The following words and terms, when used in this
chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
ABS Legacy Sites-Mine sites,
permitted under the Primacy Alternate Bonding System, that have a postmining
pollutional discharge where the operator has defaulted on its obligation to
adequately treat the discharge and, either the bond posted for the site is
insufficient to cover the cost of treating the discharge, or a trust to cover
the costs of treating the discharge was not fully funded and is insufficient to
cover the cost of treating the discharge.
Acts-Include the following:
(i) The Surface Mining Conservation and
Reclamation Act (52 P. S. §§
1396.1-1396.19b).
(ii) The Air Pollution Control Act
(35 P. S. §§
4001-4015).
(iii) The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§
691.1-691.1001).
(iv) The Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act
(52 P. S. §§
30.51-30.66).
(v) Article XIX-A of The Administrative Code
of 1929 (71 P. S. §§ 510-1-510-108).
(vi) The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land
Conservation Act (52 P. S. §§
1406.1-1406.21).
(vii) The Dam Safety and Encroachments Act
(32 P. S. §§
693.1-693.27).
(viii) The Solid Waste Management Act
(35 P. S. §§
6018.101-6018.1003).
(ix) The Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation
and Reclamation Act (52 P. S. §§
3301-3326).
Applicant-A person who seeks to obtain
a permit from the Department to conduct coal mining activities under this
chapter.
Application-The documents and other
information filed with the Department for the issuance of a permit.
Bond-A bond by which a permittee
assures faithful performance of the requirements of the acts, this chapter,
Chapters 87-90 and the requirements of the permit and reclamation plan.
Coal mining activity-Surface mining
activities, underground mining activities, coal preparation activities or coal
refuse disposal activities as these terms are defined in this section.
Coal preparation activity-An operation
in which coal is subject to chemical or physical processing or cleaning,
concentrating or other processing or preparation. The term includes a facility
associated with the coal preparation activity and the activity by which the
land surface has been or is disturbed as a result of or incidental to coal
preparation activity of the operator, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(i) Private ways and roads
appurtenant to the area, land excavations and loading facilities.
(ii) Storage and stockpile
facilities.
(iii) Sheds, shops and
other buildings.
(iv) Water
treatment and water storage facilities.
(v) Settling basins and
impoundments.
(vi) Areas in which
are situated facilities, equipment, machines, tools or other materials or
property which result from or are used in the coal preparation
activity.
Coal refuse disposal
activities-Activities whereby a plot of land is used as a place for
disposing, dumping or storage of coal refuse. These areas may include land
thereby affected, including, but not limited to, a deposit of coal refuse on or
buried in the earth and intended as permanent disposal of or long-term storage
of the material, but not including coal refuse deposited within an active mine
itself or coal refuse never removed from a mine. The term includes activities
in which the natural land surface has been disturbed as a result of or
incidental to the coal refuse disposal activities of the operator, including,
but not limited to, private ways and roads appurtenant to the area, land
excavations, workings, tailings, repair areas, storage areas, processing areas,
shipping areas and areas in which structures, facilities, equipment, machines,
tools or other materials or property which result from or are used in coal
refuse disposal activities are situated.
Complete application-An application
for a permit which contains an application form properly completed, signed and
witnessed, a filing fee, proof of publication, the standard reports or forms
required by the Department to process a permit and which demonstrates
compliance with applicable statutes and regulations.
Cumulative measurement period-For
purposes of §
86.5 (relating to extraction of
coal incidental to noncoal surface mining), the period of time over which both
cumulative production and cumulative revenue are measured.
Cumulative production-For purposes of
§
86.5, the total tonnage of coal or
other minerals extracted from a mining area during the cumulative measurement
period. The inclusion of stockpiled coal and other mineral tonnages in this
total is governed by §
86.5 (k).
Cumulative revenue-For purposes of
§
86.5, the total revenue derived from the sale of coal or other minerals
and the fair market value of coal or other minerals transferred or used, but
not sold, during the cumulative measurement period.
Entity-A person including, but not
limited to, a corporation, association, general and limited partnership, agency
and instrumentality of Federal or State government, contractor, operator,
permit holder and other forms of business organization.
Existing structure-A structure or
facility used in connection with or to facilitate coal mining activities for
which construction began prior to the effective date of this chapter.
General area-The topographic and
groundwater basin, with respect to hydrology, surrounding a permit area which
is of sufficient size, including areal extent and depth, to include one or more
watersheds containing perennial streams and groundwater zones and to allow
assessment of the probable cumulative impacts on the quality and quantity of
surface water and groundwater systems in the basins.
