312 IAC 25-4-19 Surface mining permit applications; right of entry and operation information

Sec. 19. (a) Each application shall contain a description of the documents upon which the applicant bases his or her legal right to enter and begin surface mining activities in the permit area and whether that right is the subject of pending litigation. The description shall: (1) identify the specific land to which the document pertains; and (2) explain the legal rights claimed by the applicant. (b) Where the private mineral estate to be mined has been severed from the private surface estate, the applications shall also provide any of the following for land within the permit area: (1) A copy of the written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of coal by surface mining methods. (2) A copy of the document of conveyance that expressly grants or reserves the right to extract the coal by surface mining methods. (3) If the conveyance does not expressly grant the right to extract the coal by surface mining methods, documentation that, under applicable Indiana law, the applicant has the legal authority to extract the coal by those methods. In lieu of copies of the consent, document, or other documentation required in this subsection, the applicant may provide an affidavit, signed by a responsible officer of the applicant, stating, under oath, that the information required does in fact exist and is available for inspection by any person at a given location set forth in that affidavit. (c) Nothing in this section will be construed to afford the department the authority to adjudicate property title disputes.