49-403. Definitions. - Kansas Statutes

49-403

Chapter 49.--MINES AND MINING Article 4.--MINED-LAND CONSERVATION AND RECLAMATION

      49-403.   Definitions.(a) "Minerals" means coal.

      (b)   "Overburden" means all of the earth and other materials whichlie above a natural deposit of minerals and also means such earth andother material after removal from their natural state in the process ofsurface types of mining.

      (c)   "Operator" means any person, including any agency of state orlocal government, or any publicly owned utility or corporation, engagedin surface types of mining who disturbs more than 1/4 acre or whoremoves or intends to remove more than 100 tons ofminerals or who removes overburden for the purpose of producingminerals, and such person shall be subject to the mined-landconservation and reclamation act and to all the requirements of such actand rules and regulations which may be adopted pursuant thereto for thepurpose of qualifying to administer the regulatory programs adopted bythe United States department of interior, office of surface miningreclamation and enforcement, pursuant to the national surface miningcontrol and reclamation act of 1977 (public law 95-87) and federal rulesand regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

      (d)   "Operation" means all of the premises, facilities, roads andequipment used in the process of producing minerals from a designatedsurface mine area and removing overburden for the purpose of producingminerals.

      (e)   "Method of operation" means the manner by which the surface cutis made, the overburden is placed or handled, water is controlled andother acts are performed by the operator in the process of uncoveringand removing minerals.

      (f)   "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, society,joint stock company, firm, company, corporation or other businessorganization.

      (g)   "Reclamation and conservation" means the reconditioning of thearea of land affected by surface types of mining under a plan approvedby the secretary.

      (h)   "Secretary" means the secretary of the Kansasdepartment of health and environment.

      (i)   "Pit" means the place where minerals are being or have beenmined by surface mining.

      (j)   "Department" means the Kansas department of health and environment.

      (k)   "Abandoned mines" means mined land where mining operations werecompleted prior to such mining operations being subject to theprovisions of this act or the national surface mining control andreclamation act of 1977 (public law 95-87).

      (l)   "Approximate original contour" means that surface configurationachieved by backfilling and grading of the mined area so that thereclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads closelyresembles the general surface configuration of the land prior to miningand blends into and complements the drainage pattern of the surroundingterrain, with all highwalls and spoil piles eliminated; waterimpoundments may be permitted where the secretary determines that they arein compliance with performance standards of this act.

      (m)   "Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public" meansthe existence of any condition or practice, or any violation of a permitor other requirement of this act in a surface coal mining andreclamation operation, which condition, practice, or violation couldreasonably be expected to cause substantial physical harm to personsoutside the permit area before such condition, practice, or violationcan be abated. A reasonable expectation of death or serious injurybefore abatement exists if a rational person, subjected to the sameconditions or practices giving rise to the peril, would not expose oneselfto the danger during the time necessary forabatement.

      (n)   "Permit" means a permit to conduct surface coal mining andreclamation operations issued by the secretary.

      (o)   "Permit area" means the area of land indicated on the approvedmap submitted by the operator with the operator's application,which area ofland shall be covered by the operator's bond as required by this act andshall be readily identifiable by appropriate markers on the site.

      (p)   The term "prime farmland" shall have the same meaning as thatpreviously prescribed by the federal secretary of agriculture on thebasis of such factors as moisture availability, temperature regime,chemical balance, permeability, surface layer composition,susceptibility to flooding, and erosion characteristics, and whichhistorically have been used for intensive agricultural purposes, and aspublished in the federal register.

      (q)   "Surface coal mining and reclamation operations" means surfacemining operations and all activities necessary and incident to thereclamation of such operations after the date of enactment of this act.

      (r)   "Surface coal mining operations" or "surface mining" means:

      (1)   Activities conducted on the surface of lands in connection witha surface coal mine or surface operations and surface impacts incidentto an underground coal mine. Such activities include excavation for thepurpose of obtaining coal including such common methods as contour,strip, auger, mountaintop removal, box cut, open pit, and area mining,the uses of explosives and blasting, and in situ distillation orretorting, leaching or other chemical or physical processing, and thecleaning, concentrating, or other processing or, preparation, loading ofcoal at or near the mine site.

      (2)   The areas upon which such activities occur or where suchactivities disturb the natural land surface. Such areas shall alsoinclude any adjacent land the use of which is incidental to any suchactivities, all lands affected by the construction of new roads or theimprovement or use of existing roads to gain access to the site of suchactivities and for haulage, and excavations, workings, impoundments,dams, ventilation shafts, entryways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles,overburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks, tailings, holes ordepressions, repair areas, storage areas, processing areas, shippingareas and other areas upon which are sited structures, facilities, orother property or materials on the surface, resulting from or incidentto such activities.

      (s)   "Unwarranted failure to comply" means the failure of an operatorto prevent the occurrence of any violation of the operator'spermit or anyrequirement of this act due to indifference, lack of diligence, or lackof reasonable care, or the failure to abate any violation of such permitor the act due to indifference, lack of diligence, or lack of reasonablecare.

      (t)   "Geologist" means a person engaged in the practice of geology whois a graduate of an institution of higher education accredited by a regionalor national accrediting agency, who has a minimum of 30 semester or 45 quarterhours of undergraduate or graduate work in geology and whose post-baccalaureatetraining has been in geology.

      (u)   "Geology" means the science which treats of the earth in general,the earth's processes and its history; which investigates the earth's crustand the rocks and other materials which compose it; and the applied scienceof utilizing knowledge of the earth's history, processes, constituent rocks,minerals, liquids, gasses and other materials for the use of mankind.

      History:   L. 1968, ch. 395, § 3; L. 1974, ch. 229, § 8; L.1978, ch. 208, § 2; L. 1979, ch. 169, § 1; L. 1981, ch. 213, § 1;L. 1987, ch. 204, § 1;L. 1988, ch. 192, § 7; July 1.