SECTION 460:10-3-5. Definitions

  The following words and terms when used, in this Subchapter, shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Acid water" means water with a ph of less than 7.0 and in which total acidity exceeds total alkalinity.

"Adjacent area" means land located outside the affected area or permit area, depending on the context in which adjacent area is used, where air, surface or ground water, fish, wildlife, vegetation, or other resources protected by this Title may be adversely impacted by surface mining and reclamation operations.

"Affected area" means with respect to surface mining activities, any land or water upon which those activities are conducted or located. With respect to Underground mining activities, affected area means:

(A)   any water or surface land upon or in which those activities are conducted or located; and

(B)   land or water which is located above underground mine workings.

"Agricultural use" means that use of any tract of land for the production of animal or vegetable life. The uses include, but are not limited to, the pasturing, grazing, and watering of livestock, and cropping, cultivation, and harvesting of plants.

"Applicant" means any person seeking a permit from the Department of Mines to conduct Non-Coal surface mining and reclamation operations pursuant to the regulatory program.

"Aquifer" means a zone, stratum or group of strata that can store and transmit water in sufficient quantities for a specific use.

"Compaction" means increasing the density of a material by reducing the voids between the particles and is generally accomplished by controlled placement and mechanical effort such as from repeated application of wheel, track or roller loads from heavy equipment.

"Cropland" means land used for the production of adapted crops for harvest, alone or in a rotation with grasses and legumes, and includes row crops, small grain crops, hay crops, nursery crops, orchard crops and other similar specialty crops.

"Disturbed area" means an area where vegetation, topsoil, or overburden is removed or upon which topsoil, spoil, underground development waste, or non-coal waste is placed by Non-Coal surface mining operations. Those areas are classified as disturbed until reclamation is complete and the performance bond or other assurance of performance required by these regulations is released.

"Diversion" means a channel, embankment, or other man made structure constructed to divert water from one area to another.

"Embankment" means an artificial deposit of material that is raised above the natural surface of the land and used to contain, divert, or store water, support roads or railways, or for other similar purposes.

"Ephemeral stream" means a stream which flows only in direct response to precipitation in the immediate watershed or in response to the melting of a cover of snow and ice, and which has a channel bottom that is always above the local water table.

"Existing structure" means a structure or facility used in connection with or to facilitate non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations for which construction begins prior to the approval of the Oklahoma program.

"Fugitive dust" means that particulate matter not emitted from a duct or stack which becomes airborne due to the forces of wind or non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations or both. During non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations it may include emissions from haul roads; wind erosion of exposed surfaces, storage piles, and spoil piles; reclamation operations, and other activities in which material is either removed, stored, transported or redistributed.

"Ground water" means subsurface water that fills available openings in rock or soil materials to the extent that they are considered water saturated.

"Highwall" means the face of exposed overburden and mineral in an open cut of a surface mining activity or for entry to underground mining activities.

"Hydrologic balance" means the relationship between the quality and quantity of water inflow to, water outflow from and water storage in a hydrologic unit such as a drainage basin, aquifer, soil zone, lake, or reservoir. It encompasses the dynamic relationships among precipitation, runoff, evaporation and changes in ground and surface water storage.

"Hydrologic regime" means the entire state of water movement in a given area. It is a function of the climate and includes the phenomena by which water first occurs as atmospheric water vapor, passes into a liquid or solid form, falls as precipitation, moves along or into the ground surface, and returns to the atmosphere as vapor by means of evaporation and transpiration.

"Imminent danger to the health and safety of the public" means the existence of any condition or practice, or any violation of a permit or other requirements of the Act in a surface mining and reclamation operation, which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial physical harm to persons outside the permit area before the condition, practice, or violation can be abated. A reasonable expectation of death or serious injury before abatement exists if a rational person, subjected to the same condition or practice giving rise to the peril, would avoid exposure to the danger during the time necessary for abatement.

"Impoundment" means a closed basin, naturally formed or artificially built, which is dammed or excavated for the retention of water, sediment, or waste.

