45.1-235 - Form and contents of permit application; fee.
§ 45.1-235. Form and contents of permit application; fee.
A. Application for a surface mining permit shall be made to the Division inthe format required by the Director and shall be signed and verified underoath by the person, or his legal representative, intending to engage in thesurface mining of coal.
B. The application shall contain such information as shall be required byregulations adopted by the Director, including, but not limited to, theinformation required under the provisions of § 507 (b) of the federal act.
C. To the extent that funds are available from the federal Office of SurfaceMining, the Director shall provide for permit application assistance to smalloperators as provided in § 507 (c) and (h) of the federal act. Suchassistance shall be provided in accordance with regulations adopted by theDirector.
D. Each applicant for a permit shall be required to submit to the Division aspart of the permit application an operations plan and a reclamation planwhich shall meet the requirements of this chapter and regulations promulgatedby the Director.
E. Each application for a coal surface mining permit issued under thischapter shall be accompanied by a fee of $26 per acre for the area of land tobe affected by the total operation for which plans have been submitted. Ananniversary payment of $13 per acre for areas disturbed under the permitshall be payable annually on the anniversary date of the permit. All feescollected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into a specialfund of the Department to be used for the administration of the coal surfacemining regulatory program and are hereby appropriated for that purpose.
F. Each applicant for a coal surface mining permit shall file a copy of hisapplication for public inspection at an appropriate public office approved bythe Director where the mining is proposed to occur. However, informationwhich pertains only to the analysis of the chemical and physical property ofthe coal, excepting information regarding such mineral or elemental contentwhich is potentially toxic in the environment, shall be kept confidentialupon request of the applicant and not made a matter of public record.
G. Each applicant for a coal surface mining permit shall be required tosubmit to the Division as part of the permit application a certificate issuedby an insurance company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth,certifying that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy inforce for the surface mining and reclamation operations for which such permitis sought. Such policy shall provide for personal injury and property damageprotection in an amount, not less than that specified in regulations adoptedby the Director, adequate to compensate any persons damaged as a result ofsurface coal mining and reclamation operations, including use of explosives,and entitled by law to compensation under applicable provisions of law. Suchpolicy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the terms of thepermit or any renewal, and including the length of all reclamationoperations. The Director is authorized to promulgate regulations whichprovide for the submission by the applicant of evidence of self-insurance,meeting the requirements of this subsection, in lieu of a certificate of apublic liability insurance policy.
(1979, c. 290; 1982, c. 246; 1984, c. 590; 1999, c. 114; 2003, cc. 542, 550.)