Title 45 — Title 45 — Mines and Mining

In no event shall a permit be issued to any operator if a permit issued to such operator has been revoked under Section 12 of this act. Laws 1971, c. 332, § 16, emerg. eff. June 12, 1971.

Any municipal or county governmental agency or body engaged in mining as defined in this act shall conform to all requirements of this act respecting reclamation of affected lands. Laws 1971, c. 332, § 17, emerg. eff. June 12, 1971.

All final decisions and orders of the Department shall be subject to judicial review of the acts of administrative agencies. Laws 1971, c. 332, § 18, emerg. eff. June 12, 1971.

This act may be cited as the "Oklahoma Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act". Laws 1981, c. 185, § 1, emerg. eff. May 19, 1981.

A. The Legislature finds that: 1. The Congress of the United States has enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. Sections 1201 et seq., hereinafter cited as the "federal act", which provides for the establishment of a nationwide program to regulat…

To accomplish the purposes of this act, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, hereinafter cited as the "Commission", shall have the authority: 1. To adopt, amend and enforce rules pertaining to reclamation operations consistent with the general intent and purposes of this act; 2.…

The Commission is authorized to take all action necessary to insure Oklahoma's participation in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund established by the federal act, and to function as the state's agency for participation. Pursuant to the federal act, the Commission shall by rule e…

practices - Entry - Acquisition - Title - Disposition. A. If the Commission makes a finding of fact that: Land or water resources have been adversely affected by past coal mining practices; and the adverse effects are at a stage where, in the public interest, action to restore, r…

A. Within six (6) months after the completion of projects to restore, reclaim, abate, control or prevent the adverse effects of past mining practices on privately owned land, the Commission shall itemize the monies so expended and may file a statement of the monies spent with the…

A. The Commission is authorized to spend monies from the State Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund for the emergency restoration, reclamation, abatement, control or prevention of adverse effects of coal mining practices on eligible land if it finds that: 1. An emergency exists consti…

- Public policy - Purpose of act. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Coal Reclamation Act of 1979". It is the intent of the Oklahoma Legislature that the Coal Reclamation Act of 1978, Sections 742 et seq. of Title 45 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and this Coal Reclamati…

As used in this act: 1. "Acid drainage" means water with a pH of less than 6.0 Standard Units and in which total acidity exceeds total alkalinity, discharged from active, inactive, or abandoned mines and from areas affected by surface coal mining and reclamation operations. 2. "A…

All surface coal mining operations which commence operations pursuant to a permit issued on or after February 3, 1978, shall comply, and such permits shall contain terms requiring compliance with the provisions set out in this act. On and after May 3, 1978, all surface coal minin…

Surface coal mining operations in operation pursuant to a permit issued by this state before August 3, 1977, issued to a person in existence prior to May 2, 1977, and operated by a person whose total annual production of coal from surface and underground coal mining operations do…

Forms - Plan of reclamation - Fees - Exemptions. A. It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage in any mining operations in this state without first obtaining from the Department a permit to do so for each separate mining operation. The Department shall determine what constit…

A. 1. During the term of the permit the permittee may submit an application for a revision of the permit, together with a revised reclamation plan, to the Department. The Department shall promulgate by rule a definition of a major revision and a minor revision. The fees for an ap…

privileged information - Tonnage limitations - Violations. A. Coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface shall be conducted in accordance with exploration regulations issued by the Department. Such regulations shall include, at a minimum: 1. …

affected land - Notice to political subdivisions, etc. - Comments on proposed operation. At the time of submission of an application for a surface coal mining and reclamation permit, or revision of an existing permit, the applicant shall submit to the Department a copy of his adv…

conference - Hearings. A. Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, or the chief administrative officer of any federal, state or local governmental agency or authority, shall have the right to file written objections to the application for a permit with…

A. If an informal conference has been held, the Department shall issue and furnish the applicant and persons who are parties to the administrative proceedings with the written finding of the Department, granting or denying the permit in whole or in part and stating the reasons th…

proceedings - Conduct of hearings - Appeals. When a hearing is requested pursuant to this act, the Department may, under such conditions as it may prescribe, grant such temporary relief as it deems appropriate pending final determination of the proceedings if: 1. All parties to t…

The Department shall operate a small operator assistance program to the extent required by federal law, and shall provide such services as are necessary to comply with the permanent regulatory program. The Department is authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Se…

appropriate public office - Liability insurance - Blasting plans. A. Each applicant for a surface coal mining and reclamation permit shall file a copy of his application for public inspection with the recorder at the courthouse of the county or an appropriate public office approv…

The operator may create, if authorized in the approved mining and reclamation plan and permit, permanent impoundments of water on mining sites as part of reclamation activities only when it is adequately demonstrated that: 1. The size of the impoundment is adequate for its intend…

The operator shall conduct any augering operation associated with surface mining in a manner to maximize recoverability of coal and other mineral reserves remaining after the operation and reclamation are complete, and seal all auger holes with an impervious and noncombustible ma…

