Section 11 AAC 90.911 - DefinitionsUnless the context indicates otherwise, in AS 27.21 and this chapter,
(1) "acid drainage" means water with a pH which may cause or contribute to violation of the Alaska water quality laws and regulations discharged from an active, inactive, or abandoned surface coal mine and reclamation operation or from an area affected by surface coal mining and reclamation operations;(2) "acid-forming materials" means earth materials that contain sulfide minerals or other materials which, if exposed to air, water, or weathering processes, form acids that may create acid drainage;(3) "Act" means the Alaska Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act (AS 27.21);(4) "adjacent area" means land located outside the affected area or permit area, depending on the context, where air, water, fish, wildlife, vegetation or other resources may be adversely impacted by surface coal mining and reclamation operations;(5) "affected area" means any land or water upon or in which mining activities are conducted or located, including land or water which is located above underground mine workings;(6) "affected person" as used in 11 AAC 90.751 - 11 AAC 90.759 means any person subject to the provisions of AS 27.21.050;(7) "agricultural activities" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, the use of any tract of land for the production of domestic animal or vegetable life, where the use is enhanced or facilitated by subirrigation or flood irrigation associated with alluvial valley floors; including pasturing, grazing and watering livestock, and cropping, cultivating or harvesting plants whose production is aided by the availability of water from subirrigation or flood irrigation; but not including agricultural practices which do not benefit from the availability of water from subirrigation or flood irrigation;(8) "agricultural use" means the use of any tract of land for the production of domestic animal or vegetable life including pasturing, grazing, and watering livestock and cropping, cultivating, and harvesting plants;(9) "aircraft runways" means areas cleared, graded, surfaced, or otherwise modified from the natural condition to facilitate the landing, storage, and servicing of fixed wing and rotary aircraft;(10) "Alaska state program" means the program submitted to the Secretary under section 503(a) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977;(11) "approximate original contour" means that surface configuration achieved by backfilling and grading of the mined area so that the reclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads, closely resembles the general surface configuration of the land before mining and blends into and complements the drainage pattern of the surrounding terrain in accordance with the performance standards of this chapter;(12) "aquifer" means a zone, stratum, or group of strata that can store and transmit water in sufficient quantities for a specific use;(13) "arid and semiarid area" means, in the context of alluvial valley floors, an area experiencing water deficits where water use by native vegetation equals or exceeds that supplied by precipitation;(14) "auger mining" means a method of mining coal at a cliff or highwall by drilling holes into an exposed coal seam from the highwall and transporting the coal along an auger bit to the surface;(15) "best technology currently available" or "BTCA" means equipment, devices, systems, methods, or techniques which will prevent, to the extent possible, additional contributions of suspended solids to stream flow or runoff outside the permit area, but not result in contributions of suspended solids in excess of requirements set by applicable state or federal laws and regulations, and minimize, to the extent possible, disturbances and adverse impacts on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values, and achieve enhancement of those resources where practical; "BTCA" includes equipment, devices, systems, methods, or techniques which are currently available anywhere as determined by the commissioner, even if they are not in routine use; BTCA" includes construction practices, siting requirements, vegetative selection and planting requirements, animal stocking requirements, scheduling of activities, and design of sedimentation ponds in accordance with 11 AAC 90.301 - 11 AAC 90.501; the commissioner will, in his or her discretion, determine the "best technology currently available" on a case-by-case basis;(16) "cemetery" means any area of land where human bodies are interred;(17) "coal exploration" means (A) the field gathering of surface or subsurface geologic, physical, or chemical data by mapping, trenching, drilling, geophysical, or other techniques necessary to determine the quality and quantity of overburden and coal of an area; or(B) the gathering of environmental data to establish the conditions of an area before beginning surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the requirements of this chapter;(18) "coal processing plant" means a complex of facilities where coal is subjected to crushing, cleaning, concentrating, or other chemical or physical processing;(19) "collateral bond" means an