Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 11 - Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality › Part 8 - Geology Regulations › Chapter 1 - Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality Surface Mining and Reclamation Rules and Regulations › Subchapter 1 - General Procedural Rules › Rule 11-8-1.1.2 - Definitions

Current through June 25, 2024
As used in these Regulations, the following terms have the
					 specified meaning, except where otherwise indicated.
A. Act means the Mississippi Surface Mining
				  and Reclamation Act and any amendments thereto as codified in Miss. Code Ann.
				  §§
										53-7-1,
et seq.
B.
				  Administratively complete application means an application for a permit, permit
				  renewal, or the transfer or sale of permit rights, which the Department
				  determines to contain sufficient information addressing each application
				  requirement of the Act and these Regulations and to contain all information
				  necessary to initiate formal processing and public review.
C. Affected area means any area from which
				  any materials are removed or are to be removed in a surface mining operation
				  and upon which any materials are to be deposited, handled or processed. The
				  affected area includes all areas affected by the construction of new roads, or
				  the improvement or use of existing roads other than public roads to gain access
				  and to haul materials.
D. Appeal
				  means an appeal to an appropriate court of the state taken from a final
				  decision of the Permit Board or Commission made after a formal hearing before
				  that body.
E. Applicant means a
				  person applying for a permit, coverage under a general permit, permit renewal,
				  or the transfer or sale of permit rights from the Permit Board to conduct
				  surface mining and reclamation operations.
F. Aquifer means a zone, stratum or group of
				  strata that can store and transmit water in sufficient quantities for a
				  specific use.
G. As recorded in the
				  minutes of the Permit Board means the date of the Permit Board meeting at which
				  the action concerned is taken by the Permit Board.
H. Cemetery means any area of land where
				  human bodies are interred.
I.
				  Commission means the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality.
J. Department means the Mississippi
				  Department of Environmental Quality.
K. Director of the Office of Geology means
				  the person charged with the direction and management of the activities and
				  personnel of the Office of Geology.
L. Executive Director means the Executive
				  Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
M. Exploration activity means the disturbance
				  of the surface or subsurface for the purpose of determining the location,
				  quantity, or quality of a deposit of any material, except the drilling of test
				  holes or core holes of twelve (12) inches or less in diameter.
N. Formal hearing means a hearing on the
				  record, as recorded and transcribed by a court reporter, before the Commission
				  or Permit Board where all parties to the hearing are allowed to present
				  witnesses, cross-examine witnesses and present evidence for inclusion into the
				  record, as appropriate under rules promulgated by the Commission or Permit
				  Board.
O. Fund means the Surface
				  Mining and Reclamation Fund created by Miss. Code Ann. §
										53-7-69.
P. General Permit means a general permit as
				  defined in Miss. Code Ann. §
										49-17-5.
Q. Highwall means a wall created by mining
				  having a slope steeper than two (2) vertical units to one (1) horizontal
				  unit.
R. Impoundment means a closed
				  basin, naturally formed or artificially built, which is dammed or excavated for
				  the retention of water or sediment.
S. Interested party means an interested party
				  as provided under Miss. Code Ann. §
										49-17-29.
T. Intermittent stream means a stream or
				  reach of a stream that flows only at certain times of the year. A stream that
				  does not flow continuously as when water losses from evaporation or seepage
				  exceed the available streamflow.
U.
				  Material means bentonite, metallic ore, mineral clay, dolomite, phosphate,
				  sand, gravel, soil, clay, sand clay, clay gravel, stone, chalk, and any other
				  materials designated by the Commission.
V. Nearest approximate original contour means
				  that surface configuration achieved by backfilling and grading of the mined
				  area so that the reclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads,
				  closely resembles the general surface configuration of the land prior to mining
				  and blends into and complements the drainage pattern of the surrounding
				  terrain, with all highwalls and spoil piles eliminated. Permanent water
				  impoundments may be permitted where the Permit Board determines the
				  impoundments are in compliance with these Regulations.
W. Occupied dwelling means any building that
				  is currently being used on a regular or temporary basis for human
				  habitation.
X. Operator means the
				  person that is to engage, or is engaged, or has been engaged in a surface
				  mining operation, whether on a permanent, continuous basis, or for a limited
				  period of time and for a specific or ancillary purpose, including any person
				  whose permit or coverage under a general permit has expired or been suspended
				  or revoked.
Y. Overburden means all
				  materials which are removed to gain access to other materials in the process of
				  surface mining, including the material before or after its removal by surface
				  mining.
