Title 15 — Natural Resources and Economic Development

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act of 1979”.

(1) The General Assembly finds, and it is declared that:(1) (A) The extraction of coal from the earth by surface mining in this state is a significant economic activity, is an integral part of the growth and development of this state, and is important to supply energy to the peop…

(1) The General Assembly declares that it is the purpose of this subchapter to:(1) Assure that the coal supply essential to society's energy requirements and to its economic and social well-being is provided;(2) Establish a statewide program for surface coal mining and reclamatio…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Affected governmental agency” means an agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental, social, or economic impact involved in the surface coal mining operation, or is authorized to develop and enforce e…

Any agency, unit, or instrumentality of federal, state, or local government, including any publicly owned utility or publicly owned corporation of federal, state, or local government, which proposes to engage in surface coal mining operations which are subject to the requirements…

(1) This chapter does not apply to any of the following activities:(1) (A) The mining, surface or otherwise, of any minerals or materials other than coal.(B) All minerals and materials other than coal, when applicable, shall be regulated according to the Arkansas Open-Cut Land Re…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, his or her interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation. (b) The operator of a surface coal mine shall replace th…

(a) The Division of Environmental Quality is designated as the official agency whose duty it is to establish policies and guidelines, to administer the guidelines contained in this chapter, and to institute other reasonable rules and guidelines as they become necessary pursuant t…

(a) The authority shall be vested in the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission to establish policies and guidelines and take such other actions as are necessary to ensure the development, administration, and enforcement of a state program which meets the requirements …

(a) The authority shall be vested in the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality and such other persons as designated by the director to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The director shall seek the accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter by …

(a) Before the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall give public notice and the opportunity for a public hearing under §§ 15-58-207 and 15-58-208. (b) (1) If the commission finds that imminent peril to the public h…

(a) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality shall require such monitoring and reporting, shall cause to be made such inspections of any surface coal mining and reclamation operations, shall require the maintenance of such signs and markers, and shall take such other…

(a) No person performing any function or duty under this chapter shall have a direct or indirect financial interest in any underground or surface coal mining operation. Whoever knowingly violates the provisions of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of n…

(a) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall give public notice of each of the following pending, proposed, or requested actions:(1) The director, upon receipt of any completed application for an initial …

(a) For the purpose of receiving and responding to written comments and objections and for presiding at a public hearing, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission or the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality may designate one (1) or more examiners. (b) An…

(a) A permittee or any person having an interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by the following may apply to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission for an adjudicatory review of the specified determination, request, notice, order, or decision:(1) A final …

(a) The following persons shall preside at an adjudicatory public hearing:(1) One (1) or more members of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission; or(2) One (1) or more examiners or referees designated by the commission or the commission's administrative law judge. (…

(a) In any adjudicatory public hearing, if a person refuses to respond to a subpoena, refuses to take the oath or affirmation as a witness, or thereafter refuses to be examined, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, its authorized representative, or the presiding…

(a) Any person who participated in the administrative proceeding may institute proceedings for judicial review by filing a petition in the Pulaski County Circuit Court or in the circuit court of any county in which the involved surface coal mining operation is located within thir…

Whenever an order is issued as a result of a public hearing under this chapter at the request of any person, a sum equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, reasonably incurred by that person, for or in connection with his or her particip…

(a) If the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or his or her authorized representative determines on the basis of an inspection or other available information that a permittee is in violation of a requirement of this chapter or of the rules issued pursuant to this c…

(a) If the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or his or her authorized representative determines, on the basis of an inspection or other available information, that a condition or practice exists or that a permittee is in violation of a requirement of this chapter …

(a) On the basis of an inspection, if the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or his or her authorized agent has reason to believe that a pattern of violations of any requirements of this chapter or the rules issued pursuant to this chapter or any permit conditions …

(a) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates a condition of a permit issued under this chapter or fails or refuses to comply with an order authorized by §§ 15-58-301 — 15-58-303 or any order incorporated in a final decision issued by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecol…

Except as permitted by law, a person who knowingly resists, prevents, impedes, or interferes with the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or any of his or her authorized representatives in the performance of duties pursuant to this chapter upon conviction is guilty …

A person who knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or certification or who knowingly fails to make a statement, representation, or certification in an application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter shall be …

(a) Any person who violates any permit condition or who violates any other provision of this chapter or the rules issued pursuant to this chapter may in accordance with the rules issued by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission be assessed a civil penalty by the co…

(a) The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission or the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality may request the Attorney General or an attorney designated by the director to institute without bond or other undertaking a civil action for relief against a permitt…

(a) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected may commence a civil action on his or her own behalf to compel compliance with this chapter or the rules issued pursuant to this chapter:(1) Against the State of Arkansas or any other state instrumentality or…

(a) Lands and water eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures under this chapter 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 reclamat…

(1) Expenditure of moneys from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund on lands and water eligible under § 15-58-401 for the purposes of this chapter shall reflect the following priorities in the order stated:(1) “Priority I” includes the protection of public health, safety, and prop…

(1) The costs for each proposed project under the abandoned mine reclamation program shall include:(1) Actual construction costs;(2) Actual operation and maintenance costs of permanent facilities;(3) Planning and engineering costs;(4) Construction inspection costs; and(5) Other n…

(a) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or his or her authorized representative, under the state abandoned mine reclamation program, shall make a finding of fact that:(1) Land or water resources have been adversely affected by past coal mining practices;(2) The …

(a) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality or his or her authorized representative pursuant to an approved state abandoned mine reclamation program shall have the right to enter upon any property for the purpose of conducting studies or exploratory work to determin…

(a) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality, personally or through his or her authorized legal representative, pursuant to an approved state abandoned mine reclamation program, may acquire for the state any land, by purchase, donation, or condemnation, which is adve…

(a) The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, pursuant to an approved state abandoned mine reclamation program, when requested after appropriate public notice, shall hold a public hearing in accordance with §§ 15-58-207 and 15-58-208 in the county or counties in whic…

(a) The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall issue rules that adopt appropriate procedures for identifying and designating land in this state as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface mining, which rules shall:(1) Prevent surface coal mining operations …

(a) Any person in expectation of conducting surface coal mining and reclamation operations in this state must apply for a permit. (b) No person shall engage in or carry out on lands within the state any surface coal mining operations unless that person has first obtained a permit…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall issue rules as are required pursuant to the state program requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-87, designating the required information, the criteria, and the pro…

(a) Coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface shall be conducted in accordance with coal exploration rules issued by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. (b) Coal exploration rules shall provide, at a minimum, that prior to…

Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, or the officer or head of any federal, state, or local affected governmental agency may, in accordance with §§ 15-58-207 and 15-58-208 and the rules promulgated by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Comm…

(a) Any valid permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall carry with it the right to successive renewal upon expiration with respect to areas within the boundaries of the existing permit. The holders of the permit may apply for renewal, and renewal shall be issued unless the opp…

(a) A permit shall terminate if the permittee has not commenced the surface coal mining operations covered by the permit within three (3) years of the issuance of the permit. (b) (1) The director may grant reasonable extensions of time upon a showing that extensions are necessary…

(a) Each application for a surface coal mining permit or renewal of that permit shall be accompanied by an initial application fee as determined by the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality in accordance with a fee schedule which the Arkansas Pollution Control and Eco…

(a) After a surface coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved but before the permit is issued, the applicant shall file a bond with the Division of Environmental Quality. This bond shall be on a form furnished by the division in accordance with the rules is…

(a) Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter to conduct surface coal mining operations and any authorization to conduct coal exploration operations shall require that operations will meet all applicable performance standards of this chapter and the rules issued pursuant to this…