indemnity agreement in a sum certain executed by the permittee as principal and supported by the deposit with the commissioner of one or more of the following: (A) cash in federally insured accounts payable only to the state upon demand;(B) negotiable bonds of the United States, a state, or a municipality, endorsed to the order of the State of Alaska;(C) negotiable certificates of deposit made payable or assigned to the state;(D) an irrevocable letter of credit of any bank organized or authorized to transact business in the United States, payable only to the state upon presentation;(E) a perfected, first-lien security interest in real property in favor of the state;(F) other investment-grade rated securities having a rating of AAA, AA or A or equivalent rating issued by a nationally recognized securities rating service, endorsed to the order of the state;(20) "combustible material" means organic material that is easily ignited by fire, heat, or oxidation;(21) "compaction" means increasing the density of a material by reducing the voids between the particles generally by controlled placement and mechanical effort such as the repeated application of wheel, track, or roller loads from heavy equipment;(22) "commissioner" means the commissioner of natural resources or his or her designee.(23) "coal mine waste" means coal processing waste and underground development waste;(24) "cropland" means land used for the production of adapted crops for harvest, alone or in a rotation with grasses and legumes, including row crops, small grain crops, hay crops, nursery crops, orchard crops, and other similar specialty crops;(25) "direct financial interest" means ownership or part ownership of land, stocks, bonds, debentures, warrants, partnership shares, or other holdings or any other arrangement which may result in a benefit from a holding in or salary from coal mining operations; "direct financial interest" includes employment, pensions, creditor, real property, and other financial relationships;(26) "disturbed area" means an area where vegetation, topsoil, aquatic substrate, or overburden is removed or upon which topsoil, spoil, coal processing waste, underground development waste, or noncoal waste is placed or, in the case of aquatic systems where the area is channelized or dewatered, until reclamation is complete and the performance bond or other assurance of performance required by 11 AAC 90.201 - 11 AAC 90.209 is released;(27) "diversion" means a channel, embankment, or other structure constructed to divert water from one area to another;(28) "downslope" means the land surface between the projected outcrop of the lowest coal bed being mined along each highwall and a valley floor;(29) "embankment" means an artificial deposit of material that is raised above the natural surface of the land and used to contain, divert, or store water, to support roads or railways, or for other similar purposes;(30) "emergency" means a sudden danger or impairment that presents a high probability of substantial physical harm to the health, safety, or general welfare of people before the danger can be abated;(31) "ephemeral stream" means a stream which flows only in direct response to precipitation in the immediate watershed or in response to the melting of a cover of snow and ice, and which has a channel bottom that is always above the local water table;(32) "employee" means any person employed by the department who performs any function or duty under the Act;(33) "escrow account bond" means cash deposited in one or more federally insured accounts which are payable on demand only to the state, or cash deposited directly with the state;(34) "essential hydrologic functions" means the role of an alluvial valley floor in collecting, storing, regulating, and making the natural flow of surface or ground water, or both, usefully available for agricultural activities by reason of the valley floor's topographic position, the landscape, and the physical properties of its underlying materials; a combination of these functions provides a water supply during extended periods of low precipitation; the role of the alluvial valley floor (A) in collecting water includes accumulating runoff and discharge from aquifers in sufficient amounts to make the water available at the alluvial valley floor greater than the amount available from direct precipitation;(B) in storing water involves limiting the rate of discharge of surface water, holding moisture in soils, and holding ground water in porous materials;(C) in regulating the natural flow of surface water results from the characteristic configuration of the channel flood plain and adjacent low terraces;(D) in regulating the natural flow of ground water results from the properties of the aquifers which control inflow and outflow; and(E) in making water usefully available for agricultural activities results from the existence of flood plains and terraces where surface and ground water can be provided in sufficient quantities to support the growth of agriculturally useful plants, from the temporal and physical distribution of water making it accessible to plants throughout the critical phases of the growth cycle either by flood irrigation