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91_HB2970
LRB9109420ACprA
1 AN ACT to amend the Surface-Mined Land Conservation and
2 Reclamation Act.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Surface-Mined Land Conservation and
6 Reclamation Act is amended by changing Sections 3, 5, 6, 8,
7 and 12 as follows:
8 (225 ILCS 715/3) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4503)
9 Sec. 3. Definitions. Wherever used or referred to in
10 this Act, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the
11 context:
12 (a) "Reclamation" means conditioning areas affected by
13 surface mining to achieve the purposes of this Act.
14 (b) "Overburden" means all of the earth and other
15 materials which lie above natural deposits of coal, clay,
16 stone, sand, gravel, or other minerals, and also means such
17 earth and other materials disturbed from their natural state
18 in the process of surface mining.
19 (c) "Surface mining" means the mining of any minerals by
20 removing the overburden lying above natural deposits thereof,
21 and mining directly from the natural deposits thereby exposed
22 or the deposition of overburden therefrom.
23 (d) "Operator" means any person, firm, partnership or
24 corporation engaged in and controlling a surface mining
25 operation, and includes political subdivisions and
26 instrumentalities of the State of Illinois.
27 (e) "Pit" means a tract of land, from which overburden
28 has been or is being removed for the purpose of surface
29 mining.
30 (f) "Final cut" means the last pit created in a
31 surface-mined area.
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1 (g) "High wall" means that side of the pit adjacent to
2 unmined land.
3 (h) "Affected land" means the area of land from which
4 overburden is removed for surface mining or upon which
5 overburden or refuse is deposited. It also means any area of
6 land utilized for drainage ditches and, haulage roads at
7 surface coal mines, slurry pond impoundments and gob disposal
8 areas which are constructed, created, extended, enlarged or
9 expanded.
10 (i) "Refuse" means all waste materials directly
11 connected with the cleaning and preparation of minerals mined
12 by surface mining and discarded equipment and machinery.
13 (j) "Slurry" means that portion of refuse separated from
14 the mineral in the cleaning process, consisting of fines and
15 clays in the preparation plant effluent, and which is readily
16 pumpable.
17 (k) "Gob" means that portion of refuse consisting of
18 waste coal, rock, pyrites, slate, or other unmerchantable
19 material of relatively large size which is separated from the
20 mineral in the cleaning process.
21 (L) "Acid forming materials" means those materials
22 capable of producing toxic conditions when exposed.
23 (m) "Toxic conditions" means any conditions that will
24 not support higher forms of plant or animal life in any place
25 in connection with or as a result of the completion of
26 surface mining.
27 (n) "Ridge" means a lengthened elevation of overburden
28 created in the surface mining process.
29 (o) "Peak" means a projecting point of overburden
30 created in the surface mining process.
31 (p) "Department" means Department of Natural Resources
32 or such department, bureau, or commission as may lawfully
33 succeed to the powers and duties of such Department.
34 (q) "Director" means the Director of the Department of
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1 Natural Resources or such officer, bureau or commission as
2 may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of such
3 Director.
4 (r) "Darkened surface soil" means mineral horizons
5 formed at or adjacent to the surface of the soil which are
6 higher in organic matter content and visibly darker in color
7 than the immediately underlying horizons.
8 (s) "Aggregate mining industry" means producers, by
9 surface mining method, of all minerals other than coal,
10 including sand, gravel, silica sand, shale, clay, limestone
11 and any other mineral which may be so mined.
12 (Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
13 (225 ILCS 715/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4506)
14 Sec. 5. Application for permit; bond; fee; permit.
15 (a) Application for a permit shall be made upon a form
16 furnished by the Department, which form shall contain a
17 description of the tract or tracts of land and the estimated
18 number of acres thereof to be affected by surface mining by
19 the applicant to the tenth third succeeding June 30, which
20 description shall include the section, township, range, and
21 county in which the land is located and shall otherwise
22 describe the land with sufficient certainty so that it may be
23 located and distinguished from other lands, and a statement
24 that the applicant has the right and power by legal estate
25 owned to mine by surface mining and to reclaim the land so
26 described. Such application shall be accompanied by: (i) a
27 bond or security meeting the requirements of Section 8 of
28 this Act; and (ii) a fee of $100 for every acre and fraction
29 of an acre of land to be permitted.
