15-58-501. Designation of land as unsuitable.

15-58-501. Designation of land as unsuitable. (a) The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission shall issue rules that adopt appropriate procedures for identifying and designating land in this state as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface mining, which rules shall: (1) Prevent surface coal mining operations on those lands upon which surface coal mining operations are prohibited by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-87; (2) Adopt a procedure for development of a database and inventory system which will permit proper evaluation of the capacity of different land areas of this state to support and permit reclamation of surface coal mining operations and which includes methods for integrating and implementing federal, state, and local land use planning decisions; (3) Integrate into the procedure as closely as possible present and future land use planning and regulation processes at the federal, state, and local levels; and (4) Provide that any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected may petition the commission to have an area designated as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations or to have a designation terminated. Within ten (10) months after the filing of the petition, the commission shall hold a public hearing in accordance with §§ 15-58-207 and 15-58-208. (b) Prior to designating any land areas as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations, the commission shall prepare a detailed statement on: (1) The potential coal resources of the area; (2) The demand for coal resources; and (3) The impact of the designation on the environment, the economy, and the supply of coal. (c)(1) Upon petition pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the commission shall designate an area as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations if the commission determines that reclamation pursuant to the requirements of this chapter is not technologically and economically feasible. (2) Upon petition pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, a surface area may be designated unsuitable for certain types of surface coal mining operations if the operations will: (A) Be incompatible with existing state or local land use plans or programs; (B) Affect fragile or historic lands in which such operations could result in significant damage to important historic, cultural, scientific, and aesthetic values and natural systems; (C) Affect renewable resource lands in which operations could result in a substantial loss or reduction of long range productivity of water supply or of food or fiber products, and the lands include aquifers and aquifer recharge areas; or (D) Affect natural hazard lands in which operations could substantially endanger life and property, such lands to include areas subject to frequent flooding and areas of unstable geology.