or by subirrigation, from the natural control of alluvial valley floors in limiting destructive extremes of stream discharge, and from the erosional stability of earth materials suitable for the growth of agriculturally useful plants;(35) "existing structure" means a structure or facility used in connection with or to facilitate surface coal mining and reclamation operations for which construction began before approval of the state program;(36) "expended" means that money has been paid or that work has been accomplished or services rendered;(37) "extraction of coal as an incidental part" means the extraction of coal which is necessary to enable the construction to be accomplished, including only that coal extracted from within the right-of-way, in the case of a road, railroad, utility line or other construction, or within the boundaries of the area directly affected by other types of government-financed construction, will be considered incidental to that construction;(38) "extreme danger" means a condition that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial physical harm to persons, property, or the environment and to which persons or improvements on real property are currently exposed;(39) "flood irrigation" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, supplying water to plants by natural overflow or the diversion of flows, so that the irrigated surface is largely covered by a sheet of water;(40) "fragile land" means geographic areas containing natural, ecologic, scientific, or aesthetic resources that could be damaged or destroyed by surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Examples of fragile land includes, but is not limited to, uncommon geologic features, National Natural Landmark sites, groundwater recharge areas, valuable habitats for fish and wildlife, critical habitats for endangered species of animals and plants, critical wetlands, environmental corridors containing concentrations of ecologic and aesthetic features, areas of recreational value due to high environmental quality, buffer zones around areas where surface coal mining is prohibited; and important, unique, or highly productive soils or mineral resources;(41) "fugitive dust" means particulate matter not emitted from a duct or stack which becomes airborne due to the forces of wind or surface coal mining and reclamation operations or both, including emissions from haul roads; wind erosion of exposed surfaces, storage piles, and spoil piles; and other activities in which material is either removed, stored, transported, or redistributed;(42) "fund" means the "Alaska Abandoned Mined Land Reclamation Fund" established under 11 AAC 90.800;(43) "general area" means, with respect to hydrology, the topographic and ground water basin surrounding a permit area which is of sufficient size, including areal extent and depth, to include one or more watersheds containing perennial streams and ground water zones and to allow assessment of the probable cumulative impacts on the quality and quantity of surface and ground water systems in the basins;(44) "government financing agency" means a federal, state, municipal, or local unit of government, or a department, bureau, agency or office of the unit which, directly or through another unit of government, finances construction;(45) "government-financed construction" means construction funded 50 Percent or more by funds appropriated from a government financing agency's budget or obtained from general revenue bonds, but does not mean government financing agency guarantees, insurance, loans, funds obtained through industrial revenue bonds or their equivalent, or in-kind payments;(46) "ground water" means that one or more zones of saturation located at various depths below the ground surface and either confined by impermeable earth material or overlaying an impermeable layer of earth material;(47) "coal processing waste" means earth materials which are separated and wasted from the product coal during physical or chemical processing, cleaning, or concentrating of coal;(48) "habitat" means terrestrial and aquatic systems that support fish and wildlife by providing feeding, breeding, resting and protective cover.(49) "head-of-hollow fill" means a fill structure consisting of any material, other than organic material, placed in the uppermost reaches of a hollow where side slopes of the existing hollow measured at the steepest point are greater than 20 or the average slope of the profile of the hollow from the toe of the fill to the top of the fill is greater than 10; the top surface same elevation as the adjacent ridge line, and no significant area of natural drainage occurs above the fill draining into the fill area;(50) "higher or better uses" means those postmining land uses that have a higher value or other benefit to the landowner or community than the premining land use;(51) "highwall" means the face of exposed overburden and coal in an open cut of a surface coal mining activity or for entry to underground mining activities;(52) "historic land" means historic or cultural districts, places, structures, or objects, including but not limited to, sites listed or eligible for listing on a state or