(a) The term coal remining operation means a coal mining operation at a site on which coal mining was previously conducted and where the site has been abandoned or the performance bond has been forfeited.

(b) The term pollution abatement area means the part of the permit area that is causing or contributing to the baseline pollution load of pre-existing discharges. The pollution abatement area must include, to the extent practicable, areas adjacent to and nearby the remining operation that also must be affected to reduce the pollution load of the pre-existing discharges and may include the immediate location of the pre-existing discharges.

(c) The term pre-existing discharge means any discharge resulting from mining activities that have been abandoned prior to the time of a remining permit application. This term shall include a pre-existing discharge that is relocated as a result of the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) contained in the Pollution Abatement Plan.

(d) The term steep slope means any slope above twenty degrees or such lesser slope as may be defined by the regulatory authority after consideration of soil, climate, and other characteristics of a region or State. This term does not apply to those situations in which an operator is mining on flat or gently rolling terrain, on which an occasional steep slope is encountered and through which the mining operation is to proceed, leaving a plain or predominantly flat area.

(e) The term new source remining operation means a remining operation at a coal mine where mining first commences after February 22, 2002 and subsequently becomes an abandoned mine.