RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 350, 7 C.F.R. Part 657, 30 C.F.R. Parts 700.5, 701.5, 707.5, 730-733, 735, 761.5, 762.5, 773.5, 800.5, 843.5, 917, 30 U.S.C. Chapter 25, 1253, 1255, 1291
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 350 requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations pertaining to surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the permanent regulatory program. This administrative regulation establishes definitions for terms used in 405 KAR Chapter 7.
Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Adjacent area" means land located outside the affected area or permit area, depending on the context in which "adjacent area" is used, where air, surface or groundwater, fish, wildlife, vegetation, or other resources protected by KRS Chapter 350 could be adversely impacted by surface coal mining and reclamation operations.(2) "Administrative hearing" means a formal adjudicatory hearing conducted before the cabinet pursuant to 400 KAR 1:090 and 400 KAR 1:110.(3) "Administratively complete application" means an application for permit approval, or approval for coal exploration if required, which the cabinet determines to contain information addressing each application requirement of the regulatory program and to contain all information necessary to initiate technical processing and public review.(4) "Affected area" means any land or water area that is used to facilitate, or is physically altered by, surface coal mining and reclamation operations. The affected area includes: (b) Any area upon which surface coal mining and reclamation operations are conducted;(c) Any adjacent lands the use of which is incidental to surface coal mining and reclamation operations;(d) All areas covered by new or existing roads used to gain access to, or for hauling coal to or from, surface coal mining and reclamation operations, except as established in this definition;(e) Any area covered by surface excavations, workings, impoundments, dams, ventilation shafts, entryways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles, overburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks, tailings, holes or depressions, repair areas, storage areas, or shipping areas;(f) Any areas upon which are sited structures, facilities, or other property or material on the surface resulting from, or incident to, surface coal mining and reclamation operations;(g) The area located above underground workings associated with underground mining activities;(h) Auger mining or in situ mining; and(i) Every road used for the purposes of access to, or for hauling coal to or from, surface coal mining and reclamation operations, unless the road: 1. Was designated as a public road pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is located;2. Is maintained with public funds and constructed in a manner similar to other public roads of the same classification within the jurisdiction; and3. There is substantial (more than incidental) public use.(5) "Applicant" means any person seeking a permit, permit revision, permit amendment, permit renewal, or transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights from the cabinet to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations or approval to conduct coal exploration operations pursuant to KRS Chapter 350 and all applicable administrative regulations.(6) "Application" means the documents and other information filed with the cabinet seeking issuance of permits, revisions, amendments, renewals, and transfer, assignment or sale of permit rights for surface coal mining and reclamation operations or, if required, seeking approval for coal exploration.(7) "Approximate original contour" is defined by KRS 350.010.(8) "Aquifer" means a zone, stratum, or group of strata that can store and transmit water in sufficient quantities for domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other beneficial use.(9) "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 and includes all other methods of mining in which coal is extracted from beneath the overburden by mechanical devices located at the face of the cliff or highwall and extending laterally into the coal seam, such as extended depth, secondary recovery systems.(10) "Blaster" means a person who is directly responsible for surface blasting operations in surface coal mining and reclamation operations or coal exploration operations.(11) "Cabinet" is defined by KRS 350.010.(12) "Cessation order" means an order for cessation and immediate compliance and any similar order issued by OSM under SMCRA or issued by any state pursuant to its laws or regulations under SMCRA.(13) "C.F.R." means Code of Federal Regulations.(14) "Coal" means combustible carbonaceous rock, classified as anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, or lignite by ASTM Standard D 388-77.(15) "Coal exploration" means the field gathering of:(a) 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) Environmental data to establish the conditions of an area before beginning surface coal mining and reclamation operations under the requirements of 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24 if the activity could cause any disturbance of the land surface or could cause any appreciable effect upon land, air, water, or other environmental resources.(16) "Coal mine waste" means coal processing waste and underground development waste.(17) "Coal processing waste" means materials separated from the product coal during the cleaning, concentrating, or other processing or preparation of coal.(18) "Collateral bond" means an indemnity agreement in a sum certain payable to the cabinet executed by the permittee and supported by the deposit with the cabinet of cash, negotiable certificates of deposit, or an irrevocable letter of credit of any bank organized and authorized to transact business in the United States.(19) "Cumulative measurement period" means the period of time over which both cumulative production and cumulative revenue are measured.(20) "Cumulative production" means 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 established in 405 KAR 7:035, Section 7.(21) "Cumulative revenue" means 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.(22) "Day" means calendar day unless otherwise specified to be a working day.