Section 11-8-2.1-3-303 - Applicability(a) No person shall open, develop, engage in, carry out or continue on lands within the state any new or existing surface coal mining operations without a permit issued by the Permit Board.(b) The requirements of these regulations shall be effective and shall apply to each surface coal mining and reclamation operation which is required to obtain a permit under the act, on the earliest date upon which these regulations require a permit to be obtained, except as is provided in § 303 (c).(c) Exemptions to § 303 (b).(1) Each structure used in connection with or to facilitate a coal exploration, development or surface coal mining and reclamation operation shall comply with the performance standards and the design requirements of these regulations. (A) A structure which existed on the date an application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and which meets the performance standards of these regulations but does not meet the design requirements of these regulations may be exempted from meeting those design requirements by the Permit Board. The Permit Board may grant this exemption on non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the permit application process after obtaining the information required by § 2705 and after making the findings required in § 3117.(B) A structure which existed on the date of application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and which meets the performance standards of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII, which are at least as stringent as the comparable standard of Subchapter 2.5 of these regulations, may be exempted by the Permit Board from meeting the design requirements of these regulations. The Permit Board may grant this exemption on non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the permit application process after obtaining the information required by § 2705 and after making the findings required in § 3117.(C) A structure which existed on the date of application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and which meets a performance standard of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII which is less stringent than the comparable performance standards of Subchapter 2.5 of these regulations, or which does not meet a performance standard of Subchapter 2.5 for which there was no equivalent performance standard in Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII shall be modified or reconstructed to meet the design standard of these regulations pursuant to a compliance plan approved by the Department on non-Indian and non-federal lands only as part of the permit application as required in § 2705 and according to the findings required by § 3117.(D) A structure which existed on the date an application for a surface mining and reclamation permit became complete and which does not meet the performance standards of Subchapter B of 30 CFR Chapter VII and which the applicant proposes to use in connection with or to facilitate exploration, development or surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall be modified or reconstructed to meet the design standards of these regulations prior to issuance of the permit.(2) The exemptions provided in § 303 (c) (1) (A) and (B) shall not apply to:(A) the requirements for existing and new coal mine waste disposal facilities used either temporarily or permanently as dams or embankments;(B) the requirements to restore the approximate original contour of the land.(d) The Act and these regulations shall not apply to:(A) the extraction of coal by a landowner for that landowner's own noncommercial use from land owned or leased by the landowner; or(B) the extraction of coal as an incidental part of federal, state or local financed highways or other construction.(e)(1) Any person conducting coal exploration operations on non-federal and non-Indian lands on or after the date on which the Mississippi state program is approved shall file either an application for the necessary permit or a notice of intention to explore or develop and obtain approval as required by the Act and Rule 21.(2) Coal exploration performance standards in these regulations shall apply to coal exploration or development operations on non-federal and non-Indian lands which substantially disturb the natural land surface.11 Miss. Code. R. § 8-2.1-3-303