An operator desiring to engage in mining shall make written application to the department for an operating permit. The application must be on a form furnished by the department and must state fully the called for information. The applicant may be required to furnish other information as may be necessary to the department in order to enforce this chapter adequately.
The application must be accompanied by a reclamation plan which meets the requirements of Section 48-20-90. No operating permit may be issued until the plan has been approved by the department pursuant to Section 48-20-90.
The application for an operating permit must be accompanied by a signed agreement, in a form specified by the department, that if a bond forfeiture is ordered pursuant to Section 48-20-170, the department and its representatives and its contractors may make whatever entries on the permitted land and take whatever actions necessary to carry out reclamation which the operator has failed to complete.
The department shall publish notice of an application for an operating permit or a substantial modification of an operating permit in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the proposed mining activity and, to the extent practicable, shall notify the public of the application. The department shall afford all interested parties reasonable opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments orally or in writing regarding the proposed mining activity. Opportunity for public hearing must be granted if requested by ten persons or by a governmental subdivision or agency or by an association having not less than ten members and if the request for a hearing is based on sufficient technical reasons. The request for a public hearing must be made within fifteen calendar days from the latest date of public notice of an application. The department shall consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the mining activity before final action by the department on the application for an operating permit.
The department shall grant or deny the operating permit requested as expeditiously as possible but in no event later than sixty calendar days after the application form and any supplemental information required has been filed with the department. Priority consideration must be given to applicants who submit evidence that the mining proposed is for supplying materials for highway maintenance or highway construction.
The department shall deny an operating permit upon finding that:
(1) a requirement of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under it is to be violated by the proposed operation;
(2) the operation will have undue adverse effects on wildlife or freshwater, estuarine, or marine fisheries;
(3) the operation will violate standards of air quality, surface water quality, or groundwater quality which have been promulgated by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control;
(4) the operation will constitute a substantial physical hazard to a neighboring dwelling house, school, church, hospital, commercial or industrial building, public road, or other public property;
(5) the operation will have a significantly adverse effect on the purposes of a publicly-owned park, publicly-owned forest, or publicly-owned recreation area;
(6) previous experience with similar operations indicates a substantial possibility that the operation will result in substantial deposits of sediment in stream beds or lakes, landslides, or acid water pollution; or
(7) the operator has not corrected all violations which he may have committed under an operating permit or certificate of exploration and which resulted in:
(a) revocation of his permit;
(b) forfeiture of part or all of his bond or other security;
(c) conviction of a misdemeanor under Section 48-20-230;
(d) any other court order issued under Section 48-20-230; or
(e) issuance of a notice of uncorrected violations.
In the absence of any such finding, an operating permit must be granted.
An operating permit issued must be conditioned expressly on compliance with all requirements of the approved reclamation plan for the operation and with further reasonable and appropriate requirements and safeguards of the department to assure that the operation complies fully with the requirements and objectives of this chapter. The conditions may include a requirement of visual screening, vegetative or otherwise, so as to screen the view of the operation from public highways, public parks, or residential areas, if the department finds the screening to be feasible and desirable. Violation of the conditions must be treated as a violation of this chapter and constitutes a basis for suspension or revocation of the operating permit.
An operator wishing modification of the terms and conditions of an operating permit or of the approved reclamation plan shall submit a request for modification in accordance with the provisions of Section 48-20-80.
If the department denies an application for an operating permit, it shall notify the operator in writing, stating the reasons for its denial and modifications in the application which would make it acceptable. The operator may modify his application or file an appeal, as provided in Section 48-20-190, but the appeal may not be accepted more than thirty days after notice of disapproval has been mailed to him at the address shown on his application.
Upon approval of an application, the department shall set the amount of the performance bond or other security which is to be required pursuant to Section 48-20-110. The operator shall have sixty days following the mailing of the notification in which to deposit the required bond or security with the department. The operating permit may not be issued until receipt of this deposit.
In addition to the applicant, all individuals and organizations requesting in writing to be notified of final action concerning an operating permit must be notified by the department. The time limits for taking appeal may not be extended because of the timing of notices sent pursuant to this paragraph.
When one operator succeeds to the interest of another in an uncompleted mining operation, by virtue of a sale, lease, assignment, or otherwise, the department may release the first operator from the duties imposed upon him by this chapter with reference to the operation and transfer the operating permit to the successor operator if both operators have complied with the requirements of this chapter and if the successor operator assumes the duties of the first operator with reference to reclamation of the land and posts a suitable bond or other security.
HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 454, Section 2.