30 (b) An operator desiring to have a his permit amended to
31 cover additional land may file an amended application with
32 the Department with such additional fee and bond or security
33 as may be required under the provisions of this Act. Such
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1 amendment shall comply with all requirements of this Act.
2 (c) An operator may withdraw any land covered by a
3 permit, excepting affected land, by notifying the Department
4 thereof, in which case the penalty of the bond or security
5 filed by such operator pursuant to the provisions of this Act
6 shall be reduced proportionately.
7 (d) (Blank). Where acreage for which a permit has been
8 in effect is not mined, or where mining operations have not
9 been completed thereon, during the permit period, the permit
10 as to such acreage shall be extended by the Department for
11 another permit period without payment of any additional fee,
12 if not more than 25% of the original permit acreage is
13 involved. A new permit will be required at the regular
14 prescribed fees as stated in this Section for all acreage in
15 excess of 25%.
16 (e) Every application, and every amendment to an
17 application, submitted under this Act shall contain the
18 following, except that the Director may waive the
19 requirements of this subsection (e) for amendments if the
20 affected acreage is similar in nature to the acreage stated
21 in the permit to be amended:
22 1. a statement of the ownership of the land and of
23 the minerals to be mined;
24 2. the minerals to be mined;
25 3. the character and composition of the vegetation
26 and wildlife on lands to be affected;
27 4. the current and past uses to which the lands to
28 be affected have been put;
29 5. the current assessed valuation of the lands to
30 be affected and the assessed valuation shown by the two
31 quadrennial assessments next preceding the currently
32 effective assessment;
33 6. the nature, depth and proposed disposition of
34 the overburden;
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1 7. the estimated depth to which the mineral deposit
2 will be mined;
3 8. the location of existing roads, and anticipated
4 access and haulage roads planned to be used or
5 constructed in conducting surface mining;
6 9. the technique to be used in surface mining;
7 10. the location and names of all streams, creeks,
8 bodies of water and underground water resources within
9 lands to be affected;
10 11. drainage on and away from the lands to be
11 affected including directional flow of water, natural and
12 artificial drainways and waterways, and streams or
13 tributaries receiving the discharge;
14 12. the location of buildings and utility lines
15 within lands to be affected;
16 13. the results of core drillings of consolidated
17 materials in the overburden when required by the
18 Department, provided that the Department may not require
19 core drillings at the applicant's expense in excess of
20 one core drill for every 25 acres of land to be affected;
21 14. a conservation and reclamation plan and map
22 acceptable to the Department. The operator shall
23 designate which parts of the lands to be affected are
24 proposed to be reclaimed he or she proposes to reclaim
25 for forest, pasture, crop, horticultural, homesite,
26 recreational, industrial or other uses including food,
27 shelter and ground cover for wildlife and shall show the
28 same by appropriate designation on a reclamation map.
29 The plan shall:
30 (i) provide for timely compliance with all
31 operator duties set forth in Section 6 of this Act
32 by feasible and available means; and
33 (ii) provide for storage of all overburden and
34 refuse.
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1 Information respecting the minerals to be mined required
2 by subparagraph (e)2 of this Section, respecting the
3 estimated depth to which the mineral deposit will be mined
4 required by subparagraph (e)7 of this Section, and respecting
5 the results of core drillings required by subparagraph (e)13
6 of this Section shall be held confidential by the Department
7 upon written request of the applicant.
8 (f) All information required in subsection (e) of this
9 Section, with the exception of that information which is to
10 be held in confidentiality by the Department shall be made
11 available by the operator for public inspection at the county
12 seat of each county containing land to be affected. The
13 county board of each county containing lands to be affected
14 may propose the use for which such lands within its county
15 are to be reclaimed and such proposal shall be considered by
16 the Department, provided that any such proposal must be
17 consistent with all requirements of this Act.