National Register of Historic Places, national historic landmarks, archeological and paleontological sites, or cultural or religious districts, places, or objects;(53) "hydrologic balance" means the relationship between the quality and quantity of water inflow to, water outflow from, and water storage in a hydrologic unit such as a drainage basin, aquifer, soil zone, lake, or reservoir; "hydrologic balance" encompasses the dynamic relationships among precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and changes in ground and surface water storage;(54) "hydrologic regime" means the entire process of water movement in a given areas as a function of the climate and includes the phenomena by which water first occurs as atmospheric water vapor, passes into a liquid or solid form, falls as precipitation, moves along or into the ground surface, and returns to the atmosphere as vapor by means of evaporation and transpiration;(55) "impoundment" means a closed basin, naturally formed or artificially built, which is dammed or excavated for the retention of water, sediment, or waste;(56) "indirect financial interest" means the same financial relationships as for direct ownership, but where the employee or private contractor benefits from interests held by his or her spouse, minor child and other relatives, including in-laws, residing in his or her home; no indirect financial interest exists if there is no relationship between the employee's or contractor's functions or duties and the coal mining operation in which the spouse, minor children, or other resident relatives hold a financial interest;(57) "in situ processes" means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place distillation, retorting, leaching, or other chemical or physical processing of coal, including in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, borehole mining, and fluid recovery mining;(58) "intermittent stream" means a stream or reach of a stream that drains a watershed of at least one square mile, is below the local water table for at least some part of the year, and obtains its flow from both surface runoff and ground water discharge;(59) "irreparable damage to the environment" means any damage to the environment that cannot be corrected by actions of the applicant;(60) "land use" means specific uses or management-related activities, rather than the vegetation or cover of the land which may be identified in combination when joint or seasonal uses occur and may include support facilities that are an integral part of the use; "land use" includes use of the following categories of land for the purposes stated:(A) "cropland" means land used for the production of adapted crops for harvest, alone or in a rotation with grasses and legumes, and includes row crops, small grain crops, hay crops, nursery crops, orchard crops, and other similar specialty crops;(B) "pastureland" means land used primarily for the long-term production of adapted, domesticated forage plants to be grazed by livestock or occasionally cut and cured for livestock feed;(C) "grazing land" means land used for both grassland and forest land where the indigenous vegetation is actively managed for grazing, browsing, or occasional hay production;(D) "forestry land" means land used or managed for the long-term production of wood, wood fiber, or wood derived products;(E) "residential land" means land used for single and multiple-family housing, mobile home parks, and other residential lodgings;(F) "industrial/commercial land" means land used for (i) extraction or transformation of materials for fabrication of products, wholesaling of products, or long-term storage of products. This includes all heavy and light manufacturing facilities;(ii) retail or trade of goods or services, including hotels, motels, stores, restaurants, and other commercial establishments;(G) "recreational land" means land used for leisure-time use, including facilities such as parks and camps, as well as areas for less intensive uses such as hiking, canoeing, and other undeveloped recreational uses;(H) "fish and wildlife habitat" means land dedicated wholly or partially to the production, protection, or management of species of fish or wildlife;(I) "developed water resources" means land used for storing water for beneficial uses such as stock ponds, irrigation, fire protection, flood control, and water supply;(J) "undeveloped land" means land that is undeveloped or, if previously developed, land that has been allowed to return to a natural equilibrium through succession;(61) "left or abandoned in either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition" means land or water (A) which was mined or which was affected by mining, wastebanks, processing, or other mining processes before August 3, 1977, and on which all mining has ceased;(B) which continues, in its present condition, to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, prevent or damage the beneficial use of the land or water resources, or endanger the health and safety of the public;(C) for which there is no continuing reclamation responsibility under state or federal law;(62) "marine docking facilities" means shoreland that is