82-4-403. Definitions. When used in this part, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following definitions apply:
     (1) "Affected land" means the area of land and land covered by water that is disturbed by opencut mining operations, including the area from which overburden or mineral is to be or has been removed and upon which the overburden is to be or has been deposited, roads constructed to gain access to the mineral, areas of processing facilities on or contiguous to the opencut mine, treatment and sedimentation ponds, and mineral stockpile areas on or contiguous to the opencut mine.
     (2) "Board" means the board of environmental review provided for in 2-15-3502.
     (3) "Contract" means a mined land reclamation contract prepared by the board to meet the requirements of this part.
     (4) "Department" means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501.
     (5) "Final cut" means the last pit created in an opencut-mined area.
     (6) "Landowner" means the owner of land directly affected by an opencut-mining operation.
     (7) "Minerals" means bentonite, clay, scoria, phosphate rock, sand, or gravel.
     (8) "Opencut mining" means the mining of minerals by:
     (a) removing the overburden lying upon natural deposits of minerals and mining directly from the exposed natural deposits;
     (b) mining directly from natural deposits of minerals; or
     (c) removing overburden for the purpose of determining the location, quality, or quantity of any natural deposit of minerals.
     (9) "Operator" means a person engaged in or controlling an opencut-mining operation.
     (10) "Overburden" means all of the earth and other materials that lie above a natural deposit of minerals.
     (11) "Person" means:
     (a) a natural person;
     (b) a firm, association, partnership, cooperative, or corporation;
     (c) a department, agency, or instrumentality of the state or any governmental subdivision; or
     (d) any other entity.
     (12) "Processing facilities" means all crushers, screens, and asphalt or concrete plants.
     (13) "Progress report" means a report showing the land that the operator has affected by opencut mining during the year. The report must show the number of acres of affected land and all reclamation accomplished.
     (14) "Public notice" means notice given by publication in a newspaper in the general area where the affected land is located. The notice must be given once a week for 3 successive weeks.
     (15) "Reclamation" means the reconditioning of the area of land affected by opencut-mining operations to make the area suitable for productive use, including but not limited to forestry, agriculture, grazing, wildlife, recreation, or residential and industrial sites.
     (16) "Reclamation plan" means the description of current land use, topographical data, water data, soils data, leased areas, and intended mine areas and an explanation of proposed reclamation of the land, including appropriate maps.
     (17) "Refuse" means all waste material directly connected with the opencut-mining operations.
     (18) "Soils materials" are those horizons that contain topsoil or other soils leached free of deleterious salts, that are capable of sustaining plant growth, and that are recognized as such by standard authorities.
     (19) "Spoil" means the overburden that is disturbed from its natural state in the process of opencut mining.

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 326, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 209, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 235, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 39, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 50-1504; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 280, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 402, Ch. 418, L. 1995.