45-6B-33. Unsuitable land--No permit issued.
No permit may be issued for a mining operation proposed on unsuitable land. Land is unsuitable if the following conditions cannot be satisfactorily mitigated:
(1)Reclamation of the affected land pursuant to the requirements of this chapter is not physically or economically feasible;
(2)Substantial disposition of sediment in stream or lake beds, landslides, or water pollution cannot feasibly be prevented;
(3)The land to be affected by a proposed mining operation includes land that is special, exceptional, critical, or unique as defined in §45-6B-33.3 and satisfactory mitigation is not possible;
(4)The proposed mining operation will result in the loss or reduction of long-range productivity of aquifer, public and domestic water wells, watershed lands, aquifer recharge areas, or significant agricultural areas;
(5)The biological productivity of the land is such that the loss would jeopardize threatened or endangered species of wildlife indigenous to the area; or
(6)The board finds that any probable adverse socioeconomic impacts of the proposed mining operation outweigh the probable beneficial impacts of the operation.
Source: SL 1982, ch 305, §33; SL 1987, ch 320, §1; SL 1989, ch 381, §1.