Full Text of SB0282 96th General Assembly
SB0282 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 SB0282
Introduced 2/6/2009, by Sen. John O. Jones SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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225 ILCS 720/3.07 |
from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7903.07 |
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Amends the Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act. Provides that in the case of mined lands that are reclaimed and put back in agricultural production upon completion of mining activities, mine operators must reimburse landowners and tenants for any real production losses and increases in cost of federal crop insurance due to the subsidence. Sets out requirements for landowners and tenants in order to prove production losses warranting reimbursement. Effective January 1, 2010.
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A BILL FOR
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SB0282 |
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LRB096 03428 ASK 13452 b |
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| AN ACT concerning mining.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and | 5 |
| Reclamation Act is amended by changing Section 3.07 as follows:
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| (225 ILCS 720/3.07) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7903.07)
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| Sec. 3.07. Prime Farmlands and High Capability Lands. | 8 |
| (a) For all prime
farmlands to be mined and reclaimed, the | 9 |
| operator shall, as a minimum,
(1) segregate the A horizon of | 10 |
| the natural soil, except where it can be shown
that other | 11 |
| available soil materials will create a final soil having a | 12 |
| greater
productive capacity, and if not used immediately, | 13 |
| stockpile this material
separately from other spoil, and | 14 |
| provide needed protection from wind and
water erosion or | 15 |
| contamination by other acid or toxic material; (2) segregate
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| the B horizon of the natural soil, or underlying C horizons or | 17 |
| other strata,
or a combination of such horizons or other strata | 18 |
| that are shown to be both
texturally and chemically suitable | 19 |
| for plant growth and that can be shown
to be equally or more | 20 |
| favorable for plant growth than the B horizon, in
sufficient | 21 |
| quantities to create in the regarded final soil a root zone of
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| comparable depth and quality to that which existed in the | 23 |
| natural soil,
and if not used immediately, stockpile this |
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SB0282 |
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LRB096 03428 ASK 13452 b |
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| material separately from other
spoil, and provide needed | 2 |
| protection from wind and water erosion or contamination
by | 3 |
| other acid or toxic material; (3) replace and regrade the root | 4 |
| zone material
described in (2) above with proper compaction and | 5 |
| uniform depth over the
regraded spoil material; and (4) | 6 |
| redistribute and grade in a uniform manner
the surface soil | 7 |
| horizon described in subparagraph (1) above.
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| (b) For all high capability lands to be mined and | 9 |
| reclaimed, all or part
of the darkened surface soil shall be | 10 |
| segregated and replaced as a final
cover as a last step in the | 11 |
| required grading. When available in such depth,
at least 18 | 12 |
| inches of the darkened surface soil shall be segregated and | 13 |
| replaced.
In no case under this subsection shall less than the | 14 |
| top 8 inches of surface
soil, darkened or not, be segregated or | 15 |
| replaced. This segregation and
replacement requirement may be | 16 |
| altered by the Department only if it is determined
on the | 17 |
| advice of competent soil scientists that other material | 18 |
| available
in the cast overburden would be suitable in meeting | 19 |
| the reclamation requirements.
Below the darkened surface soil, | 20 |
| the replaced material shall be suitable
as an agricultural root | 21 |
| medium. The Department shall determine by rule
what constitutes | 22 |
| a suitable agricultural root medium by composition and
depth. | 23 |
| This Section does not apply to any land which is subject to a | 24 |
| reclamation
plan approved under "The Surface-Mined Land | 25 |
| Conservation and Reclamation
Act", approved September 17, | 26 |
| 1971, as amended, as in effect on June 30,
1979, or to high |
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SB0282 |
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LRB096 03428 ASK 13452 b |
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| capability lands affected by mining operations prior to July 1, | 2 |
| 1975.
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| (c) In the case of mined lands that are reclaimed and put | 4 |
| back in agricultural production upon completion of mining | 5 |
| activities, mine operators must reimburse landowners and | 6 |
| tenants for any real production losses and increases in cost of | 7 |
| federal crop insurance due to the subsidence. | 8 |
| Production losses must be determined by using Actual | 9 |
| Production History (APH) as required for federal crop insurance | 10 |
| to determine actual bushels per acre yield information. APH | 11 |
| requires records for a minimum of 4 years for each property | 12 |
| impacted. Information used to prove crop yields includes sale | 13 |
| receipts, farm or commercial storage records, and feed | 14 |
| consumption records. The records must be for continuous years, | 15 |
| starting with the most recent year and continuing back in time. | 16 |
| Landowner and tenants are required to provide this | 17 |
| documentation to the mine operator to set the proven | 18 |
| productivity of the property prior to mine subsidence. | 19 |
| The landowner or tenant must then demonstrate production | 20 |
| losses using the same APH method for post mine subsidence | 21 |
| production. At the end of the 4 years, if APH values | 22 |
| demonstrate production losses, then the mine operator must | 23 |
| compensate the landowner and tenant at current grain market | 24 |
| values as of January 1 of each calendar year.
Compensation for | 25 |
| increased cost of federal crop insurance as a direct result of | 26 |
| mine subsidence or productivity loss due to mine subsidence |
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LRB096 03428 ASK 13452 b |
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| must be determined by comparing premiums on identical policies | 2 |
| for properties not impacted by mine subsidence in the same | 3 |
| county as the property impacted by the mining activities. If | 4 |
| there is an increase in premium as a result of the mine | 5 |
| subsidence or mining activities, then any difference in cost | 6 |
| must be paid to the landowner and tenant by the mine operator. | 7 |
| (d) (c) The term "prime farmland" has the same meaning it | 8 |
| has under the Federal
Act. Soil horizons shall be defined by | 9 |
| the Department by rule. Such rules
shall be consistent with the | 10 |
| Federal Act.
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| (e) (d) The term "high capability land" means land other | 12 |
| than prime farmland
which the Director determines is (1) | 13 |
| capable of being reclaimed for row-crop
agricultural purposes | 14 |
| and is suitable for row-crop agricultural purposes
based on | 15 |
| United
States Soil Conservation Service soil survey | 16 |
| classifications of the affected
land prior to mining, and (2) | 17 |
| the optimum future use of which is for row-crop
agricultural | 18 |
| purposes.
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| (f) (e) The term "darkened surface soil" shall be defined | 20 |
| by the Department by rule.
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| (g) (f) The requirements of this Section are in addition to | 22 |
| the other requirements
of this Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 81-1015.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | 25 |
| 1, 2010.
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