Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XV - Office of Conservation-Surface Mining › Subpart 3 - Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations Permits and Coal Exploration and Development Procedures Systems › Chapter 31 - Public Participation, Approval of Permit Applications and Permit Terms and Conditions › Section XV-3115 - Criteria for Permit Approval or Denial

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. No permit or revision application shall be
				  approved, unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the office
				  finds, in writing, on the basis of information set forth in the application, or
				  from information otherwise available, which is documented in the approval and
				  made available to the applicant, that:
1. the
				  permit application is accurate and complete and that all requirements of the
				  Act and these regulations have been complied with;
2. the applicant has demonstrated that
				  surface coal mining and reclamation operations, as required by the Act and
				  these regulations, can be feasibly accomplished under the mining and
				  reclamation operations plan contained in the application;
3. the assessment of the probable cumulative
				  impacts of all anticipated coal mining in the cumulative impact area on the
				  hydrologic balance, as described in §2525, has been made by the office,
				  and the operations proposed under the application have been designed to prevent
				  damage to the hydrologic balance outside the proposed permit area;
4. the proposed permit area is:
a. not included within an area designated
				  unsuitable for surface coal mining operations under Chapter 15; or
b. not within an area under study for
				  designation as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations in an
				  administrative proceeding begun under Chapter 15, unless the applicant
				  demonstrates that, before January 4, 1977, he or she made substantial legal and
				  financial commitments in relation to the operation for which he or she is
				  applying for a permit; or
c. not on
				  any lands subject to the prohibitions or limitations of §1105;
				  or
d. not within 100 feet of the
				  outside right-of-way line of any public road, except as provided for in
				  §1107 C; or
e. not within 300
				  feet from any occupied dwelling, except as provided for in §1107 D;
5. the proposed
				  operations will not adversely affect any publicly owned parks or places
				  included on the National Register of Historic Places, except as provided for in
				  §1105 C;
6. for operations
				  involving the surface mining of coal where the private mineral estate to be
				  mined has been severed from the private surface estate, where such severance is
				  authorized under Louisiana law, the applicant has submitted to the office the
				  documentation required under §2309 B;
7. the applicant has either:
a. submitted the proof required by
				  §3113. C.1 a; or
b. made the
				  demonstration required by §3113. C.1 b;
8. the applicant has submitted proof that all
				  reclamation fees have been paid;
9.
				  the applicant, anyone who owns or controls the applicant, or the operator
				  specified in the application does not control and has not controlled surface
				  coal mining and reclamation operations with a demonstrated pattern of willful
				  violations of the Act of such nature and duration, and with such resulting
				  irreparable damage to the environment as to indicate an intent not to comply
				  with the provisions of the Act;
10.
				  surface coal mining and reclamation operations to be performed under the permit
				  will not be inconsistent with other such operations anticipated to be performed
				  in areas adjacent to the proposed permit area;
11. the applicant will submit the performance
				  bond or other equivalent guarantee required under Subpart 4 prior to the
				  issuance of the permit;
12. the
				  applicant has, with respect to prime farmland, obtained either a negative
				  determination or satisfied the requirements of §2907;
13. the proposed post-mining land use of the
				  permit area has been approved by the office in accordance with the requirements
				  of §5431;
14. the office has
				  made all specific approvals required under Subpart 5;
15. the office has found that the activities
				  would not affect the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or
				  result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitats as
				  determined under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531  et
				  seq.);
16. the office has taken
				  into account the effect of the proposed permitting action on properties listed
				  on and eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This
				  finding may be supported in part by inclusion of appropriate permit conditions
				  or changes in the operation plan protecting historic resources, or a documented
				  decision that the office has determined that no additional protection measures
				  are necessary.
17. for a proposed
				  remining operation where the applicant intends to reclaim in accordance with
				  the requirements of §5414, the site of the operation is a previously mined
				  area as defined in §105;
18.
				  for permits to be issued under §2913, the permit application must contain:
a. lands eligible for remining;
b. an identification of the potential
				  environmental and safety problems related to prior mining activity which could
				  reasonably be anticipated to occur at the site; and
c. mitigation plans to sufficiently address
				  these potential environmental and safety problems so that reclamation as
				  required by the applicable requirements of the regulatory program can be
				  accomplished;
19. the
				  applicant is eligible to receive a permit, based on the reviews under
				  §3113-3114