1.    The permit application must be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the commission and must contain among other things:

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a.    A legal description of the land for which a permit is sought, so that it may be identified and distinguished from other lands.

b.    An identification of all lands, interests in lands, or options on such interests (both surface and subsurface) held by the applicant or pending bids on interests in lands by the applicant, which lands are contiguous to the area to be covered by the permit.

c.    The names and addresses of all of the following: (1) The permit applicant.

(2) Every legal or equitable owner of record (surface and subsurface) of the property for which a permit is sought.

(3) The holders of record (surface and subsurface) of any leasehold interest in the property.

    (4) Any purchaser of record (surface and subsurface) of the property under a real estate contract.

(5) The operator, if the operator is a person different from the permit applicant. (6) If any of these are business entities other than a single proprietor, the names and addresses of the principals, officers, and resident agent.

d.    The names and addresses of the owners of record of all surface and subsurface areas adjacent to any part of the permit area as prescribed by the commission by regulation.

e.    If the applicant is a partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other business entity, the following where applicable:

(1) The names and addresses of every officer, manager, partner, director, governor, or person performing a function similar to a director, of the permit applicant.

(2) The name and address of any person owning of record ten percent or more of any class of voting stock or membership interests of the applicant.

(3) A list of all names under which the applicant, partner, principal shareholder, or principal member previously operated a surface coal mining operation within any state within the five-year period preceding the date of the application.

f.    A statement of any current or previous surface coal mining permits in any state held by the applicant and the permit identification for said permits and for each pending application.

g.    A schedule listing any and all notices of violation of this chapter, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 [Pub. L. 95-87; 91 Stat. 445; 30 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq.], and any law, rule, or regulation of the United States or of the state of North Dakota, or of any department or agency in the United States or of the state of North Dakota pertaining to air or water environmental protection incurred by the applicant in connection with any surface coal mining operation during the three-year period prior to the date of application. The schedule must also indicate the final resolution of any such notice of violation.

h.    A statement of whether the permit applicant, any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control with the permit applicant, has ever held any federal or state mining permit which in the five-year period prior to the date of submission of the application has been suspended or revoked, or has had a mining bond or similar security deposited in lieu of bond forfeited and, if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved.

i.    A copy of the permit applicant’s advertisement as required in section 38-14.1-18.

j.    A map or plan, to an appropriate scale, clearly showing the land to be affected within the permit area upon which the applicant has the legal right to enter and commence surface coal mining operations.

k.    A copy of those documents upon which the permit applicant bases the applicant’s legal right to enter and commence surface coal mining operations and whether that right is the subject of pending court litigation.

l.    A description of the type and method of surface coal mining operation that exists or is proposed, the engineering techniques proposed or used, and the equipment used or proposed to be used.

m.    The anticipated or actual starting and termination dates of each phase of the mining operations.

n.    The name of the watershed and location of the surface stream or tributary into which surface and pit drainage will be discharged, including the drainage permit application to the department of water resources, if required.

o.    A determination by the permit applicant of the probable hydrologic consequences of the mining and reclamation operations, both on and off the minesite, with respect to the hydrologic regime, quantity and quality of water in surface and ground water systems, including the dissolved and suspended solids under seasonal flow conditions and the collection of sufficient data for the minesite and    surrounding areas so that an assessment can be made by the commission of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated mining in the area upon the hydrology of the area and particularly upon water availability.

p.    The climatological factors that are peculiar to the locality of the land to be affected, including the average seasonal precipitation, the average direction and velocity of prevailing winds, and the seasonal temperature ranges.

q.    Topographic maps to an appropriate scale, as prescribed by the commission by regulation, clearly showing the land to be affected as of the date of the application. Such a map, among other things specified by the commission, must show all of the following information: (1) All manmade features.

(2) All boundaries of the land to be affected.

(3) The boundary lines and names of present owners of record of all surface areas abutting the permit area.

(4) The location of all buildings within one-half mile [804.67 meters] of the permit area.

r.    Cross sections, maps or plans of the land to be affected, including the actual area to be mined, prepared by or under the direction of and certified by a registered professional engineer, a registered land surveyor, or a qualified professional geologist with assistance from experts in related fields, showing pertinent elevation and location of test borings or core samplings and depicting all of the following information:

(1) The nature and depth of the various strata of overburden.

(2) The location of subsurface water, if encountered, and its quality.

(3) The nature and thickness of any coal, commercial leonardite, or rider seam above the coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined.

(4) The nature of the stratum immediately beneath the coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined.

(5) All mineral crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal or commercial leonardite to be mined, within the area of land to be affected.

(6) Existing or previous surface mining limits.

(7) The location and extent of known workings of any underground mines, including mine openings to the surface.

(8) The location of aquifers.

(9) The estimated elevation of the water table.

(10) The location of spoil, waste, or refuse areas, suitable plant growth material stockpiling areas and, if necessary, stockpiling areas for other suitable strata.

(11) The location of all impoundments for waste or erosion control. (12) Any settling or water treatment facility.

