15-57-320. Exemptions.

15-57-320. Exemptions. (a) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require any agent or employee of a county or municipal government or a landowner selling exclusively to those government entities to comply with any of the provisions of this subchapter when engaged in open-cut mining outside of the channel of a stream for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or maintenance of streets and highways or private roads, streets, driveways, or highways, or other public projects of a county or municipality when it is conducted under the authority of such a government for such activities and on lands for which the county or municipal government has established rights. (b)(1) The county and municipal governments shall remove topsoil and spoil and store it on the mining site. (2) Upon completion of mining, the site shall be graded such that no slope will be steeper than one foot (1') vertical to three feet (3') horizontal, and the topsoil shall be respread and the site revegetated in a manner to prevent pollution of the waters of Arkansas. (c) An agent or employee of a county or municipal government may remove gravel or other materials from any stream in order to protect the integrity of bridges or low water crossing of any public roadway without obtaining a permit. (d) A governmental unit may remove gravel or other material from any stream in order to protect the integrity of a government-owned or government-controlled structure without obtaining a permit. (e)(1) Flood control projects authorized by the United States Army Corps of Engineers shall be exempt from the permitting requirement. Provided, however, that certification under section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act is obtained for said project. (2) In the event that authorization pursuant to section 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act is determined by the United States Army Corps of Engineers not to be required for a specific flood control or bank stabilization project, the Division of Environmental Quality will review the proposed project plan using the Section 401 water quality certification criteria. (3) The division shall provide the necessary authorization for the project once it has been determined that the activity will not adversely affect water quality. (f)(1) All stream gravel mining operations on streams designated as extraordinary resource waters after January 1, 1995, may continue to operate under a permit issued by the division for a period of two (2) years from the date of the designation. (2) At the end of the two-year period, all mining activities must be terminated and the affected area reclaimed in accordance with the operator's approved reclamation plan. (g) The permitting provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to any area being excavated for soil or shale that is less than three (3) acres where an undisturbed buffer zone of not less than fifty feet (50') exists between the highwalls of the excavation site and any adjacent property line or to any size area being excavated if the area being excavated is at least one-fourth (¼) of a mile from any adjacent property line. (h) The permitting provisions of this subchapter do not apply to quartz crystal mined on private property by the person who owns both the surface rights and subsurface rights of the private property.