Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 59 > Chapter 8 > Part 2 - Tennessee Mineral Surface Mining Law of 1972

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Area affected: means the area of land from which overburden is to be or has been removed and upon which a spoil bank is to be or has been deposited. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Bench: means the ledge, shelf or terrace formed in the contour method of surface mining. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Board: means the Tennessee board of water quality, oil, and gas, established by §. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner's designees. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Director: means the director of the division of water pollution control. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fill bench: means that portion of the bench which is formed by depositing overburden beyond the cut section. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Highwall: means a slope in excess of thirty-five degrees (35°. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mineral: means , in any county having a population of more than six hundred thousand (600,000), according to the 1970 federal census or any subsequent federal census, clay, stone, gravel, sand, phosphate rock, metallic ore and any other solid material or substance of commercial value found in natural deposits on or in the earth, but does not include limestone, coal, marble, chert or dimension stone. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operation: means all of the premises, facilities, and equipment and the use thereof in the process of removing and exploring for minerals from a designated surface mine area. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Operator: means any person, partnership or corporation engaged in surface mining who removes or intends to remove more than two hundred fifty (250) tons of any mineral from the earth by surface mining within twelve (12) successive calendar months. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Overburden: means all earth and other materials which are removed to gain access to the mineral in the process of surface mining. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation or any other association of individuals. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Provisions of this part: means the rules, regulations and orders issued by the commissioner pursuant to this part as well as the words of the sections themselves. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Reclamation: means the process of backfilling, grading and shaping of the disturbed land in the affected area, constructing water control facilities, the taking of measures to control current or future air, water or soil pollution, and the planting of vegetation, and other measures. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Shaping: means grading, backfilling and other earth moving required by this part to be done by the operator in connection with the reclamation of the area affected. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Spoil bank: means the overburden as it is piled or deposited in the process of surface mining. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Stream: means any waterway that normally exhibits water flow at least six (6) consecutive months per year. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• Surface mining: means all or any part of the process followed in the production of minerals from a natural mineral deposit by the open pit or open cut method, auger method, highwall mining method which requires a new cut or removal of overburden, or any other mining process in which the strata or overburden is removed or displaced in order to recover the mineral. See Tennessee Code 59-8-202
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105