| (45) Community or institutional building--Any structure,
other than a public building or an occupied dwelling, which is used
primarily for meetings, gatherings or functions of local civic organizations
or other community groups; functions as an educational, cultural,
historic, religious, scientific, correctional, mental-health or physical
health care facility; or is used for public services, including, but
not limited to, water supply, power generation or sewage treatment.
(46) Compaction--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.
(47) Complete and accurate application--An application
for permit approval or approval for coal exploration where required,
which the Commission determines to contain all information required
under the Act, this chapter, and the regulatory program that is necessary
to make a decision on permit issuance.
(48) Control or controller--
(A) a permittee of a surface coal mining operation;
(B) an operator of a surface coal mining operation;
or
(C) any person who has the ability to determine the
manner in which a surface coal mining operation is conducted.
(49) Cropland--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, but does not include
quick cover crops grown primarily for erosion control.
(50) Cumulative impact area--The area, including the
permit area, within which impacts resulting from the proposed operation
may interact with the impacts of all anticipated mining on surface-water
and ground-water systems. Anticipated mining shall include, at a minimum,
the entire projected lives through bond release of:
(A) the proposed operation;
(B) all existing operations;
(C) any operation for which a permit application has
been submitted to the Commission; and
(D) all operations required to meet diligent development
requirements for leased federal coal for which there is actual mine
development information available.
(51) Cumulative measurement period--As used in §§12.25
- 12.33 of this title (relating to Exemption for Coal Extraction Incidental
to the Extraction of Other Minerals), the period of time over which
both cumulative production and cumulative revenue are measured.
(A) For purposes of determining the beginning of the
cumulative measurement period, subject to Commission approval, the
operator must select and consistently use one of the following:
(i) for mining areas where coal or other minerals were
extracted prior to August 3, 1977, the date extraction of coal or
other minerals commenced at that mining area or August 3, 1977; or
(ii) for mining areas where extraction of coal or other
minerals commenced on or after August 3, 1977, the date extraction
of coal or other minerals commenced at that mining area, whichever
is earlier.
(B) For annual reporting purposes pursuant to §12.33
of this title (relating to Reporting Requirements), the end of the
period for which cumulative production and revenue is calculated is
either:
(i) for mining areas where coal or other minerals were
extracted prior to the effective date of §§12.25 - 12.33
of this title, the first anniversary of that date, and each anniversary
of that date thereafter; or
(ii) for mining areas where extraction of coal or other
minerals commenced on or after the effective date of §§12.25
- 12.33 of this title, the last day of the calendar quarter during
which coal extraction commenced, and each anniversary of that date
thereafter.
(52) Cumulative production--As used in §§12.25
- 12.33 of this title, the total tonnage of coal or other minerals
extracted from a mining area during the cumulative measurement period.
The inclusion of stockpiled coal and other mineral tonnages in this
total is governed by §12.31 of this title (relating to Stockpiling
of Minerals).
(53) Cumulative revenue--As used in §§12.25
- 12.33 of this title, the total revenue derived from the sale of
coal or other minerals and the fair market value of coal or other
minerals transferred or used, but not sold, during the cumulative
measurement period.
(54) Department--The U.S. Department of the Interior.
(55) Direct financial interest--Ownership or part ownership
by an employee of lands, stocks, bonds, debentures, warrants, partnership
shares, or other holdings and also means any other arrangement where
the employee may benefit from his or her holding in or salary from
coal mining operations. Direct financial interests include employment,
pensions, creditor, real property and other financial relationships.
(56) Director--The Director or Acting Director, Office
of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of
the Interior, or the Director's representative.
(57) Disturbed area--An area where vegetation, topsoil,
or overburden is removed or upon which topsoil, spoil, coal processing
waste, underground development waste, or noncoal waste is placed by
surface coal mining operations. Those areas are classified as disturbed
until reclamation is complete and the performance bond or other assurance
of performance required by Subchapter J of this chapter (relating
to Bond and Insurance Requirements for Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation
Operations) is released.
(58) Diversion--A channel, embankment, or other manmade
structure constructed to divert water from one area to another.
(59) Division--The Surface Mining and Reclamation Division
of the Railroad Commission of Texas.
(60) Downslope--The land surface between the projected
outcrop of the lowest coal bed being mined along each highwall and
a valley floor.
(61) Embankment--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.
(62) Employee--Shall include:
(A) any person employed by the Commission who performs
any function or duty under the Act, including the Commissioners; and
(B) Advisory board or Commission members and consultants
who perform any function or duty under the Act, if they perform decision
making functions for the Commission under the authority of state law
or regulations. However, members of advisory boards or commissions
established in accordance with state law or regulations to represent
multiple interests are not considered to be employees.
(63) Ephemeral stream--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.
(64) Essential hydrologic functions--The role of an
alluvial valley floor in collecting, storing, regulating, and making
the natural flow of surface or ground water, or both, usefully available
for agricultural activities by reason of the valley floor's topographic
position, the landscape and the physical properties of its underlying
materials. A combination of these functions provides a water supply
during extended periods of low precipitation.
(A) The role of the valley floor in collecting water
includes accumulating runoff and discharge from aquifers in sufficient
amounts to make the water available at the alluvial valley floor greater
than the amount available from direct precipitation.
(B) The role of the alluvial valley floor in storing
water involves limiting the rate of discharge of surface water, holding
moisture in soils, and holding ground water in porous materials.
(C) The role of the alluvial valley floor in regulating:
(i) the natural flow of surface water results from
the characteristic configuration of the channel flood plain and adjacent
low terraces; and
(ii) the natural flow of ground water results from
the properties of the aquifers which control inflow and outflow.
(D) The role of the alluvial valley floor in making
water usefully available for agricultural activities results from
the existence of flood plains and terraces where surface and ground
water can be provided in sufficient quantities to support the growth
of agriculturally useful plants, from the presence of earth materials
suitable for the growth of agriculturally useful plants, from the
temporal and physical distribution of water making it accessible to
plants throughout the critical phases of the growth cycle either by
flood irrigation or by subirrigation, from the natural control of
alluvial valley floors in limiting destructive extremes of stream
discharge, and from the erosional stability of Cont'd... |
