Section 225 ILCS 720/2.08 - Standards for approval of permits and revisions(a) On the basis of a complete application, or a revision thereof, and after completion of the procedures required by Section 2.04, the Department shall grant, require modification of, or deny the application. The applicant shall have the burden of establishing that its application complies with all the requirements of this Act.(b) No permit or revised permit shall be issued unless the application affirmatively demonstrates, and the Department finds that (1) the application is accurate and complete and that all the requirements of this Act have been complied with; (2) the applicant has demonstrated that reclamation as required by this Act can be accomplished under this reclamation plan and that completion of the reclamation plan will in fact comply with every applicable performance standard of this Act; (3) the assessment of the probable cumulative impact of all anticipated mining in the area on the hydrologic balance specified by the Department by rule has been made by the Department and the proposed mining operation has been designed to prevent material damage to hydrologic balance outside the permit area; and (4) the area proposed to be mined is not included within an area designated unsuitable for surface coal mining under Article VII and is not within an area under study for such designation in an administrative proceeding commenced under Article VII. Except for operations subject to exemption by Section 510(d)(2) of the Federal Act ( PL 95-87), a permit or revised permit for mining operations on prime farmland may be issued only if the Department also finds in writing that the operator has the technological capability to restore such mined area, within a reasonable time, to equivalent or higher levels of yield as non-mined prime farmland in the surrounding area under equivalent levels of management and can meet the soil reconstruction standards in Section 3.07. Such findings shall be made in accordance with standards and procedures adopted by the Department by rule. The Department shall make the findings required by this subsection in writing on the basis of the information set forth in the application, or from information otherwise available which is described in the Department's findings and made available to the applicant and the public.(c) A permit or revised permit may be issued only after the Department considers in writing any comments filed by members of the Interagency Committee and County Boards. When a complete application is received by the Department, a copy of it shall be provided to each member of the Interagency Committee. Members of the Interagency Committee shall review and comment on protection of the hydrologic system, water pollution control, the reclamation plan, soil handling techniques, dams and impoundments and postmining land use. Comments on the application shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Department within 45 days. Each member's comments shall be based on factual, legal and technical considerations with respect to which his agency has authority, and which shall be set forth in writing. A member who does not comment within 45 days shall be deemed to have waived his right to comment under this subsection. The Department shall file comments received from Interagency Committee members at the same locations at which the permit application is available for public inspection in accordance with Section 2.04.(d) If information available to the Department indicates that any mining operation owned or controlled by the applicant is currently in violation of this Act or other laws pertaining to air or water environmental protection, the permit shall not be issued until the applicant submits proof that such violation has been corrected or is in the process of being corrected to the satisfaction of the Department, or of the department or agency which has jurisdiction over such violation. No permit shall be issued to an applicant after a finding by the Department, after opportunity for hearing, that the applicant, or the operator specified in the application, controls or has controlled mining operations with a demonstrated pattern of wilful violations of the Federal Act or this 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 Federal Act or this Act.(e) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, the prohibition of subsection (d) shall not apply to a permit application due to any violation resulting from an unanticipated event or condition at a surface coal mining operation on lands eligible for remining under a permit held by the person making such application. As used in this subsection:
(1) "unanticipated event or condition" means an event or condition encountered in a remining operation that was not contemplated in the applicable surface coal mining and reclamation permit; and(2) "violation" has the same meaning as such term has under subsection (d). P.A. 90-490, eff. 8/17/1997.