Tennessee § 59-8-105 - Coal exploration operations and activities. [Contingent effective date, see Compiler's Notes.]

§ 59-8-105. Coal exploration operations and activities. [Contingent effective date, see Compiler's Notes.]

Coal exploration operations that substantially disturb the natural land surface shall be conducted in accordance with exploration rules promulgated by the board under § 59-8-103(b)(1). The rules for coal exploration operations shall include: A requirement that prior to conducting any coal exploration, a person shall file a notice of intention to explore with the commissioner, which shall include a description of the exploration area and the period of supposed exploration; and A requirement for reclamation, in accordance with the performance standards in § 59-8-110, of all lands disturbed in exploration, including excavations, roads, and drill holes, and the removal of necessary facilities and equipment. Coal exploration operations shall not begin until: Twenty-one (21) days after the person files a notice of intention to explore with the commissioner; and The person filing the notice of intention to explore files with the commissioner a performance bond in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500) per acre disturbed by the coal exploration operations, payable to this state and conditioned upon the faithful performance of reclamation in accordance with the notice of intention and the performance standards in § 59-8-110. The performance bond shall be released immediately upon inspection and completion of initial reclamation in accordance with the notice of intention and the performance standards in § 59-8-110, without regard to the time or other requirements in § 59-8-115. If the notice of intention to explore is deficient, the department shall inform the person who filed the notice of the deficiency within twenty-one (21) days of the date that the notice was filed with the department. Any person who conducts any coal exploration activities that substantially disturb the natural land surface in violation of this part is subject to the penalties in § 59-8-117. No person shall remove more than twenty-five (25) tons of coal under the authority of exploration activities without obtaining a coal exploration permit from the commissioner pursuant to rules promulgated by the board under § 59-8-103(b)(1). Information submitted to the department and the commissioner pursuant to this section as confidential trade secrets or privileged commercial or financial information, which relates to the competitive rights of the person or entity intended to explore the described area, shall not be available for public examination under title 10, chapter 7. The commissioner shall notify a person who files a notice of intention to explore with the department that the proposed exploration shall not occur if the commissioner makes a written finding of fact and delivers the finding to the person who filed the notice of intention to explore during the twenty-one-day period after the notice of intention to explore is filed with the department that the proposed exploration will either: Be conducted on an environmentally fragile area and cause significant environmental harm; or Cause irreparable environmental harm. If the commissioner does not permit exploration under subdivision (e)(1), the person filing the notice of intention to explore shall have the right to appeal the commissioner's decision to the board and the board shall hold a hearing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. The commissioner shall bear the burden of proof at an appeal hearing. The board shall render its decision concerning an appeal within ten (10) days of the hearing. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 1. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 44 provided that the governor shall take all action necessary to prepare and submit for approval all necessary requests for federal grant funding and applications for authorization to the appropriate federal authority to obtain exclusive jurisdiction over surface coal mining and reclamation operations and the maximum federal money available for those purposes in an expeditious manner. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 45 provided that the commissioner of environment and conservation shall notify the secretary of state and the executive secretary of the Tennessee code commission of the date this state has been approved to exercise primacy over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations within its territorial boundaries. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 47 provided that the act, which enacted this part, §§ 59-8-101 —59-8-134, shall take effect eight (8) months immediately following the receipt of notification from the secretary of the interior that this state has been approved to exercise primacy over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations within its territorial boundaries. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 47 provided that for purposes of rulemaking, the act, which enacted this part, §§ 59-8-101 —59-8-134, shall take effect upon the deposit of federal funds in the Coal Mining Protection Fund. Effective Dates. Acts 2018, ch. 839, § 47. [See Compiler's Notes.] Cross-References. Confidentiality of public records, § 10-7-504 .