(23) "Department" means the Department for Natural Resources.(24) "Disturbed area" means an area where vegetation, topsoil, or overburden is removed or upon which topsoil, spoil, coal processing waste, underground development waste, or noncoal waste is placed by surface coal mining operations. Those areas are classified as "disturbed" until reclamation is complete and the performance bond or other assurance of performance required by 405 KAR Chapter 10 is released.(25) "Embankment" means a manmade 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.(26) "Existing structure" means a structure or facility used in connection with or to facilitate surface coal mining and reclamation operations, for which construction began prior to January 18, 1983.(27) "Extraction of coal as an incidental part" means the extraction of coal that is necessary to enable the construction to be accomplished. Only that coal extracted from within the right-of-way, in the case of a road, railroad, utility line, or similar construction, or within the boundaries of the area directly affected by other types of government-financed construction, could be considered incidental to that construction. Extraction of coal outside the right-of-way or boundary of the area directly affected by the construction is subject to the requirements of KRS Chapter 350 and 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24.(28) "Final order" means final order of the secretary, which could include findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order.(29) "Government-financed construction":(a) Means construction funded fifty (50) percent or more by funds appropriated from a government financing agency's budget or obtained from general revenue bonds; and(b) Does not mean government financing agency guarantees, insurance, loans, funds obtained through industrial revenue bonds or their equivalent, or in-kind payments.(30) "Government financing agency" means a federal, Commonwealth of Kentucky, county, municipal, or local unit of government, or a cabinet, department, agency, or office of the unit that, directly or through another unit of government, finances construction.(31) "Groundwater" means subsurface water that fills available openings in rock or soil materials to the extent that the materials are considered water saturated.(32) "Hearing officer" means the individual duly qualified and assigned as presiding officer to conduct administrative hearings; the term includes the chief hearing officer.(33) "Highwall" means the face of exposed overburden and coal in an open cut of a surface mining activity or for entry to underground mining activities.(34) "Historically used for cropland."(a) "Historically used for cropland" means that lands have been used for cropland for any five (5) years or more out of the ten (10) years immediately preceding: 2. The acquisition of the land for the purpose of conducting surface coal mining and reclamation operations.(b) Lands meeting either paragraph (a)1 or 2 of this subsection are considered "historically used for cropland".(c) In addition to the lands covered by paragraph (a) of this subsection, other lands shall be considered "historically used for cropland", including: 1. Lands that would likely have been used as cropland for any five (5) out of the last ten (10) years immediately preceding the acquisition or the application but for some fact of ownership or control of the land unrelated to the productivity of the land; and2. Lands that the cabinet determines, on the basis of additional cropland history of the surrounding lands and the lands under consideration, are clearly cropland but fall outside the specific five (5) years in ten (10) criterion.(d) Acquisition includes purchase, lease, or option of the land for the purpose of conducting or allowing through resale, lease or option, the conduct of surface coal mining and reclamation operations.(35) "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. It encompasses the dynamic relationship between precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and changes in ground and surface water storage.(36) "Hydrologic regime" means the entire state of water movement in a given area. It is 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.(37) "Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public" means the existence of any condition or practice, or any violation of a permit or other requirements of KRS Chapter 350 in a surface coal mining and reclamation operation, which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial physical harm to persons outside the permit area before the condition, practice, or violation can be abated. A reasonable expectation of death or serious injury before abatement exists if a rational person, subjected to the same condition or practice giving rise to the peril, would avoid exposure to the danger during the time necessary for abatement.(38) "Impoundment" means a closed basin, naturally formed or artificially built, which is dammed or excavated for the retention of water, sediment, or waste.(39) "Individual" means a natural person.(40) "Industrial/commercial lands" means lands used for:(a) Extraction or transformation of materials for fabrication of products, wholesaling of products, or long-term storage of products, and heavy and light manufacturing facilities; or(b) Retail or trade of goods or services, including hotels, motels, stores, restaurants, and other commercial establishments.(41) "Initiating document" means a petition for administrative hearing, an administrative complaint, a show cause order, or any other document that commences an administrative proceeding.(42) "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. The term includes in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, borehole mining, and fluid recovery mining.(43) "Interim report" means statements made by a hearing officer in written form that are not intended to be considered by the secretary and that are not subject to judicial review.(44) "KAR" means Kentucky administrative regulations.(45) "Knowingly" means that a person knew or had reason to know in authorizing, ordering, or carrying out an act or omission that the act or omission constituted a violation of SMCRA, KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or a permit condition, or that the act or omission constituted a failure or refusal to comply with an order issued pursuant to SMCRA, KRS Chapter 350, or 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24.