In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Affected land" means the area of land from which overburden is removed as the result of a surface mining operation or upon which overburden or refuse is deposited as the result of a surface mining operation, or both. 2. "Committee" means the state soil conservation committee. 3. "Landowner" means the owner of land affected by a surface mining operation. 4. "Mineral" includes cement rock, clay, gravel, limestone, manganese, molybdenum, peat, potash, pumicite, salt, sand, scoria, sodium sulfate, stone, zeolite, or other minerals, but does not include coal. 5. "Overburden" means all of the earth and other materials which lie above natural deposits of minerals, and also means such earth and other materials disturbed from their natural state in a surface mining operation. 6. "Person" means any individual, firm, association, partnership, cooperative, corporation, limited liability company, or any department, agency, or instrumentality of the state or any subdivision thereof. 7. "Reclamation" means the reconditioning of the area of land affected by a surface mining operation to make the area suitable for productive use, including, but not limited to, forestry, agriculture, grazing, wildlife, recreation, residential, and industrial sites. 8. "Surface mining operation" relates to the mining of minerals by removing the overburden lying above natural deposits thereof, and mining directly from the natural deposits thereby exposed which will, within one calendar year, result in the removal of ten thousand cubic yards [7645.55 cubic meters] or more of product, including overburden, or affect one-half acre [.20 hectare] or more.
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