Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 4 - SUBTITLES 19-30 › Subtitle 20 - SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION UNDER FEDERALLY APPROVED PROGRAM › Chapter 26.20.11 - Designation of Areas as Unsuitable for Mining › Section 26.20.11.07 - Petition Processing Procedures

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. Within 30 days of receipt of a petition,
				  the Bureau shall notify the petitioner by certified mail as to whether the
				  petition is complete. For the purpose of this regulation, "complete" means that
				  all of the information required under Regulation .03A or B of this chapter has
				  been provided.
B. If the Bureau
				  determines that the petition is incomplete or frivolous, or that the petitioner
				  does not have an interest which is or may be adversely affected, the Bureau
				  shall return the petition to the petitioner together with a written statement
				  of the reasons for the determination and the categories of information needed
				  to complete the petition.
C. The
				  Bureau shall determine whether any identified coal deposits exist in the area
				  covered by the petition, without requiring any showing from the petitioner. If
				  the Bureau finds that there are not any identified coal deposits in that area,
				  the Bureau shall return the petition to the petitioner with a statement of the
				  findings.
D. The Bureau may reject
				  petitions for designations or terminations of designations which are frivolous.
				  A frivolous petition is one in which the allegations of harm lack serious
				  merit.
E. When considering a
				  petition for an area which was previously but unsuccessfully proposed for
				  designation, the Bureau shall determine if the new petition presents
				  significant new allegations of facts with evidence which tends to establish the
				  allegations. If the petition does not contain the material, the Bureau may not
				  consider the petition and shall return the petition to the petitioner, with a
				  statement of its findings and a reference to the record of the previous
				  designation proceedings where the facts were considered.
F. The Bureau shall notify the person who
				  submits a petition of any application for a permit received which proposes to
				  include any area covered by the petition.
G. Any petitions received on a permit
				  application after the first newspaper notice in the applicant's newspaper
				  advertisement under COMAR
				  26.20.04.03 a do not prevent the
				  Bureau from issuing a decision on that permit application. The Bureau may
				  return any petition received thereafter to the petitioner with a statement why
				  the Bureau cannot consider the petition.
H. After a petition is received, the Bureau
				  shall notify the general public of the receipt of the petition by advertising
				  in a local newspaper providing broadest circulation in the area covered by the
				  petition in the region of the petitioned area, and in the Maryland Register.
				  The Bureau shall:
(1) Make copies of the
				  petition available to the public; and
(2) Provide copies of the petition to:
(a) Other interested government
				  agencies;
(b)
				  Intervenors;
(c) Persons with an
				  ownership interest of record in the property; and
(d) Other persons known to the Bureau to have
				  an interest in the property.