2014 Mississippi Code
Title 53 - OIL, GAS, AND OTHER MINERALS
Chapter 7 - SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION OF LAND
§ 53-7-27 - Submission of application for permit, proposed initial reclamation plan, and performance bond; form of application

(1) Before commencing any operation for which a permit is required, each applicant for a permit shall submit to the Permit Board an application, a proposed initial reclamation plan and a performance bond in an amount proposed to be sufficient by the applicant to reclaim the permit area.

(2) The application shall be in the form prescribed by the commission and shall contain the following information:

(a) A legal description of the tract or tracts of land in the affected area and one or more maps or plats of adequate scale to clearly portray the location of the affected area. The description shall contain sufficient information so that the affected area may be located and distinguished from other lands and shall identify the access from the nearest public road;

(b) The approximate location and depth of the deposit in the permit area and the total number of acres in the permit area;

(c) The name, address and management officers of the permit applicant and any affiliated persons who shall be engaged in the operations;

(d) The name and address of any person holding legal and equitable interests of record, if reasonably ascertainable, in the surface estate of the permit area and in the surface estate of land located within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the permit area;

(e) The name and address of any person residing on the property of the permit area at the time of application;

(f) Current or previous surface mining permits held by the applicant, including any revocations, suspensions or bond forfeitures;

(g) The type and method of operation, the engineering techniques and the equipment that is proposed to be used, including mining schedules, the nature and expected amount of overburden to be removed, the depth of excavations, a description of the permit area, the anticipated hydrologic consequences of the mining operation, and the proposed use of explosives for blasting, including the nature of the explosive, the proposed location of the blasting and the expected effect of the blasting;

(h) A notarized statement showing the applicant's legal right to surface mine the affected area;

(i) The names and locations of all lakes, rivers, reservoirs, streams, creeks and other bodies of water in the vicinity of the contemplated operations which may be affected by the operations and the types of existing vegetative cover on the area affected thereby and on adjoining lands within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the affected area;

(j) A topographical survey map showing the surface drainage plan on and away from the permit area;

(k) The surface location and extent of all existing and proposed waste and spoil piles, cuts, pits, tailing dumps, ponds, borrow pits, evaporation and settling basins, roads, buildings, access ways, workings and installations sufficient to provide a reasonably clear and accurate portrayal of the existing surface conditions and the proposed mining operations;

(l) If the surface and mineral estates, or any part of those estates, in land covered by the application, have been severed and are owned by separate owners, the applicant shall provide a notarized statement subscribed to by each surface owner and lessee of those lands, unless the lease or other conveyance to the applicant specifically states the material to be mined by the operator granting consent for the applicant to initiate and conduct surface mining, exploration and reclamation activities on the land;

(m) Except for governmental agencies, a certificate of insurance certifying that the applicant has in force a public liability insurance policy issued by an insurance company authorized to conduct business in the State of Mississippi covering all operations of the applicant in this state and affording bodily injury protection and property damage protection in an amount not less than the following:

(i) One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 100,000.00) for all damages because of bodily injury sustained by one (1) person as the result of any one (1) occurrence, and Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 300,000.00) for all damages because of bodily injury sustained by two (2) or more persons as the result of any one (1) occurrence; and

(ii) One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($ 100,000.00) for all claims arising out of damage to property as the result of any one (1) occurrence including completed operations;

The policy shall be maintained in full force and effect during the term of the permit, including the length of all reclamation operations.

(n) A copy of a proposed initial reclamation plan prepared under Section 53-7-31; and

(o) Any other information needed to clarify the required parts of the application.