Senate Bill No. 56
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Chafin, Jackson, Ross,
Wooton and Sharpe)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998;
referred to the Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article three, chapter
twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to surface-mining
reclamation plan requirements; and providing for the review
and recommendations by local economic or redevelopment
authorities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article three, chapter twenty-two of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT.
§22-3-10. Reclamation plan requirements.
(a) Each reclamation plan submitted as part of a surface-mining permit application shall include, in the degree of detail
necessary to demonstrate that reclamation required by this
article can be accomplished, a statement of:
(1) The identification of the lands subject to surface
mining over the estimated life of these operations and the size,
sequence and timing of the operations 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: (A) The uses existing at the
time of the application and, if
such the land has a history of
previous mining, the uses which 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 vegetation cover and, if
applicable, a soil survey prepared pursuant to subdivision (15),
subsection (a), section nine of this article; and (C) the best
information available on the productivity of the land prior to
mining, including appropriate classification as prime farmlands,
and the average yield of food, fiber, forage or wood products
from
such the lands obtained under high levels of management;
(3) The use which is proposed to be made of the land
following reclamation, including a discussion of the utility and
capacity of the reclaimed land to support a variety of alternative uses and the relationship of
such the use to existing
land use policies and plans, and the comments of any owner of the
surface, other state agencies and local governments, which 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
which 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, revegetation and a plan
for soil reconstruction, replacement and stabilization pursuant
to the performance standards in subdivision (7), subsection (b),
section thirteen of this article for those food, forage and
forest lands identified therein; and a statement as to how the
operator plans to comply with each of the applicable requirements
set out in section thirteen or fourteen of this article;
(6) A detailed estimated timetable for the accomplishment of
each major step in the reclamation plan;
(7) The consideration which has been given to conducting
surface-mining operations in a manner consistent with surface owner plans and applicable state and local land use plans and
programs;
(8) The steps to be taken to comply with applicable air and
water quality laws and rules and any applicable health and safety
standards;
(9) The consideration which has been given to developing the
reclamation plan in a manner consistent with local physical
environmental and climatological conditions;
(10) All lands, interests in lands or options on
such the
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;
(11) A detailed description of the measures to be taken
during the surface-mining and reclamation process to assure the
protection of: (A) The quality of surface and groundwater
systems, both on and off-site, from adverse effects of the
surface-mining operation; (B) the rights of present users to
such
the water; and (C) the quantity of surface and groundwater
systems, both on and off-site, from adverse effects of the
surface-mining operation or to provide alternative sources of
water where
such the protection of quantity cannot be assured;
(12) The results of tests borings which 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 director,
including the location of subsurface water, and an analysis of
the chemical properties, including acid forming properties of the
mineral and overburden:
Provided, That information which
pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical
properties of the coal, except information regarding
such the
mineral or elemental contents which are potentially toxic in the
environment, shall be kept confidential and not made a matter of
public record;
(13) The consideration which has been given to maximize the
utilization and conservation of the solid fuel resource being
recovered so that reaffecting the land in the future can be
minimized; and
(14)
Such Any other requirements as the director may
prescribe by rule.
(b) Any surface-mining permit application filed after the
effective date of this subsection shall, in addition to the
requirements of subsection (a) hereof, be reviewed by and include
the recommendations of any potentially effected local economic
development or redevelopment authority as to the postmining land
use which would be in the best interest of the local community.
The recommendations may include a reclamation plan, to the extent
permitted under existing federal regulations, that the land not be restored to its original proximate contour, but rather,
utilized for further economic development by preserving mine
access roads, infrastructure, buildings and other physical
components and by requiring the initial installation of water,
sewerage or other utilities at mine sites in a manner so as to
assure postmining usage. Notwithstanding any provision of this
article to the contrary, any reclamation plan approved but not
implemented or pending approval as of the effective date of this
section may be amended to provide for a revised reclamation plan
consistent with the provisions of this subsection.
(c) The director shall promulgate emergency rules pursuant
to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code to effectuate the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section.
(b) (d) The reclamation plan shall be available to the
public for review except for those portions thereof specifically
exempted in subsection (a) of this section.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the
review and recommendations by local economic or redevelopment
authorities of surface mining reclamation plans.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)
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ENERGY, INDUSTRY AND MINING COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page ___ , section ten, line _____, by striking out the
word "shall" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "may
include";
On page ____, section ten, line _____, by striking out the
words "hereof, be reviewed by and include" and inserting in lieu
thereof the words "of this section,";
On page ____, section ten, line ____, by striking out the
word "effected" and inserting in lieu thereof the word
"affected";
On page ___, section ten, line ____, by striking out the
words "or redevelopment".
And,
On page one, by striking out the title and substituting
therefor a new title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 56--A Bill to amend and reenact section
ten, article three, chapter twenty-two of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to surface-mining reclamation plans; including
recommendations by local economic development authorities in
reclamation plans; and promulgation of emergency rules.