45.1-181 - Permit required; fee; renewal fee; application; furnishing copy of map, etc., to landowner; approval by Department.
§ 45.1-181. Permit required; fee; renewal fee; application; furnishing copyof map, etc., to landowner; approval by Department.
It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage in any mining operation inVirginia, without having first obtained from the Department a permit toengage in such operation and paying a fee therefor of $31 per acre for everyacre of land to be affected by the total operation for which plans have beensubmitted, which shall be deposited in the state treasury in a special fundto be used by the Director for the administration of this chapter. A permitshall be obtained prior to the start of any mining operation. If within 10days of the anniversary date of the permit the Director, after inspection, issatisfied that the operation is proceeding according to the plan submitted toand approved by him, then the Director shall renew the permit upon payment ofa renewal fee by the operator of $16 per acre for land to be affected by thetotal operation in the next ensuing year. The renewal fees shall be depositedin the state treasury in the special fund set out above. If the operatorbelieves changes in his original plan are necessary or if additional land notshown as a part of the approved plan of operation is to be disturbed, heshall submit an amended plan of operation which shall be approved by theDirector in the same manner as an original plan and shall be subject to theprovisions of this section and §§ 45.1-182.1 and 45.1-183 hereof. A separatepermit must be secured for each mining operation conducted. Application for amining permit shall be made in writing on forms prescribed by the Directorand shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant or his duly authorizedrepresentative. The application, in addition to such other information as maybe reasonably required by the Director shall contain the followinginformation: (1) the common name and geologic title, where applicable, of themineral to be extracted; (2) a description of the land upon which theapplicant proposes to conduct mining operations, which description shall setforth: the name of the county or city in which such land is located; thelocation of its boundaries and any other description of the land to bedisturbed in order that it may be located and distinguished from other landsand easily ascertainable as shown by a map attached thereto showing theamount of land to be disturbed; (3) the name and address of the owner orowners of the surface of the land; (4) the name and address of the owner orowners of the mineral, ore or other solid matter; (5) the source of theoperator's legal right to enter and conduct operations on the land to becovered by the permit; (6) the total number of acres of land to be covered bythe permit; (7) a reasonable estimate of the number of acres of land thatwill be disturbed by mining operations on the area to be covered by thepermit during the ensuing year; (8) whether any mining permits of any typeare now held by the applicant and the number thereof; (9) the name andaddress of the applicant, if an individual; the names and addresses of allpartners, if a partnership; the state of incorporation and the name andaddress of its registered agent, if a corporation; or the name and address ofthe trustee, if a trust; and (10) if known, whether the applicant, or anysubsidiary or affiliate or any partnership, association, trust or corporationcontrolled by or under common control with applicant, or any person requiredto be identified by item (9) above, has ever had a mining permit of any typeissued under the laws of this or any other state revoked or has ever had amining or other bond, or security deposited in lieu of bond, forfeited.
The application for a permit shall be accompanied by two copies of anaccurate map or aerial photograph or plan and meeting the followingrequirements:
(a) Be prepared by a licensed engineer or licensed land surveyor or issued bya standard mapping service or in such a manner as to be acceptable to theDirector;
(b) Identify the area to correspond with the land described in theapplication;
(c) Show adjacent deep mining, if any, and the boundaries of surfaceproperties, with the names of owners of the affected area which lie within100 feet of any part of the affected area;
(d) Be drawn to a scale of 400 feet to the inch or better;
(e) Show the names and location of all streams, creeks or other bodies ofpublic water, roads, buildings, cemeteries, oil and gas wells, and utilitylines on the area affected and within 500 feet of such area;
(f) Show by appropriate markings the boundaries of the area of land affected,the outcrop of the seam at the surface or deposit to be mined, and the totalnumber of acres involved in the area of land affected;
(g) Show the date on which the map was prepared, the north arrow and thequadrangle name;
(h) Show the drainage plan on and away from the area of land affected,including the directional flow of water, constructed drainways, naturalwaterways used for drainage and the streams or tributaries receiving thedischarge.
Upon receipt of a written request by any landowner on whose property a sandand gravel operation is permitted pursuant to this section, the operator ofthe sand and gravel operation shall provide a copy of the map, photograph orplan to the landowner.
No permit shall be issued by the Department until the Director has approvedthe plan of operation required in this section and § 45.1-182.1 and the bondfrom the applicant as required in § 45.1-183.
(1968, c. 734; 1972, c. 206; 1974, c. 312; 1977, c. 312; 1983, c. 322; 1996,cc. 648, 659; 2003, cc. 542, 550.)