Title 9 — Title 9

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Alabama Surface Mining Act of 1969.” History: (Acts 1969, No. 399, p. 773, §1.)

(a) The Alabama Legislature has found and determined the following: (1) A 1991 United States Department of the Interior audit report warned that the Non-Fuel Minerals Mining Law of Alabama is outdated and that mine operators are deliberately laying waste to mined land rather than…

Hearings; Entry of Orders by Director; Appeals from Orders of Director. (a) Whenever the director determines that any operator has not complied with the provisions of this article and is therefore in violation of this article, the director may cause to have issued and served upon…

Any record, report or information required to be submitted to the regulatory authority by a licensee or permittee pursuant to this article shall be available to the public, except as provided elsewhere in this article and except that upon a verified representation to the regulato…

The regulatory authority is hereby vested with the authority and responsibility for consulting with all institutions of this state which own lands or mineral interests relating to all coal leases proposed to be entered into by such institutions. The regulatory authority is hereby…

Any person engaged in the business of coal brokering or operating a coal sales agency in the State of Alabama and each and every person, corporation or other legal entity operating an electric system for the sale of electric energy for resale, sale to the public or sale to its me…

(a) All sums received through the payment of fees, the forfeiture of bonds, the recovery of civil penalties or appropriations by the Legislature shall be placed in the State Treasury and credited to an open account designated as the Alabama Surface Mining Fund. This fund, which s…

The regulatory authority shall make every effort to obtain maximum reimbursement from the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for the costs of performing its duties under this article. The regulatory authority is authorized to accept, administer a…

(a) If Public Law 95-87, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder or any part of such Public Law 95-87, is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, then such provisions of this article, or such rules or regulations as were adopted in order to comply with the p…

This article is cumulative and is intended to preempt local, municipal, county and state regulation of surface coal mining operations and to supplement existing state law and no part hereof shall be construed to repeal or supersede an existing state law specifically enacted for t…

This article shall become effective immediately upon: (1) Its passage and approval by the Governor, or upon its otherwise becoming a law; and (2) Upon the approval of the state regulatory program by the Secretary of Interior pursuant to Section 503 of P. L. 95-87, 30 U.S.C. §1253…

Enforcement of Final Order of Director; Engaging in Surface Mining Without Valid Permit; Willful Misrepresentations, Etc., in Applications; Rights of Exception and Appeal. (a) Should the director determine that any final order or determination made by him, not then the subject of…

(a) All fees and penalties collected under the provisions of this article shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury. (b) All funds received from the forfeiture of bonds, sureties, cash, or governmental securities shall be placed in the State Treasury and credit…

It is the express intent of this Legislature by the provisions of this article to provide for and implement a state program for abandoned mine reclamation which complies with the provisions of Title IV, Public Law 95-87 of the 95th U. S. Congress, known as the “Surface Mining Con…

For the purpose of this article the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) ABANDONED MINE LANDS. Lands affected by the mining of coal prior to November 5, 1990, and left in either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclai…

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be called the State Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund which shall receive all state and federal appropriations, grants and donations, and all other moneys available for the purposes of this article, and such funds …

Expenditures of moneys from the fund on eligible lands and water shall reflect the following priorities in the order stated: (1) The protection of public health, safety, general welfare, and property from extreme danger of adverse effects of coal mining practices; (2) The protect…

For purposes of this article, lands and water eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures are those which were mined for coal or which were affected by the mining, wastebanks, coal processing, or other coal mining processes, and abandoned or left in an inadequate …

(a) The Department of Labor, State Programs Division, shall establish and maintain a state reclamation program for abandoned mines which complies with Title IV of Public Law 95-87. The state reclamation program plan shall generally identify the areas to be reclaimed, the purposes…

(a) If the director makes a finding in writing with supporting facts that: (1) Land or water resources have been adversely affected by past coal mining practices; and (2) The adverse effects are at a stage where, in the public interest, action to restore, reclaim, abate, control,…

(a) The director, with the approval of the Secretary of Interior, may acquire title in the name of the state to any land or interest therein by purchase, donation, or condemnation if such land or interest is adversely affected by past coal mining practices and upon a determinatio…

Review by Court. (a) Any landowner adversely affected by the action of the director under Section 9- 16-127 of this article may institute proceedings to have the action reviewed in the circuit court in the county where the property or a part thereof affected by the action is loca…

(a) Within six months after the completion of projects to restore, reclaim, abate, control or prevent adverse effects of past coal mining practices on privately owned land, the director shall itemize the moneys so expended and may file a statement thereof in the probate judge’s o…

Any act authorized to be done by the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations of the State of Alabama may be performed by the inspector, assistant inspector or any employee of the department when designated by the director. The superintendent may adopt and promulgate re…

(a) The Governor may request the Secretary of Interior to authorize the director to fill voids, seal open or abandoned tunnels, shafts, and entryways, and reclaim surface impacts of underground or surface mining of minerals other than coal which the secretary determines could end…

