West Virginia Code § 22-4-5

Quarry permit requirements
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this section
(a) It is unlawful for any person to engage in quarrying without having first obtained from
the division a permit as required by this article. The application shall fully state the
information required by the director. Each new quarry permit shall be issued for a term of
five years and is renewable for subsequent terms of five years. The director may grant an
administrative extension of an existing permit for a period not to exceed onee year. The
application may be in writing and on a form prepared and furnished by the division, or the
application may be submitted electronically. Applicants shall verify elecrtronic submissions
by signed affidavit.
(b) The application shall include the following information:
(1) The names and addresses of the applicant and every officer, partner, director, owner of
the applicant;
(2) The names and mailing addresses of any personl owning of record or beneficially ten
percent or more of any class of stock of the apsplicant;
(3) The name of any person listed in subdiviision (1) or (2) of this subsection who has ever
had a quarry permit revoked or had a quarry bond forfeited;
(4) The names and addresses of the owners of the surface of the land to be quarried;
(5) The names and addresses of the owners of the mineral to be quarried;
(6) The source of the applicant's legal right to conduct quarrying on the land to be covered
by the permit;
(7) A prequarry water assessment to establish the base level quality and quantity as provided
in section fourteen of this article;
(8) The number of acres to be included in the permit area;
(9) A list of other quarrying permits previously or currently held by the applicant, by location
and permit number, and any other type of mining permits being applied for or currently held
by the applicant;
(10) The common name and geologic title, where applicable, of the mineral or minerals to be
extracted;
(11) Provide proof of adequate insurance as required by this article;
(12) A quarrying and reclamation plan as is required by section seventeen of this article;
(13) Any other information required by the director reasonably necessary to effectuate the
purposes of this article.
(c) The application for a permit shall be accompanied by copies of an enlarged United States
geological survey topographic map meeting the requirements of the subdivisions below.
Aerial photographs of the area are acceptable if the plan for reclamation can be shown to the
satisfaction of the director. Attendant documentation must include:
(1) A map prepared and certified by or under the supervision of a registered professional
civil engineer, or a registered professional mining engineer, or a licensed land surveyor, who
shall submit to the director a certificate of registration as a qualified engineer or land
surveyor, and be in a scale approved by the director; u
(2) Identify the area to correspond with application;
(3) Show probable limits of adjacent underground minaing operations, probable limits of
adjacent inactive or mined-out areas and the boundaries of surface properties and names of
surface and mineral owners of the surface area witlhin five hundred feet of any part of the
proposed disturbed area; s
(4) Show the base of the crop line, includinig appropriate geologic cross sections, regrading
cross sections and attendant narratives;
(5) Show the names and locations of streams, creeks, tributaries or bodies of public water,
roads, buildings, cemeteries, active, abandoned or plugged oil and gas wells, and utility lines
on the area of land to be disturbed and within five hundred feet of such area;
(6) Show by appropriate markings the boundaries of the area of land to be disturbed and the
total number of acre s involved in the area of land to be disturbed;
(7) The date on which the map was prepared, the north point, and the longitude and latitude
of the operation;
(8) Show the drainage plan on and away from the area of land to be disturbed. Such plan
shall indicate the directional flow of water, constructed drainage systems, natural waterways
used for drainage, and the streams or tributaries receiving or to receive this discharge.
Upon receipt of such drainage plan, the director may furnish the office of water resources of
the division a copy of all information required by this subdivision, as well as the names and
locations of streams, creeks, tributaries or bodies of public water within five hundred feet of
the area to be disturbed;
(9) Show the presence of known acid-producing materials which when present in the
overburden, may cause spoil with a pH factor below 5.5, preventing effective revegetation.
The presence of such materials, wherever occurring in significant quantity, shall be
indicated on the map, filed with the application for permit. The operator shall also indicate
the manner in which acid-bearing spoil will be suitably prepared for revegetation and
stabilization, whether by application of mulch or suitable soil material to the surface or by
some other type of treatment, subject to approval of the director.
(10) The operator shall also indicate the manner in which all permanent disposal sites will be
stabilized.
(11) The certification of the maps shall read as follows: "I, the undersigned, hereby certify
that this map is correct, and shows to the best of my knowledge and belief all the
information required by the quarrying laws of this state." The certification shall be signed
and notarized. The director may reject any map as incomplete if its accuracy is not so
attested.
(d) Each applicant shall secure a performance bond or other appropriate financial assurance
and insurance as required by this article.
(e) A permit may cover more than one tract of land, if athe tracts are adjacent or part of the
same quarrying complex, and described in the application.
(f) If a permittee has more than one permit at any quarrying site at an adjacent, or the same
quarrying complex, and if the director deems appropriate, permits may be consolidated into
one permit at the request of the permitteei.
(g) A permit remains valid until quarrying is completed and the final inspection and report
are approved or until the permit is revoked by the director.
(h) All underground quarry operations which disturb more than five acres of surface must
obtain a quarry permit, including underground quarry operations located on more than one
tract of land, if the tracts are adjacent or part of the same mining complex and the total
disturbed area excee ds more than five acres. Those underground operations which disturb
less than five Vacres of surface must:
(1) File a notice of intent to operate with the director at least sixty days prior to disturbance.
The notice of intent to operate shall be made in writing on forms prescribed by the director
and shall be signed and verified by the operator. This notice shall include the information
required by subdivisions (1) through (11) and subdivision (13), subsection (b) of this section;
(2) The applicant shall publish a notice of intent to operate as a Class III legal advertisement
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code. The notice
shall contain, in abbreviated form, the following:
(A) The name and address of the operator;
(B) The name and addresses of the surface and mineral owners;
(C) That written comments on the application will be accepted until a specified date, within
thirty days after the first date of publication of the notice;
(D) A description of the general area where the quarry will be located;
(E) The address of the office of the division to submit written comments.
(3) The director shall issue a decision to approve or deny the notice of intent to operate,
within thirty days of close of the public comment period, unless the period is extended by the
director to receive additional application information. The director may deny or limit
permission to operate upon the finding that the underground quarry will cause serious
adverse environmental impacts pursuant to section seven or eight of this article.
(4) A minimum of a $10,000 performance bond is required for eauch underground mining
intent to operate. This performance bond shall be released if the permittee has complied
with all permit requirements and has begun underground mining. Underground mining must
begin within two years of receipt of a notice of intent to operate.

‹ Prev All West Virginia sections Next ›


Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.