(A) (1) Before a person may engage in surface mining the person shall pay the fee under division (C) below and make a verified written application to the Commissioners.
(2) The application must include the following:
(a) The complete name and address of the applicant;
(b) The complete name of each owner, partner, principle investor who owns at least 10% of the voting stock, operator, officer and director of the proposed surface mining operation, including any person who has authority, directly or indirectly, to determine the manner that an applicant, an operator or other person conducts the surface mining operation;
(c) The location and date of operation of each surface mining operation that each owner, partner, principle investor, officer and director of the proposed surface mining operation has been involved with in the previous ten years;
(d) A list related to the operations listed under division (A)(2)(c) above detailing any previous or pending:
1. Fines and citations by any governmental unit;
2. Violations of state law;
3. Civil and criminal lawsuits and bankruptcies;
4. Insurance damage claims; and
5. Forfeitures of surety bonds or letters of credit.
(e) A description of the land and the estimated number of acres to be affected the proposed surface mining operation for the next succeeding 12 months. The description must describe the land, with sufficient certainty to locate and distinguish the land from other lands and it must include the section, township and range of the land;
(f) A statement of ownership of the land to be affected and of the natural deposits to be mined;
(g) The nature, depth and proposed disposition of the overburden;
(h) The estimated depth to which the natural deposits will be mined;
(i) The location of existing roads and anticipated access and main haulage roads planned to be constructed in conducting the mining operations;
(j) The techniques and equipment to be used in surface mining and reclamation;
(k) Whether any core drillings have been conducted or are planning to be conducted on the proposed surface;
(l) A reclamation plan and map that designates which parts of the lands to be affected will be reclaimed for forest, pasture, agriculture, homesites, recreational, industrial or other purposes. The plan must include:
1. A detailed timetable for compliance with the reclamation plan; and
2. Plans for the storage of all overburden and refuse.
(m) An estimate of the cost of reclamation;
(n) A detailed description of the measures to be taken during the surface mining and reclamation process to ensure the protection of the following:
1. The quality of surface and ground water both on-site and off-site, from adverse effects of the mining and reclamation process;
2. The rights of present users to the surface and ground water systems; and
3. The public health, safety and property, including protection from air and noise pollution.
(o) The effects the surface mining operation may have on properties or sites listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or the state register of historic sites and structures. If historic sites or properties are identified the applicant must include a plan to mitigate the effects of the surface mining operation upon those sites and properties.
(B) An application filed with the Commissioners under this chapter is a public document.
(C) The application under this chapter must include a non-refundable application fee of $100 plus $25 for each whole acre of the area of land to be affected by the proposed surface mining operation.
(D) Not more than three days after the application is filed under this chapter, the applicant shall mail to each adjacent property owner and cause to be published a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the proposed surface mining operation is located. The notice must include the following information:
(1) A statement that an application for a surface mining permit has been filed;
(2) The name of the applicant;
(3) The location of the proposed surface mining operation including its proximity to the nearest public roads; and
(4) The estimated number of acres to be affected.
(E) (1) Not more than 28 days after notice is published under division (D) above, the Commissioners shall do the following:
(a) Appoint a Permit Review Committee; and
(b) Set a date for the Permit Review Committee to hold its first meeting on the application.
(2) At the Commissioners’ discretion, the Committee may be appointed for a fixed period of time to review all applications or appointed on an application by application basis.
(F) After the Commissioners have set the date for the first meeting of the Committee, the applicant shall cause to be published, at the applicant’s expense, a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the proposed surface mining operation is located, that meets the following requirements:
(1) The notice contains the information required in the notice under division (D) above;
(2) The notice contains the date, time and location of the Committee’s first meeting; and
(3) The notice is published 21, 14 and seven days before the date of the Committee meeting.
(BC Ord. 1995-14, passed 10-23-1995)