(a) Any person desiring to engage in open-cut mining shall make written application to the Division of Environmental Quality for a permit. The application shall be made upon a form furnished by the division.
(b) The applicant shall fully state the information required on the form and provide a legal description of the area of land to be permitted and proof that the applicant has the right to mine the area.
(c) The perimeter of the area to be permitted must be clearly marked on the ground at all times until such time as the permitted area is released from reclamation liability by the division.
(d) The application shall be accompanied by the applicant's detailed plan of reclamation of the area to be affected. The plan shall include a time schedule for the completion of each phase of reclamation and an estimate of the cost of each phase of reclamation.
(e) The application for a mining permit shall be accompanied by a bond or substituted security for the affected or the proposed affected area in favor of the State of Arkansas through the division, to be effective from and after the time that the operator has affected land in the process of open-cut mining or after the time that a permit is granted and which shall meet the requirements of § 15-57-316.
(f) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per acre with a two-hundred-dollar minimum.
(g) The division may approve a permit for mining and reclaiming the permitted area in increments, provided that the permit application contains an acceptable incremental mining plan and is accompanied by a bond or substituted security to cover reclamation of each successive increment prior to affecting it.
(h) The permit shall require a bond or substituted security to be submitted for the cost of reclamation of each successive increment prior to the time that any area within the increment is affected by the operator.
(i) Variances and interim authority issued under this subchapter shall comply with the requirements of § 8-4-230.
(j)
(1)
(A) After notice and opportunity for a public hearing, the division may develop and issue general permits for any category of activities involving open-cut mining operations if the division determines that the activities in a category:
(i) Are similar in nature;
(ii) Will cause only minimal temporary adverse environmental effects if performed separately; and
(iii) Will have only minimal cumulative adverse effects on the environment.
(B) To qualify for inclusion under the general permit, applicants shall submit a notice of intent and supporting documentation on forms developed by the division.
(C) Facilities and practices not qualifying for inclusion under the conditions of a general permit shall obtain an individual permit.
(2) The Director of the Division of Environmental Quality at his or her discretion may require an applicant to seek coverage under an individual permit.
(3)
(A) Unless extended by the director, no general permit issued under this subsection shall be effective for a period of more than five (5) years after the date of its issuance.
(B) The general permit may be revoked or modified by the division if after opportunity for a public hearing the division determines that the activities authorized by the general permit:
(i) May have an adverse impact on the environment; or
(ii) Are more appropriately authorized by individual permits.
(4) Before issuing general permits, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall promulgate rules necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this subsection.