18 Such plan shall be deposited with the county board no
19 less than 60 days prior to any action on the plan by the
20 Department. All actions by the county board pursuant to this
21 Section must be taken within 45 days of receiving the plan.
22 If requested by a county board of a county to be affected
23 under a proposed permit, a public hearing to be conducted by
24 the Department shall be held in such county on the permit
25 applicant's proposed reclamation plan. By rules and
26 regulations the Department shall establish hearing dates
27 which provide county boards reasonable time in which to have
28 reviewed the proposed plans and the procedural rules for the
29 calling and conducting of the public hearing. Such
30 procedural rules shall include provisions for reasonable
31 notice to all parties, including the applicant, and
32 reasonable opportunity for all parties to respond by oral or
33 written testimony, or both, to statements and objections made
34 at the public hearing. County boards and the public shall
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1 present their recommendations at these hearings. A complete
2 record of the hearings and all testimony shall be made by the
3 Department and recorded stenographically.
4 (g) The Department shall approve a conservation and
5 reclamation plan if, and only if, the plan complies with this
6 Act and completion of the plan will in fact achieve every
7 duty of the operator required by this Act. The Department's
8 approval of a plan shall be based upon the advice of
9 technically trained foresters, agronomists, economists,
10 engineers, planners and other relevant experts having
11 experience in reclaiming surface-mined lands, and having
12 scientific or technical knowledge based upon research into
13 reclaiming and utilizing surface-mined lands. The Department
14 shall consider all testimony presented at the public hearings
15 as provided in subsection (f) of this Section. In cases
16 where no public hearing is held on a proposed plan, the
17 Department shall consider written testimony from county
18 boards when submitted no later than 45 days following filing
19 of the proposed plan with the county board. The Department
20 shall immediately serve copies of such written testimony on
21 the applicant and give the applicant a reasonable opportunity
22 to respond by written testimony. The Department shall
23 consider the short and long term impact of the proposed
24 mining on vegetation, wildlife, fish, land use, land values,
25 local tax base, the economy of the region and the State,
26 employment opportunities, air pollution, water pollution,
27 soil contamination, noise pollution and drainage. The
28 Department may shall consider feasible alternative uses for
29 which reclamation might prepare the land to be affected and
30 may shall analyze the relative costs and effects of such
31 alternatives. Whenever the Department does not approve the
32 operator's plan, and whenever the plan approved by the
33 Department does not conform to the views of the county board
34 expressed in accordance with subsection (f) of this Section,
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1 the Department shall issue a statement of its reasons for its
2 determination and shall make such statement public. The
3 approved plan shall be filed by the applicant with the clerk
4 of each county containing lands to be affected and such plan
5 shall be available for public inspection at the office of the
6 clerk until reclamation is completed and the bond is released
7 in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
8 (h) Upon receipt of a bond or security, all fees due
9 from the operator, and approval of the conservation and
10 reclamation plan by the Department, the Department shall
11 issue a permit to the applicant which shall entitle him to
12 engage thereafter in surface mining on the land therein
13 described until the tenth third succeeding June 30, the
14 period for which such permits are issued being hereafter
15 referred to as the "permit period".
16 (i) The operator may transfer any existing permit to a
17 second operator, after first notifying the Department of the
18 intent to transfer said permit. The Department shall transfer
19 any existing permit to a second party upon written
20 notification from both parties and the posting of an adequate
21 performance bond by the new permittee.
22 (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
23 (225 ILCS 715/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4507)
24 Sec. 6. Duties of operator. Every operator to whom a
25 permit is issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act may
26 engage in surface mining upon the lands described in the
27 permit upon the performance of and subject to the following
28 requirements with respect to such lands:
29 (a) All land affected by surface mining except as
30 otherwise provided in this Act shall be graded to a rolling
31 topography traversable by machines necessary for maintenance
32 in accordance with the planned use, with slopes having no
33 more than 15% (or 8 degrees and 32 minutes) grade, except
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1 that in the following cases the grade shall not exceed 30%:
2 (i) case of those lands to be reclaimed to in accordance with
3 filed plan for forest plantation, recreational or wildlife
4 land uses, (ii) the outside slope of the box cut spoil, and
5 (iii) the outside slopes of all overburden deposition areas.
