444.770. Permit required, when--release of certain bonds--complaints, requirements.
Permit required, when--release of certain bonds--complaints,requirements.
444.770. 1. It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage insurface mining without first obtaining from the commission a permit to doso, in such form as is hereinafter provided, including any operatorinvolved in any gravel mining operation where the annual tonnage of gravelmined by such operator is less than five thousand tons, except as providedin subsection 2 of this section.
2. (1) A property owner or operator conducting gravel removal at therequest of a property owner for the primary purpose of managing seasonalgravel accretion on property not used primarily for gravel mining, or apolitical subdivision who contracts with an operator for excavation toobtain sand and gravel material solely for the use of such politicalsubdivision shall be exempt from obtaining a permit as required insubsection 1 of this section. Such gravel removal shall be conductedsolely on the property owner's or political subdivision's property andshall be in accordance with department guidelines, rules, and regulations.The property owner shall notify the department before any person oroperator conducts gravel removal from the property owner's property if thegravel is sold. Notification shall include the nature of the activity,name of the county and stream in which the site is located and the propertyowner's name. The property owner shall not be required to notify thedepartment regarding any gravel removal at each site location for up to oneyear from the original notification regarding that site. The propertyowner shall renotify the department before any person or operator conductsgravel removal at any site after the expiration of one year from theprevious notification regarding that site. At the time of eachnotification to the department, the department shall provide the propertyowner with a copy of the department's guidelines, rules, and regulationsrelevant to the activity reported. Said guidelines, rules and regulationsmay be transmitted either by mail or via the Internet.
(2) The annual tonnage of gravel mined by such property owner oroperator conducting gravel removal at the request of a property owner shallbe less than two thousand tons, with a site limitation of one thousand tonsannually. Any operator conducting gravel removal at the request of aproperty owner that has removed two thousand tons of sand and gravelmaterial within one calendar year shall have a watershed managementpractice plan approved by the commission in order to remove any future sandor gravel material the remainder of the calendar year. The application forapproval shall be accompanied by an application fee equivalent to the feepaid under section 444.772 and shall contain the name of the watershed fromwhich the operator will be conducting sand and gravel removal, the locationwithin the watershed district that the sand and gravel will be removed, andthe description of the vehicles and equipment used for removal. Uponapproval of the watershed management practice plan, the department shallprovide a copy of the relevant commission regulations to the operator.
(3) No property owner or operator conducting gravel removal at therequest of a property owner for the primary purpose of managing seasonalgravel accretion on property not used primarily for gravel mining shallconduct gravel removal from any site located within a distance, to bedetermined by the commission and included in the guidelines, rules, andregulations given to the property owner at the time of notification, of anybuilding, structure, highway, road, bridge, viaduct, water or sewer line,and pipeline or utility line.
3. Sections 444.760 to 444.790 shall apply only to those areas whichare opened on or after January 1, 1972, or to the extended portion ofaffected areas extended after that date. The effective date of thissection for minerals not previously covered under the provisions ofsections 444.760 to 444.790 shall be August 28, 1990.
4. All surface mining operations where land is affected afterSeptember 28, 1971, which are under the control of any government agencywhose regulations are equal to or greater than those imposed by section444.774, are not subject to the further provisions of sections 444.760 to444.790, except that such operations shall be registered with the landreclamation commission.
5. Any portion of a surface mining operation which is subject to theprovisions of sections 260.200 to 260.245, RSMo, and the regulationspromulgated thereunder, shall not be subject to the provisions of sections444.760 to 444.790, and any bonds or portions thereof applicable to suchoperations shall be promptly released by the commission, and the associatedpermits canceled by the commission upon presentation to it of satisfactoryevidence that the operator has received a permit pursuant to section260.205, RSMo, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Any landreclamation bond associated with such released permits shall be retained bythe commission until presentation to the commission of satisfactoryevidence that:
(1) The operator has complied with sections 260.226 and 260.227,RSMo, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, pertaining to closure andpostclosure plans and financial assurance instruments; and
(2) The operator has commenced operation of the solid waste disposalarea or sanitary landfill as those terms are defined in chapter 260, RSMo.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section,any political subdivision which uses its own personnel and equipment or anyprivate individual for personal use may conduct in-stream gravel operationswithout obtaining from the commission a permit to conduct such an activity.
7. Any person filing a complaint of an alleged violation of thissection with the department shall identify themself by name and telephonenumber, provide the date and location of the violation, and provideadequate information, as determined by the department, that there has beena violation. Any records, statements, or communications submitted by anyperson to the department relevant to the complaint shall remainconfidential and used solely by the department to investigate such allegedviolation.
(L. 1971 H.B. 519 § 5, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1584, A.L. 2001 H.B. 453, A.L. 2009 H.B. 246)