45.1-161.292:35 - Annual reports; condition to issuance of license following transfer of ownership - Virginia Statutes

§ 45.1-161.292:35. Annual reports; condition to issuance of license followingtransfer of ownership.

A. The licensed operator of every mine or his agent shall annually, byFebruary 15, mail or deliver to the Department a report for the precedingtwelve months, ending with December 31. Such report shall state: (i) thenames of the licensed operator, any agent, and their officers of the mine;(ii) the quantity of minerals mined; (iii) any changes in the informationrequired to be part of the license application by subsection A of §45.1-161.292:32; and (iv) such other information, not of a private nature, asmay from time to time be required by the Department on blank forms furnishedor approved by the Department.

B. Each independent contractor working or who has worked at a mine during thepreceding twelve months shall annually, by February 15, mail or deliver tothe Department a report for the preceding twelve months, ending with December31. Such report shall state: (i) the independent contractor's name andDepartment identification number; (ii) the number of the independentcontractor's employees who worked at each mine, listed by mine name andlicense number; (iii) the number of the independent contractor's employeehours worked at each mine, listed by mine name and license number; and (iv)the lump sum amount of wages paid by the independent contractor at each mine,if such amount is above $1,000, listed by mine name and license number.

C. For purposes of subsection B, independent contractor shall mean any (i)extraction and processing contractors, including, but not limited to,drillers, blasters, portable crushers, and stripping and land clearingcontractors; (ii) maintenance and repair contractors for mobile andstationary extraction and processing equipment, including, but not limitedto, welders, mechanics, painters and electricians; and (iii) constructioncontractors involved in mine site construction maintenance or repair,including, but not limited to, plant construction contractors, concretefabricators and equipment erectors.

D. Whenever the owner of a mine shall transfer the ownership of such mine toanother person, the person transferring such ownership shall submit a reportto the Department of such change and a statement of the tons of mineralsproduced since the January 1 previous to the date of such sale or transfer ofsuch mine. A license shall not be issued covering such transfer of ownershipuntil the report is furnished.

E. All wage information contained in any report filed with the Departmentpursuant to this section shall be exempt from the Virginia Freedom ofInformation Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) and shall not be published or open topublic inspection in any manner revealing the employing unit's identity,except that such information may be disclosed to the Director or hisauthorized representative concerned with carrying out any provisions of thistitle. Wage data aggregated in such a manner that it does not reveal theemploying unit's identity shall not be considered confidential.

(1997, c. 390; 1998, c. 695; 2000, c. 974.)