A. Each application for a permit shall be accompanied by an operations plan that follows the form and contains the accompanying material that the Director requires. The operations plan shall describe the specifications for surface grading and restoration, including sketches delineating placement of spoil, stockpiles, and tailing ponds, to a surface that is suitable for the proposed subsequent use of the land after reclamation is completed.
B. The operations plan shall include a provision for reclamation of all land estimated to be affected by the mining operation for which the permit is sought. The reclamation provision shall follow the form and contain the accompanying material that the Director requires and shall state:
1. The planned use to which the affected land is to be returned through reclamation; and
2. The proposed actions to ensure suitable reclamation of the affected land for the planned use to be carried out by the applicant as an integral part of the proposed mining operation and to be conducted simultaneously insofar as practicable. The Director shall set schedules for the integration of reclamation with the mining operation according to the various individual mineral types.
C. It is the policy of the Director to encourage adoption of productive land use, such as use for pasture, agricultural purposes, recreational areas, sanitary landfills, forestry and timberland operations, and industrial and building sites, and to consider the general original contour in determining the particular reclamation program for the acreage. The Director may require an amendment to the operations plan to meet the exigencies of any unanticipated circumstance or event.
1977, c. 312, § 45.1-182.1; 1984, c. 590; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.