inform the operator in writing and shall report in writing any such violation to the chief.

(F) Copies of any records, reports, inspection material, or information obtained under this chapter by the chief shall be made available immediately to the public at central and sufficient locations in the county, multi-county, and state area of mining so that they are conveniently available to residents in the areas of mining.

(G)(1) A person who is or may be adversely affected by a coal mining operation may notify the chief or any representative of the chief responsible for conducting the inspection, in writing, of any violation of this chapter that the person has reason to believe exists at the mining site. The chief shall, by rule, establish procedures for informal review of any refusal by an authorized representative to issue a notice of violation or order with respect to any such alleged violation. The chief shall furnish the persons requesting the review a written statement of the reasons for the chief’s final disposition of the matter.

(2) The chief shall also, by rule, establish procedures to ensure that adequate and complete inspections are made. Any person who is aggrieved or adversely affected may notify the chief of any failure to make such inspections, after which the chief shall determine whether adequate and complete inspections have been made. The chief shall furnish such persons a written statement of the reasons for the chief’s determination that adequate and complete inspections have or have not been conducted.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000

Effective Date: 09-05-2001; 04-06-2007

Every order of the chief of the division of mineral resources management or an authorized representative of the chief affecting the rights, duties, or privileges of an operator or the operator’s surety or of an applicant for a license or permit shall be in writing and contain a finding of the facts upon which the order is based. Notice of the order shall be given by certified mail or personal service to the person whose rights, duties, or privileges are affected.

Effective Date: 06-14-2000

Effective Date: 09-01-1981

(A)(1) Any person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected by a notice of violation, order, or decision of the chief of the division of mineral resources management, other than a show cause order or an order that adopts a rule, or by any modification, vacation, or termination of such a notice, order, or decision, may appeal by filing a notice of appeal with the reclamation commission for review of the notice, order, or decision within thirty days after the notice, order, or decision is served upon the person or within thirty days after its modification, vacation, or termination and by filing a copy of the notice of appeal with the chief within three days after filing the notice of appeal with the commission. The notice of appeal shall contain a copy of the notice of violation, order, or decision complained of and the grounds upon which the appeal is based. The commission has exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and decide such appeals. The filing of a notice of appeal under division (A)(1) of this section does not operate as a stay of any order, notice of violation, or decision of the chief.

(2) The permittee, the chief, and other interested persons shall be given written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least five days prior thereto. The hearing shall be of record.

(3) Any person authorized under this section to appeal to the commission may request an informal review by the chief or the chief’s designee by filing a written request with the chief within thirty days after a notice, order, decision, modification, vacation, or termination is served upon the person. Filing of the written request shall toll the time for appeal before the commission, but shall not operate as a stay of any order, notice of violation, or decision of the chief. The chief’s determination of an informal review is appealable to the commission under this section.

(B) The commission shall affirm the notice of violation, order, or decision of the chief unless the commission determines that it is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise inconsistent with law; in that case the commission may modify the notice of violation, order, or decision or vacate it and remand it to the chief for further proceedings that the commission may direct.

The commission shall conduct hearings and render decisions in a timely fashion, except that all of the following apply:

(1) When the appeal concerns an order for the cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations issued pursuant to division (D)(1) or (2) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code, the commission shall issue its written decision within thirty days after the receipt of the appeal unless temporary relief has been granted by the chairperson pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(2) When the appeal concerns an application for a permit under division (I) of section 1513.07 of the Revised Code, the commission shall hold a hearing within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal and issue its decision within thirty days after the hearing.

(3) When the appeal concerns a decision of the chief regarding release of a performance security under division (F) of section 1513.16 of the Revised Code, the commission shall hold a hearing within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal and issue its decision within sixty days after the hearing.

(4) When the appeal concerns a decision of the chief regarding the location of a well in a coal bearing township under section 1509.08 of the Revised Code, the commission shall hold a hearing and issue its decision within thirty days after receipt of the notice of appeal.

(C) The chairperson of the commission, under conditions the chairperson prescribes, may grant temporary relief the chairperson considers appropriate pending final determination of an appeal if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) All parties to the appeal have been notified and given an opportunity for a hearing to be held in the locality of the subject site on the request for temporary relief and the opportunity to be heard on the request.

(2) The person requesting relief shows that there is a substantial likelihood that the person will prevail on the merits.

(3) The relief will not adversely affect public health or safety or cause significant imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources.

The chairperson shall issue a decision expeditiously, except that when the applicant requests relief from an order for the cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations issued pursuant to division (D)(1) or (2) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code, the decision shall be issued within five days after its receipt.

Any party to an appeal filed with the commission who is aggrieved or adversely affected by a decision of the chairperson to grant or deny temporary relief under this section may appeal that decision to the commission. The commission may confine its review to the record developed at the hearing before the chairperson.

The appeal shall be filed with the commission within thirty days after the chairperson issues the decision on the request for temporary relief. The commission shall issue a decision as expeditiously as possible, except that when the appellant requests relief from an order for the cessation of coal mining and reclamation operations issued pursuant to division (D)(1) or (2) of section 1513.02 of the Revised Code, the decision of the commission shall be issued within five days after receipt of the notice of appe