16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.216 - Criteria for Permit Approval or Denial
No permit or revision application shall be approved, unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the Commission finds, in writing, on the basis of information set forth in the application or from information otherwise available, which is documented in the approval and made available to the applicant, that:
(1)
the permit application is accurate and complete and that all requirements of
the Act and this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations) have been
complied with;
(2) the applicant
has demonstrated that surface coal mining and reclamation operations, as
required by the Act and this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations), can
be feasibly accomplished under the mining and reclamation operations plan
contained in the application;
(3)
the assessment of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated coal
mining in the cumulative impact area on the hydrologic balance has been made by
the Commission, and the operations proposed under the application have been
designed to prevent damage to the hydrologic balance outside the proposed
permit area;
(4) the proposed
permit area is:
(A) not included within an
area designated unsuitable for surface coal mining operations under
§§
12.74-
12.77 of this title (relating to
Criteria for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining
Operations) and §§
12.78-
12.85 of this title (relating to
Process for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations)
or within an area subject to the prohibitions of §
12.71(a) of this
title (relating to Areas Where Surface Coal Mining Operations are Prohibited or
Limited); or
(B) not within an area
under study for designation as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations or
in an administrative proceeding begun under §§
12.78-
12.85 of this title (relating to
Process for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining
Operations), unless the applicant demonstrates that, before January 4, 1977, he
or she made substantial legal and financial commitments in relation to the
operation for which he or she is applying for a permit; or
(C) not on any lands subject to the
prohibitions or limitations of §
12.71(a)(1), (a)(6) or (a)(7)
of this title; or
(D) not within 100 feet of the outside
right-of-way line of any public road, except as provided for in §
12.72(a) of this
title (relating to Procedures for Compatibility Findings, Public Road Closures
and Relocations, Buffer Zones, and Valid Existing Rights Determinations);
or
(E) not within 300 feet from any
occupied dwelling, except as provided for in §
12.71(a)(5) of
this title;
(5) the
proposed operations will not adversely affect any properties listed on and
eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, except as
provided for in §
12.71(a)(3) of
this title. This finding may be supported in part by inclusion of appropriate
permit conditions, revisions in the operation plan, or a documented decision by
the Commission that no additional protection measures are required under the
National Historic Preservation Act;
(6) for operations involving the surface
mining of coal where the private mineral estate to be mined has been severed
from the private surface estate, the applicant has submitted to the Commission
the documentation required under §§ 12.117(b) or
12.157(b) of
this title (relating to Right of Entry and Operation Information);
(7) the applicant has either:
(A) submitted the proof required by §
12.215(e)(1) of
this title (relating to Review of Permit Applications); or
(B) made the demonstration required by §
12.215(e)(2) of
this title (relating to Review of Permit Applications);
(8) the applicant has submitted proof that
all reclamation fees required by Subchapter R of this chapter (relating to
Texas Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program) have been paid;
(9) surface coal mining and reclamation
operations to be performed under the permit will not be inconsistent with other
such operations anticipated to be performed in areas adjacent to the proposed
permit area;
(10) the applicant
will submit the performance bond or other equivalent guarantee required under
Subchapter J of this chapter (relating to Bond and Insurance Requirements for
Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations), prior to the issuance of the
permit;
(11) the applicant has,
with respect to both prime farmland and alluvial valley floors obtained either
a negative determination or satisfied the requirements of §
12.201 and §
12.202 of this title (relating to
Prime Farmland, and to Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations on Areas
or Adjacent to Areas Including Alluvial Valley Floors in the Arid or Semiarid
Areas West of the 100th Meridian);
(12) the proposed postmining land use of the
permit area has been approved by the Commission in accordance with the
requirements of §
12.399 or §
12.568 of this title (relating to
Postmining Land Use);
(13) the
Commission has made all specific approvals required under Subchapter K of this
chapter (relating to Permanent Program Performance Standards);
(14) the Commission has found that the
activities would not affect the continued existence of endangered or threatened
species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical
habitats as determined under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and
(15) the applicant has, where applicable,
satisfied the requirements for approval of a long-term, intensive agricultural
postmining land use, in accordance with the requirements of §
12.390 or §
12.555 of this title (relating to
Revegetation: General Requirements).
(16) For permits to be issued under §
12.206 of this title (relating to
Mining in Previously Mined Areas), the permit application must:
(A) identify the lands eligible for
remining;
(B) identify the
potential environmental and safety problems related to prior mining activity
which could reasonably be anticipated to occur at the site; and
(C) include the mitigation plans to
sufficiently address these potential environmental and safety problems so that
reclamation as required by the applicable requirements of the regulatory
program can be accomplished.
Notes
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