§1291 Definitions

Summary

Gives plain meanings for words used in the rest of the chapter. It defines terms like: alluvial valley floors — stream deposits where water is enough for subirrigation or flood irrigation (not certain uplands); approximate original contour — the reshaped land that looks like it did before mining, with highwalls and spoil piles removed (ponds allowed if they meet section 1265(b)(8)); commerce — trade or transport that crosses or affects state lines; Federal lands — land owned by the U.S. (except Indian lands), with a special rule that U.S. lands east of the 100th meridian managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority are not subject to sections 1304 and 1305; Federal lands program — the Secretary’s program to regulate mining on Federal lands; Federal program — the Secretary’s program to regulate mining in a State; fund — the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund (section 1231); imminent danger to the health and safety of the public — a condition or violation likely to cause serious harm to people outside the permit area before it can be fixed; Indian lands — lands within the boundaries of a Federal Indian reservation and lands held in trust or supervised for a tribe; Indian tribe — a tribe recognized by the Secretary; lands within any State — all lands in a State except Federal and Indian lands; Office — the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; operator — a person or company that removes or plans to remove more than 250 tons of coal in any one location in 12 consecutive months; other minerals — commercially valuable solid materials excavated from the earth, excluding coal and liquids or gases; permit — a State or Federal permit to do surface coal mining and reclamation; permit applicant/applicant — someone applying for a permit; permit area — the land shown on the operator’s approved map and covered by the operator’s bond; permittee — a person holding a permit; person — an individual or any business organization; prime farmland — land the Secretary of Agriculture has previously defined and published in the Federal Register; reclamation plan — the plan an applicant files to reclaim mined land (section 1258); regulatory authority — the State agency running the approved State program or the Secretary under a Federal program; Secretary — the Secretary of the Interior unless otherwise stated; State — any U.S. State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam; State program — a State’s program to regulate surface coal mining (section 1253); State regulatory authority — the State department that runs the program; surface coal mining and reclamation operations — surface mining and all needed reclamation after August 3, 1977; surface coal mining operations — the surface work to get coal (including common mining methods, blasting, some processing and loading) and all land areas they disturb (with certain exclusions, including coal incidental to other minerals where coal is no more than 16 2/3 percent of the tonnage and coal explorations under section 1262); unwarranted failure to comply — failing to prevent or fix a violation because of indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonable care; lignite coal — consolidated lignitic coal with under 8,300 British thermal units per pound (moisture and mineral matter free); coal laboratory — a university coal research lab designated under section 1311; institution of higher education — as defined in section 1001 of title 20; unanticipated event or condition — an unexpected event in a remining operation not covered by the permit (section 1260(e)); lands eligible for remining — lands eligible for expenditures under sections 1234 or 1232(g)(4).