cleared, graded, stabilized, constructed upon, or otherwise modified from the natural condition to facilitate the landing, anchorage, loading and unloading, and servicing of marine craft, including motorized and non motorized transport vessels;(63) "materially damage the quantity or quality of water" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, changes in the quality or quantity of the water supply to any portion of an alluvial valley floor where these changes are caused by surface coal mining and reclamation operations and result in changes that significantly and adversely affect the composition, diversity, or productivity of vegetation dependent on subirrigation, or which result in changes that would limit the adequacy of the water for flood irrigation of the irrigable land acreage existing before mining;(64) "mountaintop removal" means surface mining which removes an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or hill, by removing substantially all of the overburden off the bench and creating a level plateau or a gently rolling contour, with no highwalls remaining, and capable of supporting postmining land uses approved in accordance with 11 AAC 90.141;(65) "mulch" means vegetation residues or other suitable materials that aid in soil stabilization and soil moisture conservation, thus providing micro-climatic conditions suitable for germination and growth;(66) "natural hazard land" means geographic areas in which natural conditions exist that pose or, as a result of surface coal mining operations, may pose a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of people, property, or the environment, including, but not limited to, areas subject to landslides, cave-ins, subsidence, substantial erosion, earthquakes, unstable geology, long-term disruptions, or degradation of surface and subsurface water supplies, and substantial increases in flood heights or frequencies;(67) "occupied dwelling" means any building that is currently being used on a regular basis for human habitation;(68) "OSMRE" or "OSM" means the United States Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement;(69) "outslope" means the face of the spoil or embankment sloping downward from the highest elevation to the toe;(70) "overburden" means earth material of any nature, consolidated or unconsolidated, that overlies a coal deposit, including interburden but excluding topsoil;(71) "perennial stream" means a stream or part of a stream that, as a result of ground-water discharge or surface runoff, flows continuously during all of the calendar year, except when frozen not including intermittent or ephemeral streams;(72) "performing any function or duty under this Act" means those decisions or actions which, if performed or not performed, affect the programs under the Act;(73) "performance bond" means a surety bond, collateral bond, escrow account bond, or a combination of these bonds, by which a permittee assures faithful performance of all the requirements of the Act, this chapter, and the requirements of the permit and reclamation plan;(74) "permanent" as used for diversions or impoundments means a diversion or impoundment remaining after surface coal mining and reclamation operations are completed;(75) "permanent facility" means any structure that is built, installed, or established to serve a particular purpose or any manipulation or modification of the surface that is designed to remain after reclamation is completed;(76) "person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected or person with a valid legal interest" includes any person (A) who uses any resource of economic, recreational, aesthetic, or environmental value that may be adversely affected by coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations or any related action of the commissioner, or(B) whose property is or may be adversely affected by coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations or any related action of the commissioner;(77) "project" means an area with one or more abandoned mine land problems which are the subject of reclamation activity, construction which meets the requirements of 11 AAC 90.808(4) or 11 AAC 90.840(a)(3); and(78) "property to be mined" means both the surface and mineral estates on and underneath land which is within the permit area;(79) "prohibited interest" as used in 11 AAC 90.751 - 11 AAC 90.759, means any financial interest prohibited under AS 27.21.050;(80) "public building" means any structure that is owned or leased by a public agency or used principally for public business, meetings, or other group gatherings;(81) "public office" means a facility under the direction and control of a governmental entity which is open to public access on a regular basis during reasonable business hours;(82) "public park" means an area dedicated or designated by a federal, state, or municipal agency or native village for recreational use, whether or not such use is limited to certain times or days. It includes any land leased, reserved, or held open to the public because of that use;(83) "public road" means any thoroughfare constructed or maintained with public funds which is open to the public for passage of motorized vehicles;(84) "rangeland" means land on which the natural potential (climax) plant cover is principally native grasses, forbs, and shrubs valuable for forage;(85) "recharge capacity" means the ability of the soils and underlying materials to allow precipitation and runoff to infiltrate and reach the zone of saturation;(86) "reclamation" means those actions taken to restore mined land as required by this chapter to a postmining land use approved by the commissioner;(87) "reclamation activity" means the reclamation, restoration, abatement, control, or prevention of adverse effects of past mining.