Groundwater-Subsurface waters of the
Commonwealth.
Historically used for
cropland-Includes the following:
(i) Lands that have been used for cropland
for any 5 years or more out of the 10 years immediately preceding the
acquisition, including purchase, lease or option, of the land for the purpose
of conducting or allowing through resale, lease or option the conduct of coal
mining activities.
(ii) Lands that
the Department determines, on the basis of additional cropland history of the
surrounding lands and the lands under consideration, that the permit area is
clearly cropland but falls outside the specific 5-years-in-10 criterion, in
which case the regulations for prime farmland may be applied to include more
years of cropland history only to increase the prime farmland acreage to be
preserved.
(iii) Lands that would
likely have been used as cropland for any 5 out of the last 10 years
immediately preceding the acquisition but for the same fact of ownership or
control of the land unrelated to the productivity of the land.
Historic resource-A building,
structure, object, district, place, site or area significant in the history,
architecture, maritime heritage, archaeology or culture of this Commonwealth,
its communities or the Nation. The term includes the terms "cultural resource,"
"archaeological resource," "historic place," "historic property,"
"archaeological site" and "archaeological property" as used in this chapter and
Chapters 87-90.
Interim permit-A permit issued by the
Department prior to the effective date of this chapter and in accordance with
the requirements of Chapter 13 (relating to compliance with the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977).
Landowner-The person or municipality
in whom legal title to the land is vested.
Land use-A specific use or
management-related activity, rather than the vegetation or cover of the land.
Land uses may be identified in combination when joint or seasonal uses occur.
MSHA-The Mine Safety and Health
Administration of the United States Department of Labor.
Major permit revision-A revision to a
coal mining permit that requires public notice.
Mining area-For purposes of §
86.5, an individual excavation site or pit from which coal, other minerals and
overburden are removed.
Municipality-A county, city, borough,
town, township, school district, institution or an authority created by any one
or more of the foregoing.
Occupied dwellings-A permanent
building or fixed mobile home that is currently being used on a regular or
temporary basis for human habitation.
Operational area-The maximum portion
of the permitted area that the permittee is authorized to disturb at any
specific time during the permit term in accordance with the approved mining and
reclamation plan, including all of the land affected by mining activities that
is not planted, growing and stabilized.
Operation and maintenance
costs-Expenses associated with the day-to-day operation and
maintenance of a conventional or a passive treatment facility, such as
chemicals, electricity, labor, water sampling, sludge removal and disposal,
maintenance of access roads, mowing, snow removal, inspecting facilities,
repairing and maintaining all aspects of the treatment facility, equipment and
buildings.
Operator-A person or municipality
engaged in coal mining activities as a principal as distinguished from an agent
or independent contractor. When more than one person is engaged in coal mining
activities in a single operation, they shall be deemed jointly and severally
responsible for compliance with the provisions of the Surface Mining
Conservation and Reclamation Act, The Clean Streams Law, the Coal Refuse
Disposal Control Act and The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation
Act.
Other minerals-For purposes of §
86.5, a commercially valuable substance mined for its mineral value, excluding
coal, topsoil, waste and fill material.
Owned or controlled and
owns
or controls-One or a combination of the relationships specified in
subparagraphs (i)-(iv):
(i) Being a
permittee of a coal mining activity.
(ii) Based on instruments of ownership or
voting securities, owning of record in excess of 50% of an entity.
(iii) The following relationships are
presumed to constitute ownership or control unless a
person can demonstrate
that the
person subject to the presumption does not in fact have the authority
directly or indirectly to determine the manner in which the relevant
coal
mining activity is conducted:
(A) Being an
officer or director of an entity.
(B) Being the operator or contractor of a
coal mining activity.
(C) Having the
ability to commit the financial or real property assets or working resources of
an entity.
(D) Being a general
partner in a partnership.
(E) Based
on the instruments of ownership or the voting securities of a corporate
entity,
owning of record a percentage of the
entity as established in the definition of
"own, owner, or ownership" in
30 CFR
701.5 (relating to definitions).
(F) Owning or controlling coal to be mined by
another person under a lease, sublease or other contract and having the right
to receive the coal after mining or having authority to determine the manner in
which that person or another person conducts a coal mining
activity.
(iv) Having
another relationship which gives one person authority directly or indirectly to
determine the manner in which an applicant, an operator or other entity
conducts coal mining activities.
Participates-To take part in an action
or to instruct another person or entity to conduct or not to conduct an
activity.