Z. Perennial stream means a
				  stream or part of a stream that flows continuously during all of the calendar
				  year as a result of ground-water discharge or runoff.
AA. Permit means a permit to conduct surface
				  mining and reclamation operations pursuant to these Regulations and the
				  Act.
BB. Permit area means all the
				  area designated in the permit application or application for coverage under a
				  general permit. It shall include all land to be affected by the surface mining
				  operations during the term of the permit and may include any contiguous area
				  which the operator proposes to surface mine thereafter.
CC. Permit Board means the Permit Board
				  created by Miss. Code Ann. §
										49-17-28.
DD. Person means any individual, trust, firm,
				  joint-stock company, public or private corporation, joint venture, partnership,
				  association, cooperative, state, or any agency or institution thereof,
				  municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate
				  body, and includes any officer or governing or managing body of any
				  municipality, political subdivision, or the United States or any officer or
				  employee of the United States.
EE.
				  Public hearing means a public forum organized by the Commission, Department or
				  Permit Board for the purpose of providing information to the public regarding a
				  surface mining and reclamation operation and at which members of the public are
				  allowed to make comments or ask questions or both of the Commission, Department
				  or the Permit Board regarding a proposed operation or permit.
FF. Public road means a road which:
(1) has been designated as a public road
				  pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is located;
(2) is maintained with public funds in a
				  manner similar to other public roads of the same classification within the
				  jurisdiction;
(3) there is
				  substantial (more than incidental) public use; and
(4) meets road construction standards for
				  other public roads of the same classification within the
				  jurisdiction.
GG. Reclamation means
				  work necessary to restore an area of land affected by surface mining to a
				  useful, productive, and beneficial purpose, the entire process being designed
				  to restore the land to a useful, productive, and beneficial purpose, suitable
				  and amenable to surrounding land and consistent with local environmental
				  conditions in accordance with the standards set forth in these Regulations and
				  the Act.
HH. Regulations mean the
				  regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Mississippi Surface
				  Mining and Reclamation Act.
II.
				  Sedimentation pond means an impoundment used to remove solids from water in
				  order to meet water quality standards or effluent limitations before the water
				  leaves the permit area.
JJ.
				  Siltation structure means a sedimentation pond, a series of sedimentation
				  ponds, or other treatment facility.
KK. Slope means the average inclination of a
				  surface, measured from the horizontal, generally expressed as the ratio of a
				  unit of vertical distance to a given number of units of horizontal distance
				  (e.g., 1v:5h). It may also be expressed as a percent or in degrees.
LL. Spoil pile means the overburden and other
				  mined waste material as it is piled or deposited in the process of surface
				  mining.
MM. State means the State of
				  Mississippi.
NN. Surface mining or
				  mining means the extraction of materials from the ground or water or from waste
				  or stock piles or from pits or banks or natural occurrences by methods
				  including, but not limited to, strip, drift, open pit, contour or auger mining,
				  dredging, placering, quarrying and leaching, and activities related thereto,
				  which will alter the surface.
OO.
				  Surface mining operation or operation means the activities conducted at a
				  mining site, including extraction, storage, processing and shipping of
				  materials and reclamation of the affected area. This term does not include the
				  following: the dredging and removal of oyster shells from navigable bodies of
				  water; the dredging and removal of any materials from the bed of navigable
				  streams, when the activity is regulated and permitted under an individual
				  permit by the United States Corps of Engineers; the extraction of hydrocarbons
				  in a liquid or gaseous state by means of wells, pipe, or other on-site methods;
				  the off-site transportation of materials; exploration activities; construction
				  activities at a construction site; or any other exception set out in these
				  Regulations.
PP. Topsoil means the
				  organic or inorganic matter naturally present on the surface of the earth which
				  has been subjected to and influenced by genetic and environmental factors of
				  parent material, climate, macroorganisms and microorganisms, and topography,
				  all acting over a period of time, and that is necessary for the growth and
				  regeneration of vegetation on the surface of the earth.
QQ. Toxic material means any substance
				  present in sufficient concentration or amount to cause significant injury or
				  illness to plant, animal, aquatic, or human life.
RR. Transfer means a change in ownership or
				  other effective control over the right to conduct surface mining operations
				  under a permit issued by the Permit Board. The person to which the permit has
				  been transferred shall have, at a minimum, as stated in these Regulations, the
				  legal right to mine, a performance bond and liability
				  insurance.
Miss. Code Ann.
					 §§
											53-7-1, et
					 seq., 49-2-1, et seq., and 49-17-1, et seq.