Illinois Administrative Code › Title 62 - MINING › Part 280 - ILLINOIS SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS › Section 280.50 - New Surface Mines

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
The regulations and requirements of this Part shall apply to
				surface coal mining operations except underground coal mines which did not have
				a Section 4 permit prior to February 3, 1978.
a) Application. An application shall be
			 submitted upon forms supplied by the Authority. Additional documentation shall
			 accompany an application form as necessary or appropriate to establish that all
			 Federal Surface Regulations will be met by the applicant.
b) Mines Possessing Section 4 Permits Before
			 August 11, 1978. Mines possessing permits pursuant to Section 4 issued by the
			 Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals prior to the
			 effective date of Section 17 of the Illinois Act, shall be entitled to continue
			 in operation, subject to compliance with the Federal Surface Regulations
			 provided an application is currently on file with the Authority. (Such mines
			 shall request determinations required of existing surface mines in Part 3
			 hereof.) If a permittee does not have a complete application on file with the
			 Authority, or the Authority denies an application, operations of mines to which
			 this paragraph applies shall cease forthwith, reasonable security measures for
			 the protection of property and safety excepted, and shall not commence again
			 until such application is filed or approved by the Regulatory
			 Authority.
c) No person shall open
			 or operate a surface coal mining operation which is not subject to Section 4,
			 or exempt under Section 17, without a Section 17 permit.
d) No person shall open or operate a surface
			 coal mining operation for which a Section 4 permit would have been required but
			 was not issued before August 11, 1978, without a combined permit.
e) Processing an Application
1) Applications will be received by the
			 Authority and reviewed for completeness. Such review shall be as to form only,
			 for purposes of initiating review, and shall not preclude later requests for
			 more complete or additional information from the applicant. The authority will
			 notify the applicant as to whether the application is complete.
2) When an application is found to be
			 complete, the Authority shall forward copies for Interagency Committee review,
			 and shall see to it that copies are filed by the permit applicant with the
			 appropriate County Board. The Interagency Committee shall review each
			 application in accordance with its designated responsibilities and expertise.
			 Comments shall be returned to the Authority within 45 days of receipt of the
			 complete application by the Authority, and copies thereof will be sent to the
			 applicant and filed with the County Clerk of the appropriate County.
3) Prime farmland review shall be conducted
			 in accordance with Section
			 280.70
			 hereof.
4) The Authority shall
			 consider all written comments received, including comments of a County Board.
			 The Authority may discuss comments with the applicant, Interagency Committee
			 Members or other technically trained experts and may require additional
			 information to be provided. If review and comment reveals that inadequate
			 information has been received from an applicant, the applicant will be asked to
			 supply additional information. Failure to supply satisfactory information in
			 support of an application is grounds for permit denial.