Passive treatment system-A mine
drainage treatment system which does not require routine operational control or
maintenance. The term includes biological or chemical treatment systems, alone
or in combinations, as approved by the Department, such as artificially
constructed wetlands, cascade aerators, anoxic drains or sedimentation
basins.
Permit-A permit issued by the
Department to conduct coal mining activities.
Permit application fee-A
nonrefundable filing fee due at the time of submission of an application. The
permit application fee is required for an application to be considered
complete.
Permit area-Includes the
following:
(i) For surface mining
activities and refuse disposal activities: the area of land and water within
the boundaries of the permit, which area is designated on the permit
application maps as approved by the Department. This area shall include areas
which are or will be affected by the surface mining activities or refuse
disposal activities.
(ii) For
underground mining activities: the mine and areas where underground mining
activities occur.
Permittee-A person holding, or
required to hold by the acts, a permit issued by the Department to conduct coal
mining activities.
Person-A natural person, partnership,
association or corporation, or an agency, instrumentality or entity of Federal
or State government. Whenever used in a clause prescribing and imposing a
penalty, or imposing a fine or imprisonment, or both, the term "person" may not
exclude the members of an association and the directors, officers or agents of
a corporation.
Postmining pollutional discharge-A
discharge of mine drainage emanating from or hydrologically connected to the
permit area, which may remain after coal mining activities have been completed,
and which does not comply with the applicable effluent requirements described
in §
87.102, §
88.92, §
88.187, §
88.292, §
89.52 or §
90.102. The term includes
minimal-impact postmining discharges, as defined in section 3 of the Surface
Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P. S. §
1396.3).
Primacy Alternate Bonding System-The
bonding system utilized by the Commonwealth from July 31, 1982, until August 4,
2001, for surface coal mines, coal refuse reprocessing facilities and coal
preparation plants in which a central pool of money to be used by the
Department for reclamation of forfeited sites was funded in part through
imposition of a per-acre reclamation fee paid by operators of permitted
sites.
Prime farmland-Land which is defined
by the Secretary of Agriculture in 7 CFR Part 657 (relating to prime and unique
farmlands) and which has been historically used for cropland.
Principal shareholder-A person who is
the legal owner of 10% or more of any class of voting stock.
Property-Real or personal
property.
Public road-A thoroughfare open to the
public which has been or is being used by the public for vehicular
travel.
Recapitalization costs-The costs
associated with replacing discharge treatment facility components or the costs
to install treatment systems with lower operation and maintenance costs than
the system being replaced.
Related party-A partner, associate,
officer, director, shareholder, parent corporation, subsidiary corporation,
affiliate or persons under common control with the applicant, contractor or
subcontractor. The term does not include persons who are excluded, based on a
percentage of ownership, under the definition of "owned or controlled and owns
or controls."
Surface mining activities-Any
activities meeting the definition of "surface mining activities" as it is
defined at 30 CFR
701.5, which is adopted in its entirety and
incorporated herein by reference.
Underground mining activities-Includes
the following:
(i) Surface operations
incident to underground extraction of coal or in situ processing, such as
construction, use, maintenance and reclamation of roads, aboveground repair
areas, storage areas, processing areas, shipping areas, areas upon which are
sited support facilities, including hoist and ventilating ducts, area used for
the disposal and storage of waste and areas on which materials incident to
underground mining operations are placed.
(ii) Underground operations such as
underground construction, operation and reclamation of shafts, adits, support
facilities located underground, in situ processing and underground mining,
hauling, storage and blasting.
(iii)
Operation of a mine, including preparatory work in connection with the opening
and reopening of a mine, backfilling, sealing and other closing procedures,
postclosure mine pool maintenance and any other work done on land or water in
connection with a mine.
Valid existing rights-Rights which
exist under the definition of "valid existing rights" in
30 CFR
761.5 (relating to definitions).
Violation notice-A written
notification from a governmental entity of a violation of law, whether by
letter, memorandum, legal or administrative pleading or other written
communication.
Waters of the Commonwealth-Rivers,
streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments, ditches, water courses, storm sewers,
lakes, dammed water, ponds, springs and other bodies or channels of conveyance
of surface water and underground water, or parts thereof, whether natural or
artificial, within or on the boundaries of this Commonwealth.
Willful violation-An act or omission
which violates the acts, this chapter, Chapter 87, 88, 89 or 90, or a permit
condition required by the acts, this chapter or Chapter 87, 88, 89 or 90,
committed by a person who intends the result which actually
occurs.
