Title 27 — Mining
13 chapters · 140 sections in this title.
AS 27.21.010 Findings and declaration of purpose.
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Article 2. Surface Coal Mining. (a) The legislature finds and declares that (1) the Congress of the United States has enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which provides for the establishment of a nationwide program to regulate surface coal mining and r…
AS 27.21.020 Jurisdiction.
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The commissioner of natural resources has exclusive jurisdiction over surface coal mining and reclamation operations in the state.
AS 27.21.030 General powers.
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To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, the commissioner may (1) in accordance with AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) adopt, amend, and enforce regulations pertaining to surface coal mining and reclamation operations; (2) issue permits; (3) conduct hearings and conferen…
AS 27.21.040 Provisions of regulations and permits.
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The provisions of a regulation adopted or a permit issued by the commissioner may vary for particular conditions, types of coal being extracted, or areas of the state if the provisions are consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
AS 27.21.050 Conflict of interest.
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An employee of the department or a private contractor performing a function or duty under this chapter may not have a direct or indirect financial interest in an underground or surface coal mining operation. A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a class A misd…
AS 27.21.060 Permits.
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(a) Beginning eight months after May 2, 1983, a person may not conduct a surface coal mining and reclamation operation in the state without a permit for that operation. To receive a permit, a person must apply to the commissioner. The commissioner shall process applications accor…
AS 27.21.070 Term of permit.
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(a) Permits will be issued for a term of five years. However, the commissioner may grant a permit for a longer term if the application is complete for that longer term and the applicant demonstrates that the longer term is necessary to allow the applicant to obtain financing for …
AS 27.21.080 Renewal of permit.
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(a) A permit issued under this chapter includes the right of successive renewal upon expiration, for areas within the boundaries of the permit area. An opponent of renewal of a permit has the burden of proving that the permit should not be renewed. Subject to (c) of this section,…
AS 27.21.090 Application fee.
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An application for a new permit, permit renewal, or transfer of a permit must be accompanied by an application fee. The commissioner shall adopt regulations setting out a fee schedule. The application fee may not exceed the actual or anticipated costs of reviewing the application…
AS 27.21.100 Public information and inspection.
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(a) An applicant for a permit shall file a copy of the application for public inspection at a location designated by the commissioner near the area of the proposed surface coal mining operation. The applicant may exclude from the copy filed under this subsection information that …
AS 27.21.110 Contents of application.
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The commissioner shall adopt regulations relating to the contents of an application for a permit under this chapter that include a reclamation plan and liability insurance consistent with the requirements of 30 U.S.C. 1257(b) and 30 U.S.C. 1258, as amended. The regulations must t…
AS 27.21.120 Small operator assistance.
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(a) The provisions of this section apply when the commissioner finds that the probable total annual production of all of the surface coal mining operations of an applicant or, if the applicant is a subsidiary of another corporation, the applicant's parent corporation and its subs…
AS 27.21.130 Public notice of application.
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At the time an applicant submits an application for a permit or for a revision of a permit, the applicant shall give notice in the manner set out in AS 38.05.945(b) and (c) except as may be provided otherwise by regulations adopted under this chapter.
AS 27.21.140 Objection to application; informal conference.
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(a) A person who is or may be adversely affected by the issuance or revision of a permit or a federal, state, or municipal agency may file written comments or objections to the permit or revision with the commissioner within 30 days after the last publication of the notice requir…
AS 27.21.150 Hearings.
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(a) Within 30 days after an applicant is notified under AS 27.21.140(c) of the commissioner's decision concerning the application, the applicant or a person who is or may be adversely affected by the decision may request a hearing to review the reasons for the decision. The commi…
AS 27.21.160 Performance bond; exceptions.
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(a) Except as provided in (c) and (g) of this section, after an application for a permit has been approved and before the permit may be issued, the applicant must file with the commissioner, on a form prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, a performance bond payable to the…
AS 27.21.170 Request and release of performance bonds or deposits.
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(a) A permittee may file a request with the commissioner for the release of all or part of the permittee's performance bonds or deposit. The permittee shall give notice in the manner set out in AS 38.05.945(b) and (c) except as provided by regulations adopted under this chapter. …
AS 27.21.180 Application approval or denial.
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(a) Within 120 days after receipt of a complete application for a permit or for revision or renewal of a permit, the commissioner shall grant, condition, modify, or deny the application and notify the applicant in writing of the commissioner's action. The applicant has the burden…
AS 27.21.190 Revision and transfer of permit.
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(a) During the term of a permit, the permittee may submit to the commissioner an application for revision of the permit, with necessary revisions to the permittee's reclamation plan. (b) The commissioner may not approve an application for revision of a permit unless the commissio…
AS 27.21.200 Coal exploration permits.
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(a) A person may conduct coal exploration activities that substantially disturb the natural land surface only according to regulations adopted by the commissioner. Before conducting the coal exploration activities, the person shall file with the commissioner a notice of intent to…
AS 27.21.210 Performance standards.
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The commissioner shall adopt regulations consistent with the environmental performance standards of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and the regulations promulgated under that Act for both surface coal mining and reclamation operations and surface effects of…
AS 27.21.220 Surface effects of underground coal mining.
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(a) The provisions of this chapter apply to the surface effects of underground coal mining. However, the commissioner shall consider the inherent difference between underground mining and surface mining in adopting regulations under this chapter that apply to underground mining. …
AS 27.21.230 Inspections and monitoring.
