To encourage advances in mining and reclamation practices or to allow postmining land use for industrial, commercial, residential or public use, including recreational facilities, the commission, with the approval of the United States Secretary of the Interior or the secretary's designee, may authorize departures in individual cases on an experimental basis from the environmental protection performance standards promulgated under Sections 53-9-45 and 53-9-47. Those departures may be authorized if:
The experimental practices are at least as environmentally protective during and after mining operations as those required by promulgated standards;
The mining operations approved for particular land-use or other purposes are not larger or more numerous than necessary to determine the effectiveness and economic feasibility of the experimental practices; and
The experimental practices do not reduce the protection afforded public health and safety below that provided by promulgated standards.