(a) Exploration plans. For background and application procedures for exploration licenses for unleased Federal coal, see 43 CFR part 3410. For background and application procedures for exploration for Federal coal within an approved permit area after mining operations have commenced, see 30 CFR Chapter VII. For any other exploration for Federal coal prior to commencement of mining operations, the following rules apply:

(1) Except for casual use, before conducting any exploration operations on federally leased or licensed lands, the operator/lessee shall submit an exploration plan to and obtain approval from the authorized officer. Casual use, as used in this paragraph, means activities which do not cause appreciable surface distrubance or damage to lands or other resources and improvements. Casual use does not include use of heavy equipment or explosives or vehicular movement off established roads and trails.

(2) The operator/lessee shall submit five copies of exploration plans to the authorized officer. Exploration plans shall be consistent with and responsive to the requirements of the Federal lease or license for the protection of recoverable coal reserves and other resources and for the reclamation of the surface of the lands affected by the operations. The exploration plan shall show that reclamation is an integral part of the proposed operations and that reclamation will progress as contemporaneously as practicable with such operations.

(3) Exploration plans shall contain all of the following:

(i) The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant, and, if applicable, the operator/lessee of record.

(ii) The name, address, and telephone number of the representative of the applicant who will be present during and be responsible for conducting the exploration.

(iii) A narrative description of the proposed exploration area, cross-referenced to the map required under paragraph (a)(3)(viii) of this section, including applicable Federal lease and license serial numbers; surface topography; geologic, surface water, and other physical features; vegetative cover; endangered or threatened species listed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.); districts, sites, buildings, structures, or objects listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places; and known cultural or archeological resources located within the proposed exploration area.

(iv) A narrative description of the methods to be used to conduct coal exploration, reclamation, and abandonment of operations including, but not limited to—

(A) The types, sizes, numbers, capacity, and uses of equipment for drilling and blasting, and road or other access route construction;

(B) Excavated earth- or debris-disposal activities;

(C) The proposed method for plugging drill holes;

(D) Estimated size and depth of drill holes, trenches, and test pits; and,

(E) Plans for transfer and modification of exploration drill holes to be used as surveillance, monitoring, or water wells.

(v) An estimated timetable for conducting and completing each phase of the exploration, drilling, and reclamation.

(vi) The estimated amounts of coal to be removed during exploration, a description of the method to be used to determine those amounts, and the proposed use of the coal removed.

(vii) A description of the measures to be used during exploration for Federal coal to comply with the performance standards for exploration (§3484.1(a) of this title) and applicable requirements of 30 CFR 815.15 or an approved State program.

(viii) A map at a scale of 1:24,000 or larger showing the areas of land to be affected by the proposed exploration and reclamation. The map shall show existing roads, occupied dwellings, and pipelines; proposed location of trenches, roads, and other access routes and structures to be constructed; applicable Federal lease and license boundaries; the location of land excavations to be conducted; coal exploratory holes to be drilled or altered; earth- or debris-disposal areas; existing bodies of surface water; and topographic and drainage features.

(ix) The name and address of the owner of record of the surface land, if other than the United States. If the surface is owned by a person other than the applicant or if the Federal coal is leased to a person other than the applicant, a description of the basis upon which the applicant claims the right to enter that land for the purpose of conducting exploration and reclamation.

(x) Such other data as may be required by the authorized officer.

(b) Resource recovery and protection plans. Before conducting any Federal coal development or mining operations on Federal leases or licenses, the operator/lessee shall submit and obtain approval of a resource recovery and protection plan, unless a current resource recovery and protection plan has been approved prior to August 30, 1982. If the resource recovery and protection plan is submitted solely to meet the MLA 3-year submittal requirement, the resource recovery and protection plan shall be submitted to the authorized officer. Upon receipt of a resource recovery and protection plan, the authorized officer will review such plan for completeness and for compliance with MLA. Prior to commencement of any coal development or mining operations on a Federal lease or license, a permit application package containing, among other documents, a resource recovery and protection plan and a permit application shall be submitted to the regulatory authority. On any Federal lease issued after August 4, 1976, MLA requires that a resource recovery and protection plan shall be submitted no later than 3 years after the effective date of the Federal lease. On any Federal lease issued prior to August 4, 1976, MLA requires that a resource recovery and protection plan shall be submitted no later than 3 years after the effective date of the first lease readjustment after August 4, 1976, or the effective date of the operator/lessee's election provided for at §3483.1(b)(1) of this title, unless a current resource recovery and protection plan has been approved. Any resource recovery and protection plan submitted but not approved as of August 30, 1982, shall be revised to comply with these rules. A resource recovery and protection plan for an LMU shall be submitted to the authorized officer as provided in §3487.1(e)(1) of this title.

