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 26.20.10 - Areas Where Mining is Prohibited or Limited › Section 26.20.10.01 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Cemetery" means any area of land where
				  human bodies are interred.
(2)
				  "Community or institutional building" means any structure, other than a public
				  building or an occupied dwelling, which:
(a)
				  Is used primarily for meetings, gatherings, or functions of local civic
				  organizations or other community groups;
(b) Functions as an educational, cultural,
				  historic, religious, scientific, correctional, mental health, or physical
				  health care facility; or
(c) Is
				  used for public services, including but not limited to water supply, power
				  generation, or sewage treatment.
(3) "Occupied dwelling" means any building
				  that is currently being used on a regular or temporary basis for human
				  habitation.
(4) "Public building"
				  means any structure that is owned or leased by a government agency and used
				  principally for public business, meetings, or other group gatherings.
(5) "Public park" means an area dedicated or
				  designated by any federal, State, or local agency for public recreational use,
				  whether this use is limited to certain times or days, including any land
				  leased, reserved, or held open to the public because of that use.
(6) "Public road" means any thoroughfare open
				  to the public which has been, and is being used by the public for vehicular
				  travel, and which is maintained by a government agency.
(7) Valid Existing Rights.
(a) "Valid existing rights" means, except for
				  haul roads:
(i) Those property rights in
				  existence at the time the land came under the protection of Environment
				  Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter, that were
				  created by a legally binding conveyance, lease, deed, contract, or other
				  document which authorizes the applicant to produce coal by a surface coal
				  mining operation; and
(ii) The
				  person proposing to conduct surface coal mining operations on the land had
				  obtained all permits and other authorizations required to conduct surface coal
				  mining operations or had made a good faith effort to obtain all necessary
				  permits and authorizations to conduct the operations on the land that came
				  under the protection of Environment Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter, and at a minimum
				  had submitted an application for any permit required under this subtitle, or
				  can demonstrate to the Bureau that the coal land is needed for and immediately
				  adjacent to a surface coal mining operation for which all permits and other
				  authorizations had been obtained, or a good faith attempt to obtain all permits
				  and authorizations had been made, before the land came under the protection of
				  Environment Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter.
(b) "Valid existing rights" means,
				  for haul roads:
(i) A properly recorded
				  right-of-way or easement for a road in that location which existed when the
				  land came under the protection of Environment Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter, and under the
				  document creating the right-of-way or easement, and under subsequent
				  conveyances, the person has a legal right to use or construct a road across the
				  right-of-way or easement for surface coal mining operations;
(ii) Any road in existence when the land upon
				  which it is located came under the protection of Environment Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter, and the person
				  has a legal right to use the road for surface coal mining operations;
(iii) A valid permit for use or construction
				  of a road in that location for surface coal mining operations existed when the
				  land came under the protection of Environment Article, §
													15-505(b)(2),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, or Regulation .02 of this chapter; or
(iv) Valid existing rights exist under
				  §B(7)(a) of this regulation.
(c) Interpretation of the terms of the
				  document relied upon to establish valid existing rights shall be based either
				  upon applicable State case law concerning interpretation of documents conveying
				  mineral rights or, if no applicable State case law exists, upon the usage and
				  custom at the time and place that it came into existence and upon a showing by
				  the applicant that the parties to the document actually contemplated a right to
				  conduct the same underground or surface mining activities for which the
				  applicant claims a valid existing right.
(d) "Valid existing rights" does not mean
				  mere expectation of a right to conduct surface coal mining operations, or the
				  right to conduct underground coal mining. Examples of rights which alone do not
				  constitute valid existing rights include but are not limited to coal
				  exploration permits or licenses, applications, or bids for leases.