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(a) The commissioner shall provide for an inspection of a surface coal mining and reclamation operation to evaluate compliance with this chapter, and, for that purpose, an authorized representative of the commissioner may enter the surface coal mining and reclamation operation. T…
AS 27.21.240 Enforcement.
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(a) If, on the basis of an inspection under AS 27.21.230, the commissioner determines that a person or a person's operation is in violation of this chapter or a term of a permit and that the violation creates an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public or is causing …
AS 27.21.250 Penalties.
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(a) The commissioner may assess a civil penalty against a person if the person or the person's operation violates a condition of a permit or a provision of this chapter. If as a result of the violation the commissioner issues a cessation order under AS 27.21.240, the commissioner…
AS 27.21.260 Areas unsuitable for surface coal mining.
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Article 3. Abandoned Mines. (a) The commissioner shall use competent and scientifically sound data and information in order to make objective decisions as to which areas of land are unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal operations. The decisions shall (1) reflect th…
AS 27.21.270 Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.
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[Repealed or reserved.]
AS 27.21.280 Eligible land and water.
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Land and water eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures under this chapter are those that were mined for coal or were affected by such mining, wastebanks, coal processing, or other coal mining processes, and abandoned or left in an inadequate reclamation status…
AS 27.21.290 Entry onto abandoned mine area.
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(a) The commissioner may enter real property that has been adversely affected by past surface coal mining practices and other real property necessary for access to adversely affected real property to restore or reclaim the real property or to abate, control, or prevent the advers…
AS 27.21.300 Acquisition of abandoned mine areas.
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(a) The commissioner may, by purchase, donation, or condemnation in accordance with AS 09.55.240 — 09.55.460, acquire real property that has been adversely affected by past surface coal mining practices if the commissioner determines that (1) acquisition of the real property is n…
AS 27.21.310 Liens on abandoned mine areas.
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(a) Within six months after the completion of a project under AS 27.21.290 to restore or reclaim privately owned real property or to abate, control, or prevent the adverse effects of past surface coal mining practice on privately owned real property, the commissioner shall itemiz…
AS 27.21.320 Filling voids and sealing tunnels.
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The commissioner may authorize the filling of voids, sealing open and abandoned tunnels, shafts, and entryways resulting from any previous mining operation and reclaim surface impacts of underground and surface mines to the extent authorized by the Secretary of the United States …
AS 27.21.330 Emergency powers in abandoned mine areas.
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(a) In emergency situations the commissioner may use money available to the state in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund for the purposes of AS 27.21.290(a) if the commissioner finds that (1) an emergency exists that constitutes a danger to the public health, safety, or general w…
AS 27.21.340 Miscellaneous powers regarding abandoned mine lands.
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Article 4. General Provisions. (a) The commissioner may request the attorney general to initiate, in addition to any other remedies provided for in this chapter, an action in equity for an injunction to restrain any interference with the exercise of the right to enter or to condu…
AS 27.21.900 Mining by government agencies.
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A federal, state, or municipal government agency, including a publicly owned utility or corporation, that proposes to engage in a surface coal mining operation that is subject to this chapter must comply with this chapter.
AS 27.21.910 Exemptions.
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The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the extraction of coal (1) by a landowner or lessee for the landowner's or lessee's own noncommercial use from land owned or leased by it; (2) for commercial purposes if the surface coal mining operation affects two acres or less; or…
AS 27.21.920 Experimental practices.
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In order to encourage advances in mining and reclamation practices, and to allow post-mining land use for industrial, commercial, residential, recreational, or public purposes, the commissioner may, with the approval of the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interio…
AS 27.21.930 Water rights and replacement.
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(a) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to affect the right of a person to protect the person's interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation. (b) An operator shall replace the water supply of an owner of an interest in real property who obtains all…
AS 27.21.940 Certification of blasters.
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The commissioner shall adopt regulations requiring the training, examination, and certification of persons engaging in or directly responsible for blasting or the use of explosives in surface coal mining operations.
AS 27.21.950 Civil actions.
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(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, a person who is or may be adversely affected by a failure to comply with this chapter may commence a civil action in the superior court on the person's own behalf and compel compliance with this chapter against (1) the commissioner, …
AS 27.21.960 Inconsistencies with federal act.
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(a) A provision of this chapter that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 as determined by the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior under 30 U.S.C. 1255(b) is invalid from the date of the secretary's de…
AS 27.21.970 Relationship to other laws.
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(a) Nothing in this chapter abrogates or modifies the power of a state agency to enforce laws and regulations within its jurisdiction, except as specifically stated in this chapter and regulations adopted under it. The commissioner shall coordinate permitting procedures to preven…
AS 27.21.975 Severability.
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If any provision of this chapter or the applicability of it to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of that provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
AS 27.21.980 Administrative Procedure Act.
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Unless otherwise provided in AS 44.37.011 or other law, AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) applies to this chapter.
AS 27.21.998 Definitions.
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In this chapter, (1) “alluvial valley floors” means the unconsolidated stream-laid deposits holding streams where water availability is sufficient for subirrigation or flood irrigation agricultural activities but does not include upland areas that are generally overlain by a thin…
AS 27.21.999 Short title.
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This chapter may be cited as the Alaska Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act.