La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § XV-3115

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XV-3115 - Criteria for Permit Approval or Denial

A. No permit or revision application shall be approved, unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the office finds, in writing, on the basis of information set forth in the application, or from information otherwise available, which is documented in the approval and made available to the applicant, that:

1. the permit application is accurate and complete and that all requirements of the Act and these regulations have been complied with;

2. the applicant has demonstrated that surface coal mining and reclamation operations, as required by the Act and these regulations, can be feasibly accomplished under the mining and reclamation operations plan contained in the application;

3. the assessment of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated coal mining in the cumulative impact area on the hydrologic balance, as described in §2525, has been made by the office, and the operations proposed under the application have been designed to prevent damage to the hydrologic balance outside the proposed permit area;

4. the proposed permit area is:

a. not included within an area designated unsuitable for surface coal mining operations under Chapter 15; or

b. not within an area under study for designation as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations in an administrative proceeding begun under Chapter 15, unless the applicant demonstrates that, before January 4, 1977, he or she made substantial legal and financial commitments in relation to the operation for which he or she is applying for a permit; or

c. not on any lands subject to the prohibitions or limitations of §1105; or

d. not within 100 feet of the outside right-of-way line of any public road, except as provided for in §1107 C; or

e. not within 300 feet from any occupied dwelling, except as provided for in §1107 D;

5. the proposed operations will not adversely affect any publicly owned parks or places included on the National Register of Historic Places, except as provided for in §1105 C;

6. for operations involving the surface mining of coal where the private mineral estate to be mined has been severed from the private surface estate, where such severance is authorized under Louisiana law, the applicant has submitted to the office the documentation required under §2309 B;

7. the applicant has either:

a. submitted the proof required by §3113. C.1 a; or

b. made the demonstration required by §3113. C.1 b;

8. the applicant has submitted proof that all reclamation fees have been paid;

9. the applicant, anyone who owns or controls the applicant, or the operator specified in the application does not control and has not controlled surface coal mining and reclamation operations with a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of the Act of such nature and duration, and with such resulting irreparable damage to the environment as to indicate an intent not to comply with the provisions of the Act;

10. surface coal mining and reclamation operations to be performed under the permit will not be inconsistent with other such operations anticipated to be performed in areas adjacent to the proposed permit area;

11. the applicant will submit the performance bond or other equivalent guarantee required under Subpart 4 prior to the issuance of the permit;

12. the applicant has, with respect to prime farmland, obtained either a negative determination or satisfied the requirements of §2907;

13. the proposed post-mining land use of the permit area has been approved by the office in accordance with the requirements of §5431;

14. the office has made all specific approvals required under Subpart 5;

15. the office has found that the activities would not affect the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitats as determined under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.);

16. the office has taken into account the effect of the proposed permitting action on properties listed on and eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This finding may be supported in part by inclusion of appropriate permit conditions or changes in the operation plan protecting historic resources, or a documented decision that the office has determined that no additional protection measures are necessary.

17. for a proposed remining operation where the applicant intends to reclaim in accordance with the requirements of §5414, the site of the operation is a previously mined area as defined in §105;

18. for permits to be issued under §2913, the permit application must contain:

a. lands eligible for remining;

b. an identification of the potential environmental and safety problems related to prior mining activity which could reasonably be anticipated to occur at the site; and

c. mitigation plans to sufficiently address these potential environmental and safety problems so that reclamation as required by the applicable requirements of the regulatory program can be accomplished;

19. the applicant is eligible to receive a permit, based on the reviews under §3113-3114

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § XV-3115

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, LR 5:395 (December 1979), amended LR 6:177 (May 1980), LR 14:441 (July 1988), LR 20:447 (April 1994), LR 29:1497 (August 2003), LR 37:2732 (September 2011).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:901-932.