SECTION 460:20-1-5. Definitions

  As used throughout this Chapter, the following terms have these specified meanings except where otherwise indicated:

"Act" means the Coal Reclamation Act of 1979.

"Coal" means combustible carbonaceous rock, classified as anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, or lignite by ASTM Standard D 388-77.

"Department" means the Department of Mines.

"Director" means the Director of the State of Oklahoma or such officer, bureau, or commission as may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of such Director or such employee, agent, deputy, or representative of the Director as shall be designated by the Director to perform any actions required by this Act.

"Federal lands" means any land, including mineral interests, owned by the United States, without regard to how the United States acquired ownership of the lands or which agency manages the lands. It does not include Indian lands.

"Federal lands program" means a program established by the Secretary pursuant to Section 523 of the Federal Act to regulate surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands.

"Fund" means the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund established pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal Act.

"Indian lands" means all lands, including mineral interests, within the exterior boundaries of any Federal Indian reservation, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way, and all lands including mineral interests held in trust for or supervised by an Indian tribe.

"Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, group, or community having a governing body recognized by the Secretary.

"Office" means the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement established under Title II of Public Law 95-87.

"Person" means an individual, Indian tribe when conducting surface coal mining and reclamation operations on non-Indian lands, partnership, association, society, joint venture, joint stock company, firm, company, corporation, cooperative or other business organization and any agency, unit, or instrumentality of Federal, State or local government including any publicly owned utility or publicly owned corporation of Federal, State, or local government.

"Person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected or person with a valid legal interest" shall include any person:

(A)   Who uses any resource of economic, recreational, aesthetic, or environmental value that may be adversely affected by coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations or any related action of the Secretary or the Department; or

(B)   Whose property is or may be adversely affected by coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operations or any related action of the Secretary or the Department.

"Public office" means a facility under the direction and control of a governmental entity which is open to public access on a regular basis during reasonable business hours.

"Regulatory authority" means the department or agency in each State which has primary responsibility at the State level for administering the Act in the initial program, or the State regulatory authority where the State is administering the Act or permanent program where the Secretary is administering the Act, or the Secretary when administering a Federal program or Federal lands program or when enforcing a State program pursuant to Section 521 (b) of the P.L. 95-87 or SB 299.

"Regulatory program" means any approved State of Federal program

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary's representative.

"State regulatory authority" means the Oklahoma Department of Mines which has primary responsibility at the State level for administering the initial or permanent State regulatory program.

"Surface coal mining operations" means:

(A)   Activities conducted on the surface of lands in connection with a surface coal mine or, subject to the requirements of Section 760 of the Act, surface operations and surface impacts incident to an underground coal mine, the products of which enter commerce or the operations of which directly or indirectly affect interstate commerce. Such activities include excavation for the purpose of obtaining coal, including such common methods as contour, strip, auger, mountain top removal, box cut, open pit, and area mining; the use of explosives and blasting; in situ distillation or retorting; leaching or other chemical or physical processing or preparation of coal. Such activities also include the loading of coal for interstate commerce at or near the mine site. Provided, these activities do not include the extraction of coal incidental to the extraction of other minerals, where coal does not exceed 16 2/3 percent of the tonnage on minerals removed for purposes of commercial use or sale, or coal exploration subject to Section 745.11 of the Act; and Provided further, that excavation for the purpose of obtaining coal includes extraction of coal from coal refuse piles, and

(B)   The areas upon which the activities described in Subsection (a) of this definition occur or where such activities disturb the natural land surface. These areas shall also include any adjacent land the use of which is incidental to any such activities, all lands affected by the construction of new roads or the improvement or use of existing roads to gain access to the site of those activities and for haulage and excavation, workings, impoundments, dams, ventilation shafts, entryways, refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles, overburden piles, spoil banks, culm banks. tailings, holes or depressions, repair areas, areas upon which are sited structures, facilities, or other property or material on the surface, resulting from or incident to those activities.

"Surface coal mining and reclamation operations" means surface coal mining operations and all activities necessary or incidental to the reclamation of such operations. This term includes the term surface coal mining operations.

"Ton" means 2,000 pounds avoirdupois (0.90718 metric ton).