TCA § 59-8-106 — Permits for surface coal mining and reclamation activities. [Contingent effective date, see Compiler's Notes.]

No person shall engage in surface coal mining and reclamation operations without having first obtained from the commissioner a permit for each surface mine. All permits issued under this part shall be issued for a term not to exceed five (5) years; however, 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 a specified longer term, the commissioner may issue a permit for the longer term. The commissioner shall issue a permit for a term longer than five (5) years only if the requirements of this part are satisfied, and only upon the submission by the applicant and approval by the commissioner of a bond, permit fee, and acreage fees for all acres permitted, a mining and reclamation plan, and any other information required by this part. A successor in interest to a permittee who submits a complete application for a new permit within thirty (30) days of succeeding to the interest, and who is able to obtain the bond coverage of the original permittee may, with the written approval of the commissioner, continue using the surface mining and reclamation plan of the original permittee until the successor's application for a new permit and plan is granted or denied, not to exceed the termination date of the original permit. The issuance of permits shall be subject to payment of the fee, posting the performance bond required by this part, and submission to the department of any information that is necessary to assure compliance with this part as prescribed in the rules promulgated by the board under § 59-8-103(b)(1). Information pertaining to coal seams, test borings, core samplings, or soil samples required by this section shall be made available to any person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected; however, information that pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the coal, except that information regarding any mineral or elemental content, which is potentially toxic in the environment, shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of public record under title 10, chapter 7. Each applicant for a surface coal mining and reclamation operation permit shall submit a reclamation plan that meets the requirements of § 59-8-109, to the commissioner as part of the permit application. The board shall specify in rules promulgated under § 59-8-103(b)(1), the requirements for the contents, processing, and publication of an application. Within five (5) days of submitting an application for a coal surface mining permit to the commissioner, the applicant shall file a complete copy of the application for public inspection with the register of deeds of the county, or an appropriate public office approved by the commissioner, in the locality where the mining is proposed to occur, except for information pertaining to the coal itself. Each applicant for a coal surface mining and reclamation permit shall submit, as part of the permit application, a blasting plan that outlines the procedures and standards by which the applicant will meet the requirements of this part. Each applicant for a coal surface mining permit shall submit, as part of the permit application, 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 surface mining and reclamation operation for which the permit is sought, or evidence that the applicant is self-insured. The public liability insurance policy shall provide for personal injury and property damage protection in an amount adequate to compensate any persons damaged as a result of surface mining and reclamation operations, including the use of explosives. The policy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the terms of the permit or any renewal period, including the length of all reclamation operations. The holder of a valid permit issued under this part may apply to continue the operation beyond the original permit expiration date by submitting a renewal application at least one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the expiration date of the permit. The time length of a permit renewal shall not exceed the time length of the original permit. In any case when the private mineral estate has been severed from the private surface estate, the applicant for a permit shall submit one (1) of the following to the commissioner: The written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of coal by surface mining methods; A copy of a conveyance that expressly grants or reserves the right to extract coal by surface mining methods; or If the conveyance does not expressly grant the right to extract coal by surface mining methods, the surface-subsurface legal relationship shall be determined in accordance with the laws of this state. Nothing in this part authorizes the commissioner or board to adjudicate property right disputes. Any operator who is a permittee may subcontract any part, or all, of the mining of the lands covered by the permit to a subcontractor if the subcontractor is not in violation of this part with regard to the subcontractor's own operations, or if the subcontractor submits proof that any violation by the subcontractor has been corrected or is in the process of being corrected to the satisfaction of the commissioner, department, or agency that has jurisdiction over the violation. If, after an opportunity for a hearing, the commissioner makes a finding that the subcontractor controls or has controlled mining operations with a demonstrated pattern of knowing violations of this part of a nature and duration, or with resulting irreparable damage to the environment that indicates an intent not to comply with this part, the operator shall not subcontract any part of the mining operation to the subcontractor. An applicant for a permit shall publish an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed site, which identifies the ownership, the exact location, and boundaries of the proposed site specifically enough that the proposed operation can be readily located by nearby residents, and the location of the place where the application is available for public inspection. The advertisement shall be published at least once a week for four (4) successive weeks after the filing of an administratively complete application and shall appear in the form and contain the information that is required by the rules promulgated by the board under § 59-8-103(b)(1). The board may, by rules promulgated under § 59-8-103(b)(1), set criteria for obtaining a permit exemption for the following: Extraction of coal as an incidental part of federal, state, or local government financed highway or other construction; or Construction operations involving less than one (1) acre in disturbance where coal removal is incidental to the purpose of the construction and not inconsistent with this part. The commissioner shall make an on-the-ground inspection of a proposed affected area before a new permit is issued; however, an inspection shall not be required for the renewal of any permit. The applicant shall submit to the commissioner the name, permanent address, and any temporary address to be used in connection with the operation covered by the permit, in addition to the telephone number of any subcontractor to be used in the mining operation. The permit area shall be readily identifiable by appropriate markers on the site.