Section 324.63712 - Conformance bond; reclassification of active cell-unit to interim cell-unit; notice of completion or acceptance of reclamation activity; compliance or approval required for mining or extraction; violation as grounds for revocation of permit(1) Prior to the initiation of a disturbance of land, the holder of a sand dune mining permit shall file with the department a conformance bond in favor of the state.(2) The conformance bonds shall be filed for a maximum of 3 active cell-units and 3 cell-units in interim cell-unit status within the sand dune mining permit and shall be for an amount equal to $10,000.00 per cell-unit or $1,000.00 per each acre in the cell-units, whichever is greater, for cell-units bonded prior to June 23, 1994. For all cell-units that are bonded after June 23, 1994, the conformance bond shall be for an amount equal to $20,000.00 per cell-unit or $2,000.00 per each acre in the cell-units, whichever is greater. The bond for a cell-unit bonded prior to June 23, 1994 shall remain in effect until the cell-unit is released from the requirements of the conformance bond as provided in subsection (4) or the cell-unit boundary is revised as approved by the department. If an existing cell-unit boundary is revised, the conformance bond for the cell-unit shall be increased to the amounts provided for cell-units bonded after June 23, 1994.(3) The conformance bonds shall be transferable to other cell-units contained within the sand dune mining permit upon faithful conformance with the approved reclamation plan as provided in section 63706.(4) The conformance bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the requirements set forth in the approved reclamation plan as provided in section 63706. Liability under the conformance bond shall be maintained as long as the reclamation is not completed in compliance with the approved plan. The conformance bond shall remain in full force until the release of the cell-unit from the conformance bond requirements, including the period of time the cell-unit may have been placed in interim cell-unit status.(5) The department shall not reclassify a cell-unit from active to interim cell-unit status until the following minimum conditions or requirements have been met:(a) All permitted sand dune mining activities within the cell-unit have been completed.(b) All extraction or processing equipment has been removed from the cell-unit, except that a roadway, conveyor, or slurry pipeline corridor may be maintained through a cell-unit and the cell-unit still may be reclassified to interim cell-unit status. This roadway, conveyor, or slurry pipeline corridor shall be considered part of the plant site and shall be removed and revegetated as provided by section 63706(1)(e).(c) All upland areas within the cell-unit that were disturbed by sand dune mining have been regraded as provided in section 63706(3)(a).(d) All submerged grades within the cell-unit established by sand dune mining have been regraded as provided in section 63706(3)(b).(e) All upland areas within the cell-unit that were disturbed by sand dune mining have been revegetated utilizing native or indigenous species or other plant material pursuant to the approved progressive cell-unit mining and reclamation plan as provided in section 63706(1). The vegetation that has been planted shall have germinated or taken root and cover a minimum of 80% of the upland areas disturbed by sand dune mining, and no single area exposed to the elements shall be greater than 25 square feet.(f) The operator shall provide proper measures to aid in the establishment of growth of the planted vegetation until adequate root systems have developed to provide sustained growth.(6) The department may reclassify an active cell-unit to interim cell-unit status upon receipt of a written request by the operator. The department shall conduct an on-site inspection of the reclamation activities that have been completed and determine if the completed reclamation activities are adequate to reclassify the active cell-unit to interim cell-unit status. The department shall schedule the on-site inspection within 45 days of the written request. The department shall notify the operator within 30 days following the date of the inspection of the department's decision to grant or deny the request for interim cell-unit status. If the department determines the reclamation activities conducted within the cell-unit do not meet the conditions and requirements for interim cell-unit status, the notification shall include information detailing the reasons for denial.(7) If the department determines the status of an active cell-unit does not meet the conditions or requirements for reclassification to interim cell-unit status, the operator may not reapply for reclassification of the same active cell-unit until 1 year from the previous request.(8) Notification shall be given to the operator upon completion or acceptance by the department of the reclamation activity. The notification constitutes the release of the cell-unit from the conformance bond requirements if:(a) All permitted sand dune mining activities within the cell-unit have been completed.(b) All extraction or processing equipment has been removed from the cell-unit, except a roadway, conveyor, or slurry pipeline corridor may be maintained through a cell-unit and the cell-unit still released from bond. This roadway, conveyor, or slurry pipeline corridor shall be considered part of the plant site and shall be removed and revegetated as provided by section 63706(1)(e).(c) All upland areas within the cell-unit that were disturbed by sand dune mining have been regraded as provided in section 63706(3)(a).(d) All submerged grades within the cell-unit established by sand dune mining have been regraded as provided in section 63706(3)(b).(e) All upland areas within the cell-unit that were disturbed by sand dune mining have been revegetated utilizing native or indigenous species or other plant material pursuant to the approved reclamation plan as provided in section 63706(1).(f) There are no areas within the revegetated portions of the cell-unit where a 10-foot by 10-foot test plot can be measured with less than 80% survival of the planted vegetation.(g) The plant material shall be required to sustain itself through 1 full growing season.(h) There are no areas within the revegetated portion of the cell-unit with ongoing erosion, except some wind erosion shall be allowed if the wind erosion that is occurring does not threaten the stability of the regraded slopes or the ability of the plant material to accommodate the accretion of sand.(9) Mining or extraction of sand dune minerals from any other cell-unit contained within the sand dune mining permit is prohibited until compliance or approval is attained from the department.(10) A violation of this section constitutes grounds for revocation of the sand dune mining permit.Add. 1995, Act 57, Imd. Eff. 5/24/1995 .