6 the grade shall not exceed 30% (or 16 degrees and 42
7 minutes); The final cut spoil and the side slopes of haulage
8 road inclines can remain at a slope equal to the angle of
9 repose of the material, provided the material can support
10 vegetative cover. However, in no case shall the Department
11 require grading to a lesser slope in order to retain or
12 provide as much row crop or 15% slope land as possible; but,
13 such slopes need not be reduced to less than the original
14 grade of the overburden existing of that area prior to
15 mining. ;
16 (b) All runoff water shall be impounded, drained or
17 treated so as to reduce soil erosion, damage to unmined
18 lands, and pollution of streams and other waters. The
19 operator shall construct earth dams, where lakes may be
20 formed, in accordance with sound engineering practices if
21 necessary to impound water, provided the formation of the
22 lakes or ponds will not interfere with underground or other
23 mining operations, other subsequent uses of the area approved
24 by the Department, or damage adjoining property. Such water
25 impoundments must be approved by the Department based on the
26 expected ability of the lakes or ponds to support desirable
27 uses such as water for livestock or wild life; and if to be
28 used for fish life, shall have minimum depths in accordance
29 with standards for fish stocking in the various areas of the
30 State recommended by the Department. ;
31 (c) Acid forming materials present in the exposed face
32 of the mined coal mineral seam or seams in the final cut
33 shall be covered at all times with not less than 4 feet of
34 water, or other materials which shall be placed with slopes
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1 having no more than 30% grade, capable of supporting plant
2 and animal life. Final cuts or other depressed affected
3 areas, no longer in use in mining operations, which
4 accumulate toxic waters will not meet reclamation
5 requirements.;
6 (d) Slurry must be confined in depressed or mined areas
7 bounded by levees or dams constructed from material capable
8 of supporting acceptable vegetation and built in accordance
9 with sound engineering practices. Such areas shall be
10 screened with border plantings of tree species which by their
11 seeding habits will encourage propagation of vegetation on
12 these areas, and levees or dams built to confine slurry shall
13 be established to adapted species of grasses. Gob not
14 capable of supporting vegetation shall be covered with a
15 sufficient to a minimum depth of 4 feet with soil or other
16 material in accordance with sound soil conservation practices
17 as prescribed by the Director. Such material must be capable
18 of being vegetated and an acceptable cover shall be
19 established. The above stipulated reclamation measures shall
20 apply to all new refuse disposal areas or horizontal
21 extensions of existing refuse disposal areas after the
22 effective date of this Act.;
23 (e) All abandoned haulage roads and all mine drainage
24 ditches must be removed and graded, except where the Director
25 determines that a road or ditch is consistent with and
26 necessary to the conservation and reclamation plan.;
27 (f) Unless the approved reclamation plan is inconsistent
28 with vegetative cover, the soil shall be prepared and planted
29 with trees, shrubs, grasses and legumes to provide suitable
30 vegetative cover, in accordance with standards adopted by the
31 Department.;
32 (g) All requirements of the Environmental Protection
33 Act, and of rules and regulations thereunder, as enforced by
34 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall be complied with
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1 fully at all times during mining, reclamation, and after
2 reclamation.;
3 (h) Surface mining operations that remove and do not
4 replace the lateral support shall not, unless mutually agreed
5 upon by the operator and the adjacent property owner,
6 approach property lines, established right-of-way lines of
7 any public roads, streets or highways closer than a distance
8 equal to 10 feet plus one and one-half times the depth of the
9 excavation except where consolidated material or materials of
10 sufficient hardness or ability to resist weathering and to
11 inhibit erosion or sloughing exists in the highwall, the
12 distance from the property line or any established
13 right-of-way line shall not, unless mutually agreed, be
14 closer than a distance equal to 10 feet plus one and one-half
15 times the depth from the natural ground surface to the top of
16 the consolidated material or materials.;
17 (i) The operator shall annually submit to the Department
18 and to the affected county no later than September 1,
19 following the end of each fiscal year on June 30, a map in a
20 form approved by the Department showing the location of the
21 pit or pits by section, township, range and county, with such
22 other description as will identify the land which the
23 operator has affected by surface mining during such fiscal
24 year and has completed mining operations thereon, with a
25 legend upon such map showing the number of acres of affected
26 land.;
27 (j) When the Director determines that the land to be
28 affected is (1) capable of being reclaimed for row-crop
29 agricultural purposes and suitable for row-crop agricultural
30 purposes based on United States Soil Conservation Service
31 soil survey classifications of the affected land prior to
32 mining, and (2) when the Director determines that the optimum
33 future use of the land affected is for row-crop agricultural
34 purposes, the affected land shall be graded to the
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1 approximate original grade of the land provided that the
2 final cut and submerged roadways may remain if the Department
3 determines that such final cut or roadways could form a water
4 impoundment capable of supporting desirable uses such as
5 water for livestock or wild life; and if to be used for fish