(88) "recurrence interval" means the interval of time in which precipitation event is expected to occur once on the average;(89) "reference area" means a land unit which is representative of geology, soil, slope, and vegetation in the permit area and which is maintained under appropriate management for the purpose of measuring vegetation ground cover, productivity and plant species diversity that are produced naturally or by crop production methods approved by the commissioner;(90) "renewable resource land" means aquifers and areas for the recharge of aquifers and other underground water, areas for agricultural or silvicultural production of food and fiber, and grazing land;(91) "road" means a surface right-of-way for purposes of travel by land vehicles used in coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations, consisting of the entire area within the right-of-way, including the roadbed, shoulders, parking and side areas, approaches, structures, ditches, surface, and contiguous appendages necessary for the total structure, and including access and haul roads, and roads used by coal-hauling vehicles leading to transfer, processing, or storage areas; however, the term "road" does not include a ramp or route of travel within the immediate mining area or within spoil or coal mine waste disposal areas;(92) "runoff event" means the quantity of water expected as a result of all physical and meteorological conditions, expressed in terms of recurrence interval;(93) "safety factor" means the ratio of the available shear strength to the developed shear stress, or the ratio of the sum of the resisting forces to the sum of the loading or driving forces, as determined by accepted engineering practices;(94) "secretary" means the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior or the Secretary's representative;(95) "sedimentation pond" means a primary sediment control structure including but not limited to a barrier, dam, or excavated depression which slows down water runoff to allow sediment to settle out; "sedimentation pond" does not include secondary sedimentation control structures, such as straw dikes, riprap, check dams, mulches, dugouts, and other measures that reduce overland flow velocity, reduce runoff volume, or trap sediment to the extent that these secondary sedimentation structures drain to a sedimentation pond;(96) "shallow ground water" means that body of ground water, excluding the capillary fringe, that is not confined by an overlying impermeable zone;(97) "slope" means average inclination of a surface, measured from the horizontal, generally expressed as the ratio of a unit of vertical distance to a given number of units of horizontal distance;(98) "soil amendments" means any material that when added to the soil increases its ability to support plant growth by correcting deficiencies of either a physical or chemical origin;(99) "soil horizons" means contrasting layers of soil parallel or nearly parallel to the land surface differentiated on the basis of field characteristics and laboratory data; the three major soil horizons are(A) A horizon, or the uppermost mineral layer, often called the surface soil or topsoil which is the part of the soil in which organic matter is most abundant and leaching of soluble or suspended particles is typically the greatest;(B) B horizon, or the layer that typically is immediately beneath the A horizon and often called the subsoil and which commonly contains more clay, iron, or aluminum than the A or C horizons; and(C) C horizon, or the deepest layer of soil profile which consists of loose material or weathered rock that is relatively unaffected by biologic activity;(100) "soil survey" means a field or other investigation, resulting in a map showing the geographic distribution of different kinds of soils and an accompanying report that describes, classifies, and interprets soils for use meeting the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey;(101) "spoil" means overburden that has been removed during surface coal mining operations;(102) "stabilize" means to control movement of soil, spoil piles, or areas of disturbed earth by modifying the geometry of the mass, or by otherwise modifying physical or chemical properties, such as by providing a protective surface coating;(103) "steep slope" means any slope of more than 20 degrees or any lesser slope designated by the commissioner after consideration of soil, climate, and other characteristics of a region;(104) "subirrigation" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, the supplying of water to plants from underneath or from a