(46) "KRS" means Kentucky Revised Statutes.(47) "Land use" means specific functions, uses, or management-related activities of an area, and could be identified in combination when joint or seasonal uses occur and can include land used for support facilities that are an integral part of the use. In some instances, a specific use can be identified without active management.(48) "Mining area", as used in 405 KAR 7:035, means an individual excavation site or pit from which coal, other minerals, and overburden are removed.(49) "Monitoring" means the collection of environmental data by either continuous or periodic sampling methods.(50) "MSHA" means Mine Safety and Health Administration.(51) "Notice of noncompliance and order for remedial measures" means a written document and order prepared by an authorized representative of the cabinet that establishes with specificity the violations of KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or permit conditions that the authorized representative of the cabinet determines to have occurred based upon an inspection, and the necessary remedial actions, if any, and the time schedule for completion thereof, which the authorized representative deems necessary and appropriate to correct the violations.(52) "Office", as used in 400 KAR 1:090 and 400 KAR 1:110, means the office of administrative hearings.(53) "Operations" is defined by KRS 350.010.(54) "Operator" is defined by KRS 350.010.(55) "Order for cessation and immediate compliance" means a written document and order issued by an authorized representative of the cabinet when:(a) A person to whom a notice of noncompliance and order for remedial measures was issued has failed, as determined by a cabinet inspection, to comply with the terms of the notice of noncompliance and order for remedial measures within the time limits set therein, or as subsequently extended; or(b) The authorized representative finds, on the basis of a cabinet inspection, any condition or practice or any violation of KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or any condition of a permit or exploration approval that:1. Creates an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public; or2. Is causing or can reasonably be expected to cause significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or water resources.(56) "OSM" means Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, United States Department of the Interior.(57) "Other mineral" means any commercially valuable substance mined for its mineral value, excluding coal, topsoil, waste, and fill material.(58) "Overburden" is defined by KRS 350.010.(59) "Performance bond" means a surety bond, a collateral bond, or a combination thereof, or bonds filed pursuant to the provisions of the Kentucky Bond Pool Program (405 KAR 10:200, KRS 350.595, and KRS 350.700 through 350.755), by which a permittee assures faithful performance of all the requirements of KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, and the requirements of the permit and reclamation plan.(60) "Permit" means written approval issued by the cabinet to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations.(61) "Permit area" means the area of land, indicated on the approved map submitted by the permittee with an application, required to be covered by the permittee's performance bond pursuant to 405 KAR Chapter 10 and that includes the area of land upon which the permittee proposes to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations pursuant to the permit, including all disturbed areas. Areas adequately bonded under another valid permit, pursuant to 405 KAR Chapter 10, could be excluded from the permit area.(62) "Permittee" means an operator or a person holding or required by KRS Chapter 350 or 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24 to hold a permit to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations during the permit term and until all reclamation obligations imposed by KRS Chapter 350 and 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24 are satisfied.(63) "Person" is defined by KRS 350.010.(64) "Prime farmland" means those lands defined by the Secretary of Agriculture in 7 C.F.R. 657 and that have been "historically used for cropland".(65) "Probable cumulative impacts" means the expected total qualitative, and quantitative, direct and indirect effects of surface coal mining and reclamation operations on the hydrologic regime.(66) "Probable hydrologic consequences" means the projected results of proposed surface coal mining and reclamation operations that could reasonably be expected to change the quantity or quality of the surface and groundwater; the surface or groundwater flow, timing, and pattern; and the stream channel conditions on the permit area, shadow area, and adjacent areas.(67) "Reclamation" is defined by KRS 350.010.(68) "Record" means the transcript of a proceeding, if any, and rulings; and all pleadings, motions, and rulings; documentary and physical evidence received or considered; a statement of matters officially noticed; questions and offers of proof, objections, and rulings thereon, proposed findings and recommended orders; and legal briefs and orders.(69) "Refuse pile" means a surface deposit of coal mine waste that is not retained by an impounding structure and does not impound water, slurry, or other liquid or semiliquid material.(70) "Road": (a) Means a surface right-of-way for purposes of travel by land vehicles used in coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations. A road consists of the entire area within the right-of-way, including the roadbed, shoulders, parking and side area, approaches, structures, ditches, surface, and contiguous appendages necessary for the total structure. The term includes access and haul roads constructed, used, reconstructed, improved, or maintained for use in coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations, including use by coal hauling vehicles leading to transfer, processing, or storage areas; and(b) Does not mean pioneer or construction roadways used for part of the road construction procedure and promptly replaced by a road pursuant to 405 KAR Chapters 16 and 18 located in the identical right-of-way as the pioneer or construction roadway. The term also excludes any roadway within the immediate mining pit area.