Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 12 - COAL MINING REGULATIONS › Subchapter G - SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION OPERATIONS, PERMITS, AND COAL EXPLORATION PROCEDURES SYSTEMS › Division 3 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR COAL EXPLORATION › Section 12.111 - General Requirements: Exploration That Will Remove More Than 250 Tons of Coal or That Will Occur on Land Designated as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
Any person who intends to conduct coal exploration
						outside a permit area during which more than 250 tons of coal will be removed
						or which will take place on lands designated as unsuitable for surface mining
						under Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Lands Unsuitable for Mining)
						shall, prior to conducting the exploration, submit an application and obtain
						the written approval of the Commission, in accordance with the
						following:
(1) Contents of application
					 for approval. Each application for approval shall contain, at a minimum, the
					 following information:
(A) the name, address,
					 and telephone number of the applicant;
(B) the name, address, and telephone number
					 of the representative of the applicant who will be present at and be
					 responsible for conducting the exploration;
(C) an exploration and reclamation operations
					 plan, including:
(i) a narrative description
					 of the proposed exploration area, cross-referenced to the map required under
					 subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, including surface topography; geological,
					 surface water, and other physical features; vegetative cover, the distribution
					 and important habitats of fish, wildlife, and plants, including, but not
					 limited to, any endangered or threatened species listed pursuant to the
					 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (RSA
					 1531 et seq.); cultural or historic resources
					 listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places;
					 known archeological resources located within the proposed exploration area; and
					 any other information which the Commission may require regarding known or
					 unknown historic or archeological resources;
(ii) a narrative description of the methods
					 to be used to conduct coal exploration and reclamation, including, but not
					 limited to, the types and uses of equipment, drilling, blasting, road or other
					 access route construction, and excavated earth and other debris disposal
					 activities;
(iii) an estimated
					 timetable for conducting and completing each phase of the exploration and
					 reclamation;
(iv) the estimated
					 amounts of coal to be removed and a description of the methods to be used to
					 determine those amounts; and
(v) a
					 description of the measures to be used to comply with the applicable
					 requirements of §§
													RSA
					 12.325-RSA
					 12.328 of this title (relating to Permanent
					 Program Performance Standards--Coal Exploration);
(D) the name and address of the owner of
					 record of the surface land and of the subsurface mineral estate of the area to
					 be explored;
(E) a map at a scale
					 of 1:24,000 or larger, showing the areas of land to be substantially disturbed
					 by the proposed exploration and reclamation. The map shall specifically show
					 existing roads, occupied dwellings, and pipelines; proposed location of
					 trenches, roads, and other access routes and structures to be constructed; the
					 location of land excavations to be conducted, water or coal exploratory holes
					 and wells to be drilled or altered, earth or debris disposal areas; existing
					 bodies of surface water; historic, topographic, cultural and drainage features;
					 the habitats of any endangered or threatened species listed pursuant to the
					 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (RSA
					 1531 et seq.);
(F) if the surface is owned by a person other
					 than the applicant, a description of the basis upon which the applicant claims
					 the right to enter that land for the purpose of conducting exploration and
					 reclamation;
(G) a statement of why
					 extraction of more than 250 tons of coal is necessary for exploration;
					 and
(H) for any lands listed in
					 §
												RSA
					 12.71<subdiv>(a)</subdiv> of this
					 title (relating to Areas Where Surface Coal Mining Operations are Prohibited or
					 Limited), a demonstration that, to the extent technologically and economically
					 feasible, the proposed exploration activities have been designed to minimize
					 interference with the values for which those lands were designated as
					 unsuitable for Surface coal mining operations. The application must include
					 documentation of consultation with the owner of the feature causing the land to
					 come under the protection of §
												RSA
					 12.71<subdiv>(a)</subdiv> of this
					 title, and, when applicable, with the agency with primary jurisdiction over the
					 feature with respect to the values that caused the land to come under the
					 protection of §
												RSA
					 12.71<subdiv>(a)</subdiv> of this
					 title.