Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 12 - COAL MINING REGULATIONS › Subchapter F - LANDS UNSUITABLE FOR MINING › Division 4 - PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING AREAS AS UNSUITABLE FOR SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS › Section 12.80 - Procedures: Initial Processing, Record Keeping, and Notification Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 Initial processing procedures.
(1) Within 30
					 days of receipt of a petition, the Commission shall notify the petitioner by
					 certified mail whether or not the petition is complete under §§
												RSA
					 12.79<subdiv>(b) or (c)</subdiv>
					 of this title (relating to Procedures: Petitions). Complete, for a designation
					 or termination petition, means that the information required under §§
												RSA
					 12.79<subdiv>(b) or (c)</subdiv>
					 of this title (relating to Procedures: Petitions) has been provided.
(2) The Commission shall determine whether
					 any identified coal resources exist in the area covered by the petition,
					 without requiring any showing from the petitioner. If the Commission finds
					 there are not any identified coal resources in that area, it shall return the
					 petition to the petitioner with a statement of the findings.
(3) If the Commission determines that the
					 petition is incomplete, frivolous, or that the petitioner does not meet the
					 requirement of §
												RSA
					 12.79<subdiv>(a)</subdiv> of this
					 title (relating to Procedures: Petitions), it shall return the petition to the
					 petitioner with a written statement of the reasons for the determination and
					 the categories of information needed to make the petition complete. A frivolous
					 petition is one in which the allegations of harm lack serious merit or
					 available information shows that either no mineable coal resources exist in the
					 petitioned area or the petitioned area is not or could not be subject to
					 related surface coal mining operations and surface impacts incident to an
					 underground coal mine or an adjoining surface mine.
(4) When considering a petition for an area
					 which was previously and unsuccessfully proposed for designation, the
					 Commission shall determine if the new petition presents significant new
					 allegations of facts with evidence which tends to establish the allegations. If
					 the petition does not contain such materials, the Commission may choose not to
					 consider the petition and may return the petition to the petitioner, with a
					 statement of its findings and a reference to the record of the previous
					 designation proceedings where the facts were considered.
(5) The Commission shall notify the person
					 who submits a petition of any application for a permit received which includes
					 any area covered by the petition.
(6) The Commission may determine not to
					 process any petition received in so far as it pertains to lands for which an
					 administratively complete permit application has been filed and the first
					 newspaper notice has been published. Based on such a determination, the
					 Commission may issue a decision on a complete and accurate permit application
					 and shall inform the petitioner why the Commission cannot consider the part of
					 the petition pertaining to the proposed permit area.