All departments, boards, commissions and agencies of this state shall cooperate with the director by providing such available technical expertise, personnel, equipment, materials and supplies as may be required to implement and administer the provisions of this article. History: …

(a) The director may request the Attorney General, who is hereby authorized to initiate, in addition to any other remedies provided for in this article, in any court of competent jurisdiction, an action in equity for an injunction to restrain any interference with the exercise of…

It shall be the duty of the director to administer the provisions of this article and he shall have the power and authority to: (1) Engage in all activities and to do all things necessary and expedient to the implementation and administration thereof; (2) Engage in cooperative ag…

The department shall have workers’ compensation on all employees operating under this article in the amount prescribed by the workers’ compensation laws of Alabama and shall carry general liability insurance in an amount to assure adequate protection for lawful acts by the direct…

Administration and Disbursal of Funds. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a Special Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund to receive and retain up to 30 percent of the appropriated funds granted annually by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior for the recla…

The provisions of this article shall not apply to surface mining activities of the State Department of Transportation or any city, county or municipality incident to their activities in constructing, repairing and maintaining the public road system in Alabama. The provisions of t…

It is intended that this article shall supplement existing law regarding the inspection or regulation of mining, water pollution and water impoundment and that only provisions of such law which directly conflict with or are inconsistent with this article are hereby repealed to th…

Unless clearly indicated otherwise by the context, as used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) AFFECTED LAND. The area of land from which overburden has been removed or upon which overburden has been deposited after October 1, 1970. (2) CONTEMPOR…

The objective of this article is to provide for the safe and reasonable reclamation of lands upon which surface disturbances will be created by certain types of surface mining so as to protect the taxable value of property and preserve natural resources within the state and to pr…

Exemptions; Applicability. (a) No operator shall engage in any surface mining, as defined in this article, after October 1, 1970, without a valid permit from the department to engage in the surface mining. A separate permit shall be required for each such surface mining operation…

Issuance. (a) Any operator desiring a permit shall file an application with the department upon a form furnished by the department containing all of the following: (1) A brief description of the tract or tracts of land and the estimated number of acres to be affected by the appli…

(a) An operator desiring to amend a permit issued to him to include additional land may file an amended application with the department. Upon receipt of the amended application, such increase in the bond or surety as may be required under the provisions of this article and paymen…

(a) Every operator to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this article and who engages in surface mining on lands described in the permit shall: (1) Submit to the department, no later than 90 days after expiration of the permit period, a map or aerial photograph showing the locat…

This article shall be known and may be cited as “The Alabama Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1981.” History: (Acts 1981, No. 81-435, p. 682, §1.)

Mined Under This Article Shall Be Reclaimed. (a) The objective of this article is to provide for the safe, responsible and reasonable reclamation of lands upon which surface disturbances will be created by surface mining and the surface effects of underground mining so as to prot…

The following words and phrases, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings: (1) APPLICANT. Any person or legal entity who or which applied for a license or a permit to engage in surface coal mining operations. (2) APPROXIMATE…

Compensation; Meetings; Offices; Funds; Removal of Members. (a) There is continued as previously established the Alabama Surface Mining Reclamation Commission under the name of the Alabama Surface Mining Commission for the purpose of transition in implementing and enforcing this …

In addition to any other powers conferred on it by law, the commission shall have the power to do all of the following: (1) Adopt, amend, suspend, repeal, and enforce reasonably necessary rules and regulations, provided such rules and regulations shall not be more stringent than …

Written Notification of Commission’s Rulemaking Activities. In adopting, amending or repealing any rule, including any regulation or standard, the commission shall observe the requirements of the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act (Section 41-22-1 et seq.). Any person may reque…

No officer or employee of the commission performing any function or duty under this article, shall have a direct or indirect financial interest in underground or surface coal mining operations. Whoever knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be p…

(a) There is created a Division of Hearings and Appeals within the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to enforce this article. The division shall have such powers and authority as required by law and as delegated by the director. (b) The commission may hire or contract with hearin…

(a) No hearing officer shall participate in a hearing if he or she has an interest therein. At any such hearing all testimony shall be given under oath and be recorded, but need not be transcribed unless an appeal is made. (b) The manner in which hearings before hearing officers …

Procedures for hearings and appeals under this article shall be made as herein provided and in accordance with such general rules and regulations as the regulatory authority may prescribe. These procedures shall take precedence over the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, which…

(a)(1) Any bond provided in this article to be filed with the department by the operator shall be in the form as the secretary prescribes, payable to the State of Alabama and conditioned that the operator shall faithfully perform all applicable requirements of this article and co…

Chief; Transfer of Books, Records, Powers, Rights, and Personnel. (a) There is hereby created a Division of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation within the Alabama Surface Mining Commission to enforce the provisions of this article. The division shall have such powers and autho…