(71) "SCS" means Soil Conservation Service.(72) "Secretary" is defined by KRS 350.010.(73) "Sedimentation pond": (a) Means a primary sediment control structure designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with 405 KAR 16:090 or 405 KAR 18:090 and including a barrier, dam, or excavated depression that slows down water runoff to allow suspended solids to settle out; and(b) Does not mean 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 the secondary sedimentation structures drain to a sedimentation pond.(74) "Shadow area" means the surface area overlying underground mine works and surface areas associated with auger and in situ mining.(75) "Significant, imminent environmental harm" means an adverse impact on land, air, or water resources which resources include plant and animal life. (a) An environmental harm is imminent, if a condition, practice, or violation exists that: 1. Is causing environmental harm; or2. Could reasonably be expected to cause environmental harm at any time before the end of the reasonable abatement time that would be set by the cabinet's authorized agents pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 350.(b) An environmental harm is significant if that harm is appreciable and not immediately reparable.(76) "Small operator", as used in 405 KAR 7:080, means an operator whose combined actual and attributed production of coal does not exceed 300,000 tons during any period of twelve (12) consecutive months.(77) "SMCRA" means Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, 30 U.S.C. Chapter 25.(78) "Soil horizons" means contrasting layers of soil parallel or nearly parallel to the land surface. Soil horizons are differentiated on the basis of field characteristics and laboratory data. The four (4) master soil horizons are:(a) "A horizon." The uppermost mineral layer, often called the surface soil. It 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) "E horizon." The layer commonly near the surface below an A horizon and above a B horizon. An E horizon is most commonly differentiated from an overlying A horizon by lighter color and generally has measurably less organic matter than the A horizon. An E horizon is most commonly differentiated from an underlying B horizon in the same sequum by color of higher value or lower chroma, by coarser texture, or by a combination of these properties;(c) "B horizon." The layer that typically is immediately beneath the E horizon and often called the subsoil. This middle layer commonly contains more clay, iron, or aluminum than the A, E, or C horizons; and(d) "C horizon." The deepest layer of soil profile. It consists of loose material or weathered rock that is relatively unaffected by biologic activity.(79) "Spoil" means overburden and other materials, excluding topsoil, coal mine waste, and mined coal, that are excavated during surface coal mining and reclamation operations.(80) "Surety bond" means an indemnity agreement in a sum certain, payable to the cabinet and executed by the permittee, which is supported by the performance guarantee of a corporation licensed to do business as a surety in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.(81) "Surface blasting operations" means the on-site storage, transportation, and use of explosives in association with coal exploration operations, surface mining activities, and surface disturbances of underground mining activities. The term is to be interpreted broadly and includes activities such as the design of individual blasts, the implementation of blast designs, the initiation of blasts, the monitoring of airblast and ground vibration, and the use of protective measures such as access control and warning and all-clear signals.(82) "Surface coal mining and reclamation operations" is defined by KRS 350.010.(83) "Surface coal mining operations" is defined by KRS 350.010.(84) "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, by extraction of coal from coal refuse piles, or by recovery of coal from slurry ponds.(85) "Ton" means 2,000 pounds avoirdupois (.90718 metric ton).(86) "Topsoil" means the A and E soil horizon layers of the four (4) master soil horizons.(87) "Transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights" means a change in ownership or other effective control over the right to conduct surface coal mining operations under a permit issued by the cabinet.(88) "Underground mining activities" means a combination of:(a) Surface operations incident to underground extraction of coal or in situ processing, including construction, use, maintenance, and reclamation of roads, above-ground repair areas, storage areas, processing areas, and 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.(89) "Unwarranted failure to comply" means the failure of the permittee due to indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonable care:(a) To prevent the occurrence of any violation of any applicable requirement of KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or permit conditions; or(b) To abate any violation of any applicable requirement of KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or permit conditions.(90) "Willfully" and "willful violation" mean that a person acted either intentionally, voluntarily, or consciously, and with intentional disregard or plain indifference to legal requirements, in authorizing, ordering, or carrying out an act or omission that constituted a violation of SMCRA, KRS Chapter 350, 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24, or a permit condition, or that constituted a failure or refusal to comply with an order issued pursuant to SMCRA, KRS Chapter 350, or 405 KAR Chapters 7 through 24.18 Ky.R. 2453; 2834; eff. 4-3-1992; 19 Ky.R. 460; 925; 1345; eff. 11-23-1992; TAm eff. 8-9-2007; 44 Ky.R. 580, 981, 1268; eff. 1-5-2018; Crt eff. 7-3-2018.STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 350.028, 350.465, 7 C.F.R. Part 657, 30 C.F.R. Parts 700.5, 701.5, 707.5, 730 - 733, 735, 761.5, 762.5, 773.5, 800.5, 843.5, 917, 30 U.S.C. 1253, 1255, 1291