11 AAC 97.300 - Reclamation plan approval, procedure
(a) At least 45
days before the proposed start of mining activities, a miner not exempted under
AS
27.19.050 must submit to the department, or
to the appropriate agency with which the department has entered into a
cooperative management agreement, a proposed reclamation plan for
approval.
(b) If a miner entitled
to an exemption under
AS
27.19.050 mistakenly files a proposed
reclamation plan, the commissioner will, within 15 days after receipt,
(1) return any bond filed,
(2) notify the miner that no plan approval is
necessary,
(3) accept the plan as a
letter of intent under
AS
27.19.050(b), and
(4) remind the miner of the subsequent
requirement to file an annual reclamation statement under
AS
27.19.050(c).
(c) If the commissioner determines
that a proposed reclamation plan is complete, the commissioner will begin a
review that will take no longer than 30 days. If the commissioner determines
that the plan is incomplete, the commissioner will notify the miner that review
is suspended pending receipt of the necessary information. The miner may
request an extension of time to supply the information. Failure to supply the
necessary information within 30 days after notification, or within a longer
period allowed by the commissioner, constitutes withdrawal of the proposed plan
from consideration.
(d) The
commissioner will approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions a proposed
reclamation plan within 30 days after determining that the plan is complete.
However, the plan approval does not take effect, and the mining operation may
not begin, until the miner satisfies the bond requirement under
11 AAC 97.400 -
11 AAC 97.450.
(e) If the commissioner determines that
additional time is needed because of the size or complexity of the operation,
the commissioner will, with written notice to the applicant, extend the period
described in (c) or (d) of this section and establish an alternative review
schedule.
(f) If a state or federal
agency or a municipality has entered into a cooperative management agreement
with the commissioner to implement all or part of this chapter, the application
review schedule will comply with that agency's or municipality's applicable
review schedule.
(g) If a miner
objects to the plan as approved, the miner may give the commissioner written
notice of that objection within 30 days and request reconsideration or propose
a modification of the plan for the commissioner's review. If, after that
reconsideration or review, the miner continues to object to the plan as
approved, the miner may file a statement of issues that meets the standard of
AS
44.62.370.
(h) If the approved reclamation plan is for
an alternate post-mining land use under
AS
27.19.030(b) that was
proposed by the commissioner, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department
of Environmental Conservation, or the landowner rather than by the miner, the
miner shall notify the department within 30 days after approval if he or she
does not concur. However, a mining locator or material purchaser on public land
may not control or determine how the land will be used after a mining operation
is completed. The commissioner will, in his or her discretion, modify an
approved reclamation plan for a post-mining land use under
AS
27.19.030(b) if the miner
shows to the commissioner's satisfaction that reclamation for the proposed use
would cost the miner more, in time, equipment, or material than reclamation to
the basic standard required by
AS
27.19.020.
(i) The commissioner may not impose an
alternate post-mining land use under
AS
27.19.030(b) if the land is
privately owned and the state or federal government owns only the reserved
minerals. If the state owns both the land estate and the mineral estate, the
commissioner will not approve an alternate post-mining land use that is
inconsistent with a state land use plan adopted under
AS
38.04.065.
Notes
Authority: Sec. 2, ch. 92, SLA
1990
AS 27.19.030
AS 27.19.060
AS 27.19.080
AS 27.19.100
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