6 life, shall have minimum depths in accordance with standards
7 for fish stocking as recommended by the Department, and
8 provided further that the box cut spoil shall be graded in
9 accordance with subparagraph (a) of Section 6.;
10 The reclamation requirements in this Section do not apply
11 to affected land used for a sanitary land fill if such
12 sanitary land fill is approved by the Environmental
13 Protection Agency. The Environmental Protection Agency may
14 regulate the amount of land to be used for the purpose and
15 may establish a time schedule for the orderly and timely
16 completion of such sanitary land fill. Any affected land
17 designated for sanitary land fill and not used for such
18 purpose within 5 years is subject to the reclamation
19 provisions of this Section;
20 On all affected lands to be graded to the approximate
21 original grade under this subsection (j), all or part of the
22 darkened surface soil, as defined in this Act, shall be
23 segregated during the stripping process and replaced as a
24 final cover as a last step in the required grading. When
25 available in such depth, at least 18 inches of the darkened
26 surface soil shall be segregated and replaced. When less than
27 18 inches of darkened surface soil exists all such lesser
28 amounts shall be segregated and replaced. In no case under
29 this subsection (j) shall less than the top 8 inches of
30 surface soil, darkened or not, be segregated and replaced.
31 This segregation and replacement requirement may be altered
32 by the Department only if it is determined upon the advice of
33 competent soil scientists that other material available in
34 the cast overburden would be suitable in meeting the
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1 reclamation requirements. Below the darkened surface soil the
2 replaced material shall be suitable as an agricultural root
3 medium. The Department shall determine by rules and
4 regulations what constitutes a suitable agricultural root
5 medium by composition and depth. On all lands to be
6 reclaimed under this subsection (j), the operator shall not
7 be required to create a soil condition better than that which
8 existed prior to surface mining.
9 (k) All grading provided for hereunder shall proceed in
10 conjunction with surface mining and shall be carried to
11 completion by the operator prior to the expiration of 11
12 months after June 30 of the fiscal year in which the mining
13 occurred. All other reclamation provided for hereunder,
14 except gob and slurry areas in active use, shall be carried
15 to completion by the operator prior to the expiration of 3
16 years after active use, as determined by the Department June
17 30 of the fiscal year in which the mining occurred, except
18 that no other reclamation of any kind shall be required to be
19 made within depressed haulage roads or final cuts or any
20 other area where pools or lakes, capable of supporting
21 aquatic life, may be formed by rainfall or drainage runoff
22 from adjoining land or where the Director determines that a
23 road, dry pit bottom or ditch is consistent with and
24 necessary to the conservation and reclamation plan. All
25 mined areas which in the reclamation plan call for
26 vegetation, other than land to be reclaimed under subsection
27 (j) of this Section, shall be covered with whatever top
28 soils or and other materials from the cast overburden that
29 will support acceptable plant growth in accordance with
30 standards adopted by the Department. The Department shall
31 have authority to require that darkened surface soil be
32 segregated from other overburden in the stripping process so
33 as to accomplish the requirements of this subparagraph. When
34 extension of the reclamation period is necessary to allow
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1 continued mining operation and to accomplish acceptable
2 reclamation, such extension shall be made at the discretion
3 of the Department, however, the Department shall not deny a
4 reasonable extension under any of the subsections of this
5 Section 6 when the operator shows that acts of God, strikes,
6 inability to receive ordered equipment or extended periods of
7 unseasonable and not to be expected weather have made
8 completion within time limits impossible; or, the Department
9 shall declare forfeiture of the surety bond or security on
10 such land not satisfactorily reclaimed or the Director shall
11 provide that the operator cover such areas with material
12 capable of being vegetated in accordance with vegetative
13 standards adopted by the Department within 1 year. Gob and
14 disposal areas shall be reclaimed as provided in Section 6
15 (d) within one year after cessation of active use. If further
16 extension of the reclamation period is necessary to
17 accomplish acceptable reclamation such extension shall be
18 made at the discretion of the Department or the Department
19 shall declare forfeiture of the surety bond or security on
20 such land not satisfactorily reclaimed.;
21 (l) The reclamation requirements in this Section do not
22 apply to affected land used for a landfill if the landfill is
23 approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. The
24 Environmental Protection Agency may regulate the amount of
25 land to be used for that purpose and may establish a time
26 schedule for the orderly and timely completion of the
27 landfill. Any affected land designated for landfill and not
28 used for that purpose within 5 years after such a designation
29 is subject to the reclamation provisions of this Section. If
30 the operator is unable to acquire sufficient planting stock
31 of desired tree species from State nurseries, or acquire such
32 tree species elsewhere at comparable prices, the Department
33 shall grant the operator an extension of time until planting
34 stock is available to plant such land as originally planned,
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1 or shall permit the operator to select an alternate method of
2 reclamation in keeping with the provisions of this Act.
