Section 312 IAC 25-6-64 - Postmining land useAuthority: IC 14-34-2-1
Affected: IC 14-34
Sec. 64.
(a) All affected areas shall be restored in a timely manner to: (1) conditions that are capable of supporting the uses that they were capable of supporting before any mining; or(2) higher or better uses achievable under criteria and procedures of this section.(b) The premining uses of land to which the postmining land use is compared shall be those uses that the land previously supported, if the land had not been previously mined and had been properly managed. Determinations concerning land use may also consider the following: (1) The postmining land use for land that has been previously mined and not reclaimed shall be judged on the basis of the highest and best use that can be achieved.(2) The postmining land use for land that has received improper management shall be judged on the basis of the premining use of surrounding lands that have received proper management.(3) If the premining use of the land was changed within five (5) years of the beginning of mining, the comparison of postmining use to premining use shall include a comparison with the historic use of the land as well as its use immediately preceding mining.(c) Prior to the release of lands from the permit area in accordance with 312 IAC 25-5-16 the permit area shall be restored, in a timely manner, either to conditions capable of supporting the uses they were capable of supporting before any mining or to conditions capable of supporting approved alternative land uses. Alternative land uses shall be approved by the director after consultation with the landowner or the land management agency having jurisdiction over the lands, if the following criteria are met: (1) The proposed postmining land use is compatible with adjacent land use and, where applicable, with existing local, Indiana, or federal (for federally controlled lands) land use policies and plans. A written statement of the views of the authorities with statutory responsibilities for land use policies and plans shall have been submitted to the director within sixty (60) days of notice by the director and before surface mining activities begin. Any required approval, including any necessary zoning or other changes required for the land use by local, Indiana, or federal (for federally controlled lands) land management agencies, is obtained prior to bond release.(2) Specific plans are prepared and submitted to the director that show the feasibility of the postmining land use that include a schedule showing how the proposed use will be developed and achieved within a reasonable time after mining and be sustained. The director may require appropriate demonstrations to show that the planned procedures are feasible, reasonable, and integrated with mining and reclamation, and that the plans will result in successful reclamation.(3) Provision of any necessary public facilities is ensured as evidenced by letters of commitment from parties other than the person who conducts surface mining activities, as appropriate, to provide the public facilities in a manner compatible with the plans submitted under 312 IAC 25-4-48. The letters shall be submitted to the director before the mining activities begin.(4) Specific and feasible plans are submitted to the director that show that financing, attainment, and maintenance of the postmining land use are feasible.(5) Plans for the postmining land uses are designed under the general supervision of a registered professional engineer, or other appropriate professionals, who will ensure that the plans conform to applicable accepted standards for adequate land stability, drainage, vegetative cover, and aesthetic design appropriate for the postmining use of the site.(6) The proposed use or uses will neither present actual or probable hazard to public health or safety nor will they pose any actual or probable threat of water flow diminution or pollution.(7) The use or uses will not involve unreasonable delays in reclamation.(8) Necessary approval of measures to prevent or mitigate adverse effects on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values and threatened or endangered plants is obtained from the director and appropriate Indiana and federal fish and wildlife management agencies have been provided a sixty (60) day period in which to review the plan before surface mining activities begin.(9) Proposals to change premining land uses of fish and wildlife habitat, forest land, hayland, or pasture to a postmining cropland use, where the cropland would require continuous maintenance, such as seeding, plowing, cultivation, fertilization, or other similar practices to be practicable or to comply with applicable federal, Indiana, and local laws, are reviewed by the director to ensure the following: (A) There is sufficient water available and committed to maintain crop production.(B) Topsoil quality and depth are sufficient to support the proposed use.(10) Air and water quality resulting from the alternative postmining land use will not be impacted in a way that will have a greater adverse effect upon the land within the proposed permit area and adjacent areas than if the alternative postmining land use was not approved.Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 25-6-64; filed Jun 21, 2001, 2:53 p.m.: 24 IR 3542, eff Dec 1, 2001; readopted filed May 29, 2007, 9:51 a.m.: 20070613-IR-312070146RFA; readopted filed Sep 19, 2013, 10:12 a.m.: 20131016-IR-312130125RFAReadopted filed 3/26/2019, 3:40 p.m.: 20190424-IR-312190011RFA