"Intermittent stream" means:

(A)   A stream or reach of a stream that drains a watershed of at least one square mile, or

(B)   A stream or reach of a stream that is below the local water table for at least some part of the year, and obtains its flow from both surface runoff and ground water discharge.

"Mulch" means vegetation residues or other suitable materials that aid in soil stabilization and soil moisture conservation, thus providing micro-climatic conditions suitable for germination and growth.

"Noxious plants" means species that have been included on official State lists of noxious plants for Oklahoma.

"Operator" means any person, partnership, firm, or corporation engaged in non-coal minerals mining who removes or intends to remove more than 500 tons of non-coal minerals from the earth within 12 consecutive calendar months in any one location.

"Outslope" means the face of the spoil or embankment sloping downward from the highest elevation to the toe.

"Overburden" means material of any nature, consolidated to unconsolidated, that overlies a Non-Coal mineral deposit, excluding topsoil.

"Perennial stream" means a stream or part of a stream that flows continuously during all of the calendar year as result of ground-water discharge or surface runoff. The term does not include intermittent stream or ephemeral stream.

"Performance bond" means a surety bond, collateral bond or self-bond or a combination thereof, by which a permittee assures faithful performance of all the requirements of 45 O.S. (1981), Section 721 et seq., Chapter 10, the State program and the requirements of the permit and reclamation plan.

"Permanent diversion" means a diversion remaining after non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations are completed which has been approved for retention by the Department of Mines and other appropriate State and Federal agencies.

"Permit" means a permit to conduct non-coal mining and reclamation operations issued by the State Department of Mines.

"Permit areas" means the area of land and water within the boundaries of the permit which are designated on the permit application maps, as approved by the Department of Mines. This area shall include, at a minimum, all areas which are or will be affected by the Non-Coal surface mining and reclamation operations during the term of the permit.

"Permittee" means an operator holding or required by Chapter 10 or this Subchapter to hold a permit to conduct non-coal mining and reclamation operations issued by the State Department of Mines.

"Reclamation" means those actions taken to restore mined land as required by this Chapter to postmining land use approved by the Department.

"Slope" means average inclination of a surface, measured from the horizontal, generally expressed as the ratio of a unit of vertical distance to a given number of units of horizontal distance (E.G., Iv:5h). It may also be expressed as a percent or in degrees.

"Spoil" means overburden that has been removed during non-coal surface mining operations.

"Stabilize" means to control movement of soil, spoil piles, or areas of disturbed earth by modifying the geometry of the mass, or by otherwise modifying physical or chemical properties, such as by providing a protective surface coating.

"Steep slope" means any slope of more than 20 degrees or such lesser slope as may be designated by the Department after consideration of soil, climate and other characteristics of a region or State.

"Temporary diversion" means a diversion of a stream or overland flow which is used during non-coal mineral exploration of non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations and not approved by the Department to remain after reclamation as part of the approved postmining land use.

"Topsoil" means the "A" soil horizon layer of the three major soil horizons.

"Toxic-forming materials" means earth materials or wastes which, if acted upon by air, water, weathering, or microbiological processes, are likely to produce chemical or physical conditions in soils or water that are detrimental to biota or uses of water.

"Toxic mine drainage" means water that is discharged from active or abandoned mines or other areas affected by non-coal exploration or non-coal surface mining and reclamation operations, which contains a substance that through chemical action or physical effects if likely to kill, injure or impair biota commonly present in the area that might be exposed to it.

"Underground mining activities" means a combination of-

(A)   Surface operations incident to underground extraction of non-coal minerals such as construction, use, maintenance and reclamation of roads, above ground repair areas, storage areas, processing areas, shipping areas, areas upon which are sited support facilities including hoist and ventilation ducts, areas utilized for the disposal and storage of waste, and areas on which materials incident to underground mining operations are placed;

(B)   Underground operations such as underground construction, operation, and reclamation of shafts, adits, underground support facilities, in situ processing, and underground mining, hauling, storage and blasting.