3 (m) The conservation and reclamation plan shall be
4 completely performed on time.
5 (n) High walls shall be reshaped to a slope of
6 two-to-one or 50% to the anticipated water level or dry pit
7 bottom unless otherwise excepted by the Director. The
8 Director shall submit proposed exceptions to the Advisory
9 Council for its comments before granting any exceptions under
10 this Act.
11 (o) The provisions of subsections (j) and (n) of this
12 Section do not apply to the aggregate mining industry.
13 (Source: P.A. 80-295.)
14 (225 ILCS 715/8) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4509)
15 Sec. 8. Bond of operator; amount; sufficiency of surety;
16 violations; compliance. Any bond herein provided to be filed
17 with the Department by the operator shall be in such form as
18 the Director prescribes, payable to the People of the State
19 of Illinois, conditioned that the operator shall faithfully
20 perform all requirements of this Act and comply with all
21 rules of the Department made in accordance with the
22 provisions of this Act. Such bond shall be signed by the
23 operator as principal, and by a good and sufficient corporate
24 surety, licensed to do business in Illinois, as surety. The
25 penalty of such bond shall be an amount between $600 and
26 $5,000 per acre as determined by the Director for lands to be
27 affected by surface mining, including slurry and gob disposal
28 areas. Areas used for the disposal of slurry and gob shall
29 continue under bond so long as they are in active use. In
30 lieu of such bonds, the operator may deposit any combination
31 of cash, certificates of deposits, government securities, or
32 irrevocable letters of credit with the Department in an
33 amount equal to that of the required surety bond on
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1 conditions as prescribed in this Section. At the discretion
2 of the Department, surety bond requirements may also be
3 fulfilled by using existing reclaimed acres, in excess of
4 cumulative permit or mined acres, that have been completed
5 under the jurisdiction of this Act and approved by the
6 Department. The penalty of the bond or amount of other
7 security shall be increased or reduced from time to time as
8 provided in this Act. Such bond or security shall remain in
9 effect until the affected lands have been reclaimed, approved
10 and released by the Department except that when the
11 Department determines that grading and covering with
12 materials capable of supporting vegetation in accordance with
13 the plan has been satisfactorily completed, the Department
14 shall release the bond or security except the amount of $100
15 per acre which shall be retained by the Department until the
16 reclamation according to Section 6 of this Act has been
17 completed. Where an anticipated water impoundment has been
18 approved by the Department in the reclamation plan, and the
19 Department determines the impoundment will be satisfactorily
20 completed upon completion of the operation, the bond covering
21 such anticipated water impoundment area shall be released.
22 A bond filed as above prescribed shall not be cancelled
23 by the surety except after not less than 90 days' notice to
24 the Department.
25 If the license to do business in Illinois of any surety
26 upon a bond filed with the Department pursuant to this Act
27 shall be suspended or revoked, the operator, within 30 days
28 after receiving notice thereof from the Department, shall
29 substitute for such surety a good and sufficient corporate
30 surety licensed to do business in Illinois. Upon failure of
31 the operator to make substitution of surety as herein
32 provided, the Department shall have the right to suspend the
33 permit of the operator until such substitution has been made.
