(a) Air quality. The operator shall comply with applicable Federal and State air quality standards, including the requirements of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 1857 et seq.).

(b) Water quality. The operator shall comply with applicable Federal and State water quality standards, including regulations issued pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

(c) Solid wastes. The operator shall comply with applicable Federal and State standards for the disposal and treatment of solid wastes. All garbage, refuse, or waste shall either be removed from the affected lands or disposed or treated to minimize, so far as is practicable, its impact on the environment and the surface resources. All tailings, waste rock, trash, deleterious materials of substances and other waste produced by operations shall be deployed, arranged, disposed or treated to minimize adverse impact upon the environment, surface and subsurface resources.

(d) Visual resources. The operator shall, to the extent practicable, harmonize operations with the visual resources, identified by the authorized officer, through such measures as the design, location of operating facilities and improvements to blend with the landscape.

(e) Fisheries, wildlife and plant habitat. The operator shall take such action as may be needed to minimize or prevent adverse impact upon plants, fish, and wildlife, including threatened or endangered species, and their habitat which may be affected by the operations.

(f) Cultural and paleontological resources.

(1) The operator shall not knowingly disturb, alter, injure, destroy or take any scientifically important paleontological remains or any historical, archaeological, or cultural district, site, structure, building or object.

(2) The operator shall immediately bring to the attention of the authorized officer any such cultural and/or paleontological resources that might be altered or destroyed by his operation, and shall leave such discovery intact until told to proceed by the authorized officer. The authorized officer shall evaluate the discoveries brought to his attention, and determine within 10 working days what action shall be taken with respect to such discoveries.

(3) The responsibility and the cost of investigations and salvage of such values discovered during approved operations shall be the Federal Government's.

(g) Access routes. No new access routes that would cause more than temporary impact and therefore would impair wilderness suitability shall be constructed in a wilderness study area. Temporary access routes that are constructed by the operator shall be constructed and maintained to assure adequate drainage and to control or prevent damage to soil, water, and other resource values. Unless otherwise approved by the authorized officer, roads no longer needed for operations shall be closed to normal vehicular traffic; bridges and culverts shall be removed; cross drains, dips, or water bars shall be constructed, and the road surface shall be shaped to as near a natural contour as practicable, be stabilized and revegetated as required in the plan of operations.

(h) Reclamation.

(1) The operator shall perform reclamation of those lands disturbed or affected by the mining operation conducted by the operator under an approved plan of operations containing reclamation measures stipulated by the authorized officer as contemporaneously as feasible with operations. The disturbance or effect on mined land shall not include that caused by separate operations in areas abandoned before the effective date of these regulations.

(2) An operator may propose and submit with his plan of operations measures for reclamation of the affected area.

(i) Protection of survey monuments. The operator shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with the operation, protect all survey monuments, witness corners, reference monuments, bearing trees and line trees against destruction, obliteration, or damage from the approved operations. If, in the course of operations, any monuments, corners or accessories are destroyed, obliterated or damaged by such operations, the operator shall immediately report the matter to the authorized officer. The authorized officer shall prescribe in writing the requirement for the restoration or reestablishment of monuments, corners, bearing trees, and line trees.