§1291 Definitions

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter. Alluvial valley floors — stream deposits where water is enough for subirrigation or flood irrigation, but not upland areas with only a thin layer of loose debris; Approximate original contour — the shape the land should have after backfilling and grading so it looks like the land before mining, with highwalls and spoil piles removed (some water impoundments allowed if they meet section 1265(b)(8)); Commerce — trade or movement that affects interstate commerce; Federal lands — land or mineral rights owned by the United States (except Indian lands), with a special rule about lands east of the one hundredth meridian managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority; Federal lands program — the Secretary’s program to regulate surface coal mining on Federal lands; Federal program — the Secretary’s program to regulate surface coal mining inside a State; Fund — the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund; Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public — a condition, practice, or permit violation likely to cause serious physical harm to people outside the permit area before it can be fixed, so risky that a reasonable person would not stay there; Indian lands — lands within a Federal Indian reservation or lands held in trust or supervised for a tribe; Indian tribe — a tribe with a governing body the Secretary recognizes; Lands within any State — all land in a State except Federal lands and Indian lands; Office — the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; Operator — any person or company that removes or plans to remove more than 250 tons of coal in 12 consecutive months at one site; Other minerals — commercially valuable solid materials like clay, stone, sand, gravel, and ores, but not coal or liquids/gases; Permit — a state or federal permit to do surface coal mining and reclamation; Permit applicant/applicant — a person applying for a permit; Permit area — the land shown on the operator’s approved map that must be covered by the bond and marked on site; Permittee — a person holding a permit; Person — an individual or any type of business organization; Prime farmland — the same meaning the Secretary of Agriculture set and published in the Federal Register; Reclamation plan — the plan an applicant files describing how mined land will be reclaimed; Regulatory authority — the State agency when a State runs the program, or the Secretary when the Federal program applies; Secretary — the Secretary of the Interior (unless otherwise stated); State — a U.S. State, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or Guam; State program — a State’s program to regulate surface coal mining under this chapter and the Secretary’s rules; State regulatory authority — the State department or agency that runs the chapter in that State; Surface coal mining and reclamation operations — surface mining and all work needed to reclaim it after August 3, 1977; Surface coal mining operations — surface activities to get coal (including many mining methods and processing) and the lands they affect, excluding coal that is only incidental when it is 16⅔% or less of the minerals removed; Unwarranted failure to comply — failing to prevent or fix violations because of indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonable care; Lignite coal — lignite with less than 8,300 British thermal units per pound, dry and mineral-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 event in a remining job that was not expected in the permit; Lands eligible for remining — lands that qualify for certain reclamation expenditures under sections 1234 or 1232(g)(4).