Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 53 - OIL, GAS, AND OTHER MINERALS (§§ 53-1-1 — 53-11-33) › Chapter 7 - SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION OF LAND (§§ 53-7-1 — 53-7-77) › Section 53-7-31 - Reclamation plans; contents; reclaiming lands in lieu of lands included in notice of intent

(1)
A reclamation plan shall be developed in a manner consistent with local, physical, environmental and climatological conditions and current mining and reclamation technology. A proposed initial reclamation plan submitted as part of a permit application shall include the following information:
(a)
The identification of the proposed affected area, accompanied by a detailed topographic map on a scale required by regulation showing:
(i)
The proposed affected area, the location of any stream or standing body of water into which the area drains, the location of drainways and any planned siltation traps and other impoundments, and the location of access roads to be prepared or used by the operator in the mining operation;
(ii)
The location of any buildings, cemeteries, public highways, railroad tracks, gas and oil wells, publicly owned land, sanitary landfills, officially designated scenic areas, utility lines, underground mines, transmission lines or pipelines within the affected area or within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the affected area;
(iii)
The approximate location of the cuts or excavations to be made in the surface and the estimated location and height of spoil banks, and the total number of acres involved in the affected area;
(iv)
The date the map was prepared and a statement of its accuracy by the person responsible for its preparation.
(b)
The condition of the land to be covered by the permit before any mining, including:
(i)
The land use existing at the time of the application, and if the land has a history of previous mining, the land use, if reasonably ascertainable, which immediately preceded any mining; and
(ii)
The capability of the land before any mining to support a variety of uses, giving consideration to soil and foundation characteristics, topography and vegetative cover.
(c)
The capacity of the land to support its anticipated use following reclamation, including a discussion of the capacity of the reclaimed land to support alternative uses.
(d)
A description of how the proposed postmining land condition is to be achieved and the necessary support activities that may be needed to achieve the condition, including an estimate of the cost per acre of the reclamation.
(e)
The steps taken to comply with applicable air and water quality and water rights laws and regulations and any applicable health and safety standards, including copies of any pertinent permit applications.
(f)
A general timetable that the applicant estimates will be necessary for accomplishing the major events contained in the reclamation plan.
(g)
Any other information as the Permit Board shall determine to be reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
(2)
The Permit Board may, in its discretion, authorize the reclamation of lands in lieu of the lands included in the permit application. The acreage of the authorized lieu lands reclaimed shall not be less than the acreage of the lands in the permit application. Any applicant who proposes to reclaim lands in lieu of those lands included in the permit application shall state that fact in the application or subsequent or amended application and shall submit the reclamation plan accordingly. The Permit Board shall not authorize the reclamation of lieu lands unless the applicant submits with the reclamation plan a notarized statement of each surface owner and lessee of all lands included in the permit application. The statement shall contain the consent of each surface owner and lessee for the reclamation of the proposed lieu lands. If the Permit Board does not authorize the reclamation of the lieu lands, the applicant shall submit a reclamation plan for the lands contained in the permit application.
Laws, 1977, ch. 476, § 9; Laws, 2002, ch. 492, § 14, eff. 7/1/2002.