semi-saturated or saturated subsurface zone where water is available for use by vegetation; "subirrigation" may be identified by: (A) diurnal fluctuation of the water table due to the differences in nighttime and daytime evapotranspiration rates;(B) increasing soil moisture from a portion of the root zone down to the saturated zone due to capillary action;(C) mottling of the soils in the root zones;(D) existence of an important part of the root zone within the capillary fringe or water table of an alluvial aquifer; or(E) an increase in streamflow or a rise in ground water levels shortly after the first killing frost on the valley floor;(105) "substantial disturbance" means an impact on land, air or water resources by activities such as (B) mechanical excavation, excluding the use of light, portable field equipment;(C) drilling or enlarging coal or water exploratory holes or wells; and(D) construction of roads, structures, trails, aircraft landing and marine docking areas;(106) "surety bond" means an indemnity agreement in a sum certain payable to the state, executed by the permittee as principal, and supported by the performance guarantee of a corporation licensed to do business as a surety in Alaska;(107) "surface mining activities" means those surface coal mining and reclamation operations incident to the extraction of coal from the earth by removing the materials over a coal seam before recovering the coal, by auger coal mining, or by recovery of coal from a deposit that is not in its original geologic location;(108) "surface operations and impacts incident to an underground coal mine" means all activities involved in or related to underground coal mining which are either conducted on the surface of the land, produce changes in the land surface or disturb the surface, air or water resources of the area, including all activities listed in AS 27.21.220 and surface coal mining operations;(109) "suspended solids or non-filterable residue", expressed as milligrams per liter, means organic or inorganic materials carried or held in suspension in water which are retained by a standard glass fiber filter in the procedure outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency's regulations for waste water and analyses at 40 CFR 136;(110) "temporary" as used for diversions or impoundments means a diversion of a stream or overland flow or an impoundment which is used during coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations and not approved as part of the approved postmining land use;(111) "ton" means 2000 pounds avoirdupois (.90718 metric ton);(112) "topsoil" means the A soil horizon layer of the three major soil horizons;(113) "toxic-forming materials" means earth materials or wastes which, if acted upon by air, water, weathering, or microbiological processes, are likely to produce chemical or physical conditions in soils or water that are detrimental to biota or uses of water;(114) "toxic mine drainage" means water that is discharged from active or abandoned mines or other areas affected by coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations, which contains a substance that through chemical action or physical effects is likely to kill, injure, or impair biota commonly present in the area that might be exposed to it;(115) "unconsolidated streamlaid deposits holding streams" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, all flood plains and terraces located in the lower portions of topographic valleys which contain perennial or other streams with channels that are greater than 3 feet in bankfull width and greater than 0.5 feet in bankfull depth;(116) "underground development waste" means waste rock or related materials, including coal, that are excavated, moved, and disposed of from underground workings in connection with underground mining activities;(117) "underground mining activities" means a combination of(A) 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, areas utilized for the disposal and storage of waste, and areas on which materials incident to underground mining operations are placed; and(B) underground operations such as underground construction, operation, and reclamation of shafts, adits, underground support facilities, in situ processing, and underground mining, hauling, storage, and blasting;(118) "undeveloped rangeland" means, for purposes of alluvial valley floors, land where the use is not specifically controlled and managed;(119) "upland areas" means, with respect to alluvial valley floors, those geomorphic features located outside the flood plain and terrace complex, such as isolated higher terraces, alluvial fans, pediment surfaces, landslide deposits, and surfaces covered with residuum, mud flows or debris flows, as well as highland areas underlain by bedrock and covered by residual weathered material or debris deposited by sheetwash, rillwash, or windblown material;(120) "valley fill" means a fill structure consisting of any material other than organic material that is placed in a valley where side slopes of the existing valley measured at the steepest point are greater than 20 degrees or the average slope of the profile of the valley from the toe of the fill to the top