Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart C - Protection of Natural Resources › Article I - Land Resources › Chapter 86 - SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND COAL MINING: GENERAL › Subchapter D - AREAS UNSUITABLE FOR MINING › CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES FOR DESIGNATING AREAS AS UNSUITABLE FOR SURFACE MINING › Section 86.124 - Procedures: initial processing, recordkeeping and notification requirements

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) Within 30 days
						  of receipt of a petition, the Department will notify the petitioner by
						  certified mail whether or not the petition is complete as required by §
													86.123 (relating to procedures:
						  petitions). If the 30-day requirement of this subsection cannot be met due to
						  the staff limitations of the Department, the Department may process the
						  petitions in accordance with the priority system authorized by subsection
						  (b)(2). Within this 30-day period, the Department will also notify an applicant
						  with pending surface mining operation permit applications in the area covered
						  by the petition.
(1) The Department will
						  determine whether identified coal resources exist in the area covered by the
						  petition. If the Department finds there are not identified coal resources in
						  that area, it may return the petition to the petitioner with a statement of the
						  findings.
(2) The Department may
						  reject petitions for designations or terminations of designations which are
						  frivolous. A frivolous petition is one in which the allegations of harm lack
						  serious merit. Once the requirements of §
														86.123 are met, each accepted
						  petition will be considered and acted upon by the Department under the
						  procedures of this part.
(3) When
						  considering a petition for an area which was previously and unsuccessfully
						  proposed for designation, the Department will determine if the new petition
						  presents new allegations of fact. If the petition does not contain new
						  allegations of fact, the Department will refuse 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 when the
						  facts were considered.
(4) If the
						  Department determines that the petition is frivolous, it will return the
						  petition to the petitioner, with a written statement of the reasons for the
						  determination. If the petition is incomplete, the Department will indicate the
						  categories of information needed to make the petition complete. The Department
						  will hold the incomplete petition until the petitioner has been given 30 days
						  to make the application complete.
(5) The Department will notify the person who
						  submits a petition of an application for a permit received which proposes to
						  include an area covered by the petition.
(6) The Department may determine not to
						  process any petition for a designation under §
														86.122 (relating to criteria for
						  designating lands as unsuitable) insofar as it pertains to an area for which an
						  administratively complete surface mining operation permit application has been
						  filed and the first newspaper notice has been published. The Department will
						  provide written notice to the petitioner with a statement of its findings. Once
						  a petition has been returned to the petitioner under this section, the
						  Department may proceed to issue a decision on a permit application received for
						  mining in the area included within the petition.