Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality › Part 8 - Geology Regulations › Chapter 2 - Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality Regulations Governing Surface Coal Mining › Subchapter 2.1 - General Information › Rule 11-8-2.1-3 - Permanent Regulatory Program › Section 11-8-2.1-3-303 - Applicability

Current through June 25, 2024
(a) No person shall open, develop, engage in,
					 carry out or continue on lands within the state any new or existing surface
					 coal mining operations without a permit issued by the Permit Board.
(b) The requirements of these regulations
					 shall be effective and shall apply to each surface coal mining and reclamation
					 operation which is required to obtain a permit under the act, on the earliest
					 date upon which these regulations require a permit to be obtained, except as is
					 provided in § 303 (c).
(c)
					 Exemptions to § 303 (b).
(1) Each
					 structure used in connection with or to facilitate a coal exploration,
					 development or surface coal mining and reclamation operation shall comply with
					 the performance standards and the design requirements of these regulations.
(A) A structure which existed on the date an
					 application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and
					 which meets the performance standards of these regulations but does not meet
					 the design requirements of these regulations may be exempted from meeting those
					 design requirements by the Permit Board. The Permit Board may grant this
					 exemption on non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the permit
					 application process after obtaining the information required by § 2705 and
					 after making the findings required in § 3117.
(B) A structure which existed on the date of
					 application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and
					 which meets the performance standards of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII,
					 which are at least as stringent as the comparable standard of Subchapter 2.5 of
					 these regulations, may be exempted by the Permit Board from meeting the design
					 requirements of these regulations. The Permit Board may grant this exemption on
					 non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the permit application process
					 after obtaining the information required by § 2705 and after making the
					 findings required in § 3117.
(C) A structure which existed on the date of
					 application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and
					 which meets a performance standard of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII which
					 is less stringent than the comparable performance standards of Subchapter 2.5
					 of these regulations, or which does not meet a performance standard of
					 Subchapter 2.5 for which there was no equivalent performance standard in
					 Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII shall be modified or reconstructed to meet
					 the design standard of these regulations pursuant to a compliance plan approved
					 by the Department on non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the
					 permit application as required in § 2705 and according to the findings
					 required by § 3117.
(D) A
					 structure which existed on the date an application for a surface mining and
					 reclamation permit became complete and which does not meet the performance
					 standards of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII and which the applicant
					 proposes to use in connection with or to facilitate exploration, development or
					 surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall be modified or
					 reconstructed to meet the design standards of these regulations prior to
					 issuance of the permit.