of the fill is greater than 10 degrees;(121) "water pollution" means degradation of water quality below that required by applicable state and federal water quality laws and regulations and this chapter;(122) "water table" means the upper surface of a zone of saturation, excluding the capillary fringe, where the body of ground water is not confined by an overlying impermeable zone;(124) "surface coal mining operations" under AS 27.21.998(17)(A) include leaching and other chemical and physical processing of coal whether or not performed on-site;(125) "community or institutional building" means a structure, other than a public building or an occupied dwelling, that (A) is used primarily for meetings, gatherings, or functions of local civic organizations or other community groups;(B) functions as an educational, cultural, historic, religious, scientific, correctional, mental health care, or physical health care facility; or(C) is used for public services; in this subparagraph, "public services" includes water supply, power generation, and sewage treatment;(126) "cumulative impact area" means the area, including the permit area, within which impacts resulting from the proposed operation may interact with the impacts of all anticipated mining on surface water and ground water systems; in this paragraph; "anticipated mining" includes the entire projected lives through bond releases of (A) the proposed operation;(B) all existing operations;(C) any operation for which a permit application has been submitted to the commissioner; and(D) all operations required to meet diligent development requirements for leased federal coal, and for which actual mine development information is available; in this subparagraph, "leased federal coal" has the meaning given in 30 C.F.R. 740.5(a);(127) "impounding structure" means a dam, embankment, or other structure used to impound water, slurry, or other liquid or semi-liquid material;(128) "other minerals" has the meaning given in AS 27.21.998;(129) "other treatment facility" means any chemical treatment, such as flocculation or neutralization, or mechanical structure, such as a clarifier or precipitator, that has a point source discharge and is utilized(A) to prevent additional contributions of dissolved or suspended solids to streamflow or runoff outside the permit area; or(B) to comply with all applicable federal water quality laws and regulations and with all applicable provisions of AS 46.03 and regulations in effect under that chapter;(130) "precipitation event" means a quantity of water resulting from drizzle, rain, snow, sleet, hail, or water emanating from snow cover as snowmelt in a set or specified period of time;(131) "previously mined area" means land (A) affected by surface coal mining operations that were conducted before August 3, 1977; and(B) that has not been reclaimed to the standards of this chapter;(132) "refuse pile" means a surface deposit of coal mine waste that does not impound water, slurry, or other liquid or semi-liquid material;(133) "registered professional engineer" means an individual with a valid certificate of registration issued under AS 08.48 and 12 AAC 36 as a professional engineer;(134) "registered professional land surveyor" means an individual with a valid certificate of registration issued under AS 08.48 and 12 AAC 36 as a professional land surveyor;(135) "siltation structure" means a sedimentation pond, a series of sedimentation ponds, or other treatment facility.(136) "applicant violator system" means the automated information system of applicant, permittee, operator, violation, and related data that OSMRE maintains to assist in implementing 30 U.S.C. 1201- 1328 ( P.L. 95-87, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977);(137) "control" means the ability to determine how a surface coal mining operation is conducted;(138) "controller" means a person who has the ability to determine how a surface coal mining operation is conducted, including a permittee or an operator of a surface coal mining operation;(139) "department" means the Department of Natural Resources;(140) "MSHA" means the United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration;(141) "own" means to have possession of more than 50 percent of a business entity's voting securities, stock certificate, or other instrument defining the relationship of a person to a business entity;(142) "owner" means a person who owns a business entity;(143) "ownership" means the state of owning a business entity;(144) "ownership" means the state of owning a business entity;(145) "transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights" means a method of legally changing the permittee of a surface coal mining operation;(146) "valid existing right" means a set of circumstances under which a person may, subject to regulatory authority approval, conduct a surface coal mining operation on land where AS 27.21.260 or 11 AAC 90.121 would otherwise prohibit such an operation.Eff. 5/2/83, Register 84; am 12/18/83, Register 88; am 11/18/94, Register 132; am 7/29/98, Register 147; am 4/24/ 2009, Register 190; am 7/7/2022, Register 243, October 2022Authority:AS 27.21.030
AS 27.21.210
AS 27.21.220
AS 27.21.270