All permits issued pursuant to the requirements of this act shall be issued for a term not to exceed five (5) years. A successor in interest to a permittee who applies for a new permit within thirty (30) days of succeeding to such interest and who is able to obtain the bond cover…

The operator shall, with respect to surface disposal of mine wastes, tailings, coal processing wastes, and other wastes in areas other than the mine working or excavations, stabilize all waste piles in designated areas through construction in compacted layers including the use of…

mines. The operator shall refrain from surface coal mining within five hundred (500) feet from active and abandoned underground mines in order to prevent breakthroughs and to protect health or safety of miners. The Department shall permit an operator to mine near, through or part…

The operator shall insure that all reclamation efforts proceed in an environmentally sound manner and as contemporaneously as practicable with the surface coal mining operations. Where the applicant proposes to combine surface mining operations with underground mining operations …

A permit shall terminate if the permittee has not commenced the surface coal mining operations covered by such permit within three (3) years of the issuance of the permit. The Department may grant reasonable extensions of time upon a showing and a finding by the Department that s…

Term. Any valid permit issued pursuant to this act shall carry with it the right of successive renewal with respect to areas within the boundaries of the existing permit. The holders of the permit may apply for renewal and such renewal shall be issued, provided that on applicatio…

A. Each applicant for a permit shall be required to submit to the Department as part of the permit application a reclamation plan which shall meet the requirements of this act. Each reclamation plan submitted as part of a permit application shall include, in the degree of detail …

A. After a surface coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved but before such a permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the Department, on a form prescribed and furnished by the Department, a bond for performance payable to the state, and conditional…

- Notice to applicant - Burden of proof - Notice to political subdivisions. Upon the basis of a complete mining application and reclamation plan, including public notification and an opportunity for a public hearing, the Department shall grant, require modification of or deny the…

No permit or revision application shall be approved unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the Department finds in writing, on the basis of the information set forth in the application or from information otherwise available, which will be documented in the approva…

environmental protection laws to be submitted - Effect of prior violations on application. The applicant shall file with his permit application a schedule listing all notices of violations of this act and any law, rule or regulation of the United States, or of any department or a…

The operator shall restore the land affected to a condition capable of supporting the uses which it was capable of supporting prior to any mining, or higher or better uses of which there is reasonable likelihood, so long as such use or uses do not present any actual or probable h…

The operator shall backfill, compact where advisable to insure stability or to prevent leaching of toxic materials, and grade in order to restore the approximate original contour of the land with all highwalls, spoil piles and depressions eliminated unless small depressions are n…

necessary. In surface coal mining: 1. Which is carried out at the same location over a substantial period of time when the operation transects the coal deposit; 2. The thickness of the coal deposits relative to the volume of the overburden is large; and 3. Where the operator demo…

In surface coal mining where the volume of overburden is large relative to the thickness of the coal deposit and where the operator demonstrates that due to volumetric expansion the amount of overburden and other spoil and waste materials removed in the course of the mining opera…

The operator shall remove the topsoil from the land in a separate layer, replace it on the backfill area or if not utilized immediately, segregate it in a separate pile from other spoil. When the topsoil is not replaced on a backfill area within a time short enough to avoid deter…

The operator shall minimize the disturbances to the prevailing hydrologic balance, at the mine site and in associated offsite areas, and to the quality and quantity of water in surface and ground water systems both during and after surface coal mining operations and during reclam…

The operator shall design, locate, construct, operate, maintain, enlarge, modify and remove or abandon, in accordance with the standards and criteria developed by the Department, all existing and new coal mine waste piles consisting of mine wastes, tailings, coal processing waste…

A. The operator shall insure that explosives are used only in accordance with existing state and federal law and the regulations promulgated by the Department, which shall require: 1. Adequate advance written notice to local governments and residents who might be affected by the …

A. The operator shall establish on the regraded areas and all other lands affected, a diverse, effective and permanent vegetative cover of the same seasonal variety native to the area of land to be affected and capable of self-regeneration and plant succession at least equal in e…

The operator shall place all excess spoil material resulting from coal surface mining and reclamation activities in such a manner that: 1. Spoil is transported and placed in a controlled manner in position for concurrent compaction and in such a way to assure mass stability and t…

The operator shall also fulfill the following performance standards: 1. Conduct surface coal mining operations so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the solid fuel resource being recovered so that reaffecting the land in the future through surface coal mining can …

Exemptions. The following performance standards shall be applicable to steep slope surface coal mining and shall be in addition to those general performance standards required by this act. These provisions shall not apply to those situations in which an operator is mining on flat…

Postmining land use as condition for granting permit. A. Where a surface coal mining operation will remove an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge or hill by removing all of the overburden and creating a level plateau or a gently rolli…

If the area proposed to be mined contains prime farmland, the Department shall, after consultation with the United States Secretary of Agriculture, and pursuant to regulations issued by the United States Secretary of the Interior with the concurrence of the United States Secretar…