(c) The authorized officer may contact directly operators/lessees regarding MLA requirements. The resource recovery and protection plan shall contain all the requirements pursuant to MLA for the life-of-the-mine and, unless previously submitted in an LMU application or as directed by the authorized officer, shall include all of the following:

(1) Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons responsible for operations to be conducted under the approved plan to whom notices and orders are to be delivered; names and addresses of operators/lessees; Federal lease serial numbers; Federal license serial numbers, if appropriate; and names and addresses of surface and subsurface coal or other mineral owners of record, if other than the United States.

(2) A general description of geologic conditions and mineral resources, with appropriate maps, within the area where mining is to be conducted.

(3) A description of the proposed mining operation, including:

(i) Sufficient coal analyses to determine the quality of the minable reserve base in terms including, but not limited to, Btu content on an as-received basis, ash, moisture, sulphur, volatile matter, and fixed carbon content.

(ii) The methods of mining and/or variation of methods, basic mining equipment and mining factors including, but not limited to, mining sequence, production rate, estimated recovery factors, stripping ratios, highwall limits, and number of acres to be affected.

(iii) An estimate of the coal reserve base, minable reserve base, and recoverable coal reserves for each Federal lease included in the resource recovery and protection plan. If the resource recovery and protection plan covers an LMU, recoverable coal reserves will also be reported for the non-Federal lands included in the resource recovery and protection plan.

(iv) The method of abandonment of operations proposed to protect the unmined recoverable coal reserves and other resources.

(4) Maps and cross sections, as follows:

(i) A plan map of the area to be mined showing the following—

(A) Federal lease boundaries and serial numbers;

(B) LMU boundaries, if applicable;

(C) Surface improvements, and surface ownership and boundaries;

(D) Coal outcrop showing dips and strikes; and,

(E) Locations of existing and abandoned surface and underground mines.

(ii) Isopach maps of each coal bed to be mined and the overburden and interburden.

(iii) Typical structure cross sections showing all coal contained in the coal reserve base.

(iv) General layout of proposed surface or strip mine showing—

(A) Planned sequence of mining by year for the first 5 years, thereafter in 5-year increments for the remainder of mine life;

(B) Location and width of coal fenders; and,

(C) Cross sections of typical pits showing highwall and spoil configuration, fenders, if any, and coal beds.

(v) General layout of proposed underground mine showing—

(A) Planned sequence of mining by year for the first 5 years, thereafter in 5-year increments for the remainder of mine life;

(B) Location of shafts, slopes, main development entries and barrier pillars, panel development, bleeder entries, and permanent barrier pillars;

(C) Location of areas where pillars will be left and an explanation why these pillars will not be mined;

(D) A sketch of a typical entry system for main development and panel development entries showing centerline distances between entries and crosscuts;

(E) A sketch of typical panel recovery (e.g., room and pillar, longwall, or other mining method) showing, by numbering such mining, the sequence of development and retreat; and,

(vi) For auger mining—

(A) A plan map showing the area to be auger mined and location of pillars to be left to allow access to deeper coal;

(B) A sketch showing details of operations including coal bed thickness, auger hole spacing, diameter of holes and depth or length of auger holes.

(5) A general reclamation schedule for the life-of-the-mine. This should not be construed as meaning duplication of a permit application in a permit application package under SMCRA. The resource recovery and protection plan may cross-reference, as appropriate, a permit application submitted under SMCRA to fulfill this requirement.

(6) Any required data which are clearly duplicated in other submittals to the regulatory authority or Mine Safety and Health Administration may be used to fulfill the requirements of the above paragraphs provided that the cross-reference is clearly stated. A copy of the relevant portion of such submittals must be included in the resource recovery and protection plan.

(7) Explanation of how MER of the Federal coal will be achieved for the Federal coal leases included in the resource recovery and protection plan. If a coal bed, or portion thereof, is not to be mined or is to be rendered unminable by the operation, the operator/lessee shall submit appropriate justification to the authorized officer for approval.

[47 FR 33179, July 30, 1982; 47 FR 53366, Nov. 26, 1982. Redesignated at 48 FR 41589, Sept. 16, 1983]