34 The Department shall give written notice to the operator
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1 of any violation of this Act or non-compliance with any of
2 the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department
3 hereunder and if corrective measures, approved by the
4 Department, are not commenced within 45 days, the Department
5 may proceed as provided in Section 11 of this Act to request
6 forfeiture of the bond or security. The forfeiture shall be
7 the amount of bond or security in effect at the time of
8 default for each acre or portion thereof with respect to
9 which the operator has defaulted. Such forfeiture shall
10 fully satisfy all obligations of the operator to reclaim the
11 affected land under the provisions of this Act.
12 The Department shall have the power to reclaim, in
13 keeping with the provisions of this Act, any affected land
14 with respect to which a bond has been forfeited.
15 Whenever an operator shall have completed all
16 requirements under the provisions of this Act as to any
17 affected land, he shall notify the Department thereof. If
18 the Department determines that the operator has completed
19 reclamation requirements and refuse disposal requirements and
20 has achieved results appropriate to the use for which the
21 area was reclaimed, the Department shall release the operator
22 from further obligations regarding such affected land and the
23 penalty of the bond shall be reduced proportionately.
24 Bonding aggregate mining operations under permit by the
25 State is an exclusive power and function of the State. A home
26 rule unit may not require bonding of aggregate mining
27 operations under permit by the State. This provision is a
28 denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under
29 subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
30 Constitution of 1970.
31 (Source: P.A. 86-364.)
32 (225 ILCS 715/12) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4513)
33 Sec. 12. Rules and regulations.
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1 (a) The Department may adopt and promulgate reasonable
2 rules and regulations respecting the administration of this
3 Act, and in conformity therewith.
4 (b) Rules adopted by the Department shall not apply
5 retroactively. Any operator shall have the right to proceed
6 with operations under this Act until such rules are adopted
7 and no such rules shall be made applicable to any operations
8 prior to the effective date thereof.
9 (c) In addition to the provisions of this Section, and
10 to the extent consistent with this Section, the provisions of
11 the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act apply to the
12 adoption of rules under this Act.
13 (d) Any act authorized to be done by the Director may be
14 performed by the Assistant Director or any employee of the
15 Department when designated by the Director.
16 Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule,
17 the Director shall:
18 A. give at least 30 days notice of his intended action.
19 The notice shall include a statement of either the terms or
20 substance of the intended action or a description of the
21 subjects and issues involved, and the time when, and the
22 place where interested persons may present their views
23 thereon. The notice shall be mailed to all persons who have
24 made timely request of the Director for advance notice of his
25 rule-making proceedings and shall be published in the
26 official State newspaper;
27 B. afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity
28 to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing,
29 provided that the right to cross examine any witnesses is
30 given to any interested parties, if such right is requested.
31 The Director shall consider fully all written and oral
32 submissions respecting the proposed rule. No rule may be
33 adopted unless substantial evidence in support of such rule
34 is presented at such hearing. Upon adoption of a rule the
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1 Director, if requested to do so by an interested person
2 either prior to adoption or within 30 days thereafter, shall
3 issue a concise statement of the principal reasons for or
4 against its adoption, incorporating therein his reasons for
5 overruling the considerations urged against its adoption.
6 No rule is valid unless adopted in substantial compliance
7 with this Section.
8 The Director shall file in the office of the Secretary of
9 State a certified copy of each rule adopted by him. The
10 Secretary of State shall keep a permanent register of the
11 rules open to public inspection.
12 Each rule hereafter adopted is effective 30 days after
13 filing, except that, if a later date is specified in the
14 rule, the later date is the effective date. Any rule adopted
15 hereunder shall not be retroactive. Any operator shall have
16 the right to proceed with operations under this Act until
17 such rules are adopted and no such rules shall be made
18 applicable to any operations prior to the effective date
19 thereof.
20 (Source: P.A. 78-1295.)
21 (225 ILCS 715/4.1 rep.)
22 (225 ILCS 715/15 rep.)
23 Section 10. The Surface-Mined Land Conservation and
24 Reclamation Act is amended by repealing Sections 4.1 and 15.
25 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26 becoming law.