Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 460 - Department of Mines › Chapter 20 - The Permanent Regulations Governing the Coal Reclamation Act of 1979 › Subchapter 3 - Permanent Regulatory Program › Section 460:20-3-6 - Applicability

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) Any person who
				conducts surface coal mining and reclamation operations on non-Indian or
				non-Federal lands on or after 8 months from the date of approval of the
				Oklahoma program or implementation of a Federal program shall have a permit
				issued pursuant to the applicable State or Federal program. However under
				conditions specified in Section
				460:20-15-3
				of this Chapter, a person may continue operations under a previously issued
				permit after 8 months from the date of approval of the State program or
				implementation of a Federal program.
(b) These requirements shall be effective and
				shall apply to each surface coal mining and reclamation operations which is
				required to obtain a permit under the Act, on the earliest date upon which the
				Act requires a permit to be obtained except as provided in Subsection (c)
				below.
(c)
Mine site
				structures.
(1) Each structure used in
				connection with or to facilitate a coal exploration or surface coal mining and
				reclamation operation shall comply with the performance standards and the
				design requirements of these regulation, except that-
(A) An existing structure which meets the
				performance standards of this Chapter but does not meet the design requirements
				of the interim program may be exempted from meeting those design requirements
				by the Department of Mines. The Department of Mines 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 Sections
				460:20-27-5
				or
				460:20-31-5
				and after making the findings required in Section
				460:20-15-6.
(B) If the performance standard of the
				initial regulatory program is at least as stringent as the comparable
				performance standard of this Chapter, an existing structure which meets the
				performance standards of the initial regulatory program may be exempted by the
				Department from meeting the design requirements of this Chapter. The Department
				may grant this exemption on non-Indian lands only as a part of the permit
				application process after obtaining the information required by Sections
				460:20-27-5
				or
				460:20-31-5
				and after making the findings required in Section
				460:20-15-6.
(C) An existing structure which meets a
				performance standard of the initial regulatory program which is less stringent
				than the comparable performance standards of this Chapter or which does not
				meet a performance standard of this Chapter for which there was no equivalent
				performance standard in the initial regulatory program shall be modified or
				reconstructed to meet the performance and design standards of this Chapter
				pursuant to a compliance plan approved by the Department on non-Indian and
				non-Federal lands only as a part of the permit application as required in
				Sections
				460:20-27-5
				or
				460:20-31-5
				and according to the findings required by Section
				460:20-15-6.
(D) An existing structure which does not meet
				the performance standards of the initial regulatory program and which the
				applicant proposes to use in connection with or to facilitate the coal
				exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operation shall be modified
				or reconstructed to meet the design standards of this Chapter prior to issuance
				of the permit.