(a) It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage in open-cut mining without first obtaining from the Division of Environmental Quality a permit to do so in the form required by the division.
(b) An operator shall be deemed to be engaged in open-cut mining when he or she affects any land in preparation for open-cut mining.
(c)
(1) The Arkansas Department of Transportation or its contractor is not required to obtain a permit for an open-cut mine when the material is used exclusively in the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or maintenance of roadways.
(2) Reclamation of the area shall conform to the standard specifications for highway construction upon discontinuation of use of the pit for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or maintenance of roadways.
(3) The occasional sale of material to the department by an operator does not exempt the operator from complying with his or her permit requirements or from the requirements of this subchapter.
(4) When reclamation requirements of the operator will interfere with a contractual agreement with the department, the operator shall be allowed to revise the operator's reclamation plan and schedule of completion accordingly and in keeping with the declaration of policy of this subchapter.
(d)
(1) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require any operator to reclaim or revegetate any area affected by open-cut mining prior to July 1, 1971.
(2) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require any operator to reclaim or revegetate any previously exempted excavation sites such as soil and shale pits that were affected and abandoned prior to January 1, 1999.
(3) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to apply to the removal of soil, shale, or stone at a quarry operation that is regulated under the Arkansas Quarry Operation, Reclamation, and Safe Closure Act, § 15-57-401 et seq.
(4) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to apply to any excavation activity associated with the improvement or maintenance of any agricultural lands or associated irrigation systems.
(e) The requirements of this subchapter shall not apply to the noncommercial removal of clay, bauxite, sand, gravel, soil, shale, or other materials from lands by the owner of said lands or by a contractor hired by the owner for the exclusive use by the landowner for construction, improvement, or maintenance of roads on any of the owner's lands, for any environmental improvements to previously disturbed lands, or for the concurrent or short-term excavation of materials for ninety (90) days or less during the construction of buildings either for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes.
(f)
(1) The mining of gravel or other materials from streams or stream beds shall comply with the permitting requirements of this subchapter.
(2) There shall be no mining in streams designated as “extraordinary resource waters” of the state, as established in water quality standards duly promulgated by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission for all surface waters of the State of Arkansas.
(g)
(1) The division shall develop rules to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(2) The division shall develop documentation that will guide an operator through the permitting process.