(13) Constructed or natural drainways and the location of any discharges to any surface body of water on the area of land to be affected or adjacent thereto. (14) Profiles at appropriate cross sections of the anticipated final surface configuration that will be achieved pursuant to the applicant’s proposed reclamation plan.

s.    A statement by the applicant of the result of test borings or core samplings from the permit area, including logs of the drill holes, the thickness of the coal or commercial leonardite seam found, an analysis of the chemical properties of such coal or commercial leonardite, the sulfur content of any coal or commercial leonardite seam, chemical analysis of potentially toxic forming sections of the overburden, and chemical analysis of the stratum lying immediately underneath the coal or commercial leonardite to be mined. The provisions of this subdivision may be waived by the commission with respect to the specific application by a written determination that such requirements are unnecessary.

t.    A soil survey of all the suitable plant growth material within the permit area. Such survey must also locate and identify prime soils in the permit area. The survey    must be made by a professional soil classifier as described in subsection 4 of section 43-36-01.

u.    Cultural resource information, including all of the following:

(1) A statement evidencing compliance with the requirements of chapter 55-03. (2) A cultural resource inventory, including all buildings, structures, and objects referred to in section 55-03-01, covering the proposed permit and adjacent area conducted in accordance with guidelines developed by the state historic preservation office and the director of the state historical society.

(3) An evaluation of each cultural resource site which will be affected by any surface coal mining and reclamation operation. The evaluation must include sufficient information to allow the director to determine if the cultural resource site is significant in accordance with the national register criteria [36 C.F.R. § 60.4] and guidelines established by the director.

(4) An appropriately scaled map identifying the location of each cultural resource site determined significant by the director within the proposed permit area and the adjacent area.

(5) A description of adverse effects on significant cultural resources that may result from the proposed surface coal mining operations.

(6) A statement that the permit applicant will inform the director and the commission of any discovery within the permitted area of previously unrecorded archaeological, cultural, or historic materials and allow reasonable time for the director to determine the significance of the discovery and, if determined significant, to approve a mitigation plan.

(7) A plan approved by the director that has been or will be used to mitigate adverse effects on significant sites that are known, or a statement that such a plan will be approved and implemented before any adverse effects. Any mitigation plan that has not begun implementation within five years of plan approval is subject to review by the director.

2.    Each applicant for a permit shall submit as part of the permit application a reclamation plan that must include, in the degree of detail necessary to demonstrate that reclamation as required by this chapter can be accomplished, a statement of:

a.    The condition of the land to be covered by the permit prior to any mining, including all of the following:

(1) The uses existing at the time of the application, and if the land has a history of previous mining, the uses which preceded any mining.

(2) The capability of the land prior to any mining to support a variety of uses giving consideration to soil and foundation characteristics, topography, vegetative cover, and the soil survey prepared pursuant to subdivision t of subsection 1.

(3) The productivity of the land prior to mining, including appropriate identification of prime farmlands, as well as the average yield of food, fiber, and forage products from such lands obtained under high levels of management.

b.    The use which is proposed to be made of the land following reclamation, including a discussion of the utility and capacity of the reclaimed land to support a variety of alternative uses and the relationship of such use to existing land use policies and plans, the surface owner’s preferred use, and the comments of state and local governments or agencies thereof, which would have to initiate, implement, approve, or authorize the proposed use of the land following reclamation.

c. The consideration which has been given to maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal or commercial leonardite being recovered so that re-affecting the land in the future can be minimized.

d. The consideration which has been given to making the surface mining and reclamation operations consistent with surface owner plans and applicable state and local land use plans and programs.

e.    The consideration which has been given to developing the reclamation plan in a manner consistent with local physical, environmental, and climatological conditions, including the use made of hydrologic and geochemical information in addressing problems of subsurface drainage and stability.

f.    A detailed description of how the proposed postmining land use is to be achieved and the necessary support activities which may be needed to achieve the proposed land use.

g.    The engineering techniques proposed to be used in mining and reclamation and a description of the major equipment.

h.    Plans for:

(1) The control of surface water drainage and of water accumulation.

(2) Backfilling, soil stabilization, compacting, grading, and appropriate revegetation.

(3) Soil reconstruction, replacement, and stabilization, pursuant to the performance standards in subsections 5 and 6 of section 38-14.1-24.

i. A detailed description of the measures to be taken during the mining and reclamation process to assure the protection of:

(1) The quality of surface and ground water systems, both onsite and offsite, from adverse effects of the mining and reclamation process.

(2) The rights of present users to such water.

(3) The quantity of surface and ground water systems, both onsite and offsite, from adverse effects of the mining and reclamation process or to provide alternative sources of water where such protection of quantity cannot be assured.

j.    The steps to be taken to comply with applicable air quality and water quality and quantity laws and regulations and any applicable health and safety standards.

k.    A detailed estimated timetable for the accomplishment of each major step in the reclamation plan.

l.    An estimate of the cost per acre [.40 hectare] of the reclamation, including a statement as to how the applicant plans to comply with each of the requirements set out in section 38-14.1-24.

m.    The results of test borings which the applicant has made of the area to be covered by the permit, or other equivalent information and data, in a form satisfactory to the commission, including the location of subsurface water and an analysis of the chemical properties, including toxic forming properties of the mineral and overburden.

3.    Each applicant for a permit shall submit to the commission as part of the permit application a certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state certifying that the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force for the surface coal mining and reclamation operations for which such permit is sought. Such policy must provide for personal injury and property damage protection in an amount adequate to compensate any persons, except employees covered by workforce safety and insurance pursuant to chapter 65-01, damaged as a result of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, including use of explosives, and entitled to compensation under the applicable provisions of state law. Such policy must be maintained in full force and effect during the terms of the permit or any renewal, including the length of all reclamation operations. The policy must include a rider requiring that the insurer notify the commission whenever substantive changes are made in the policy, including any termination or failure to renew. All operations must cease if the policy is terminated or is not renewed.

4.    Each applicant for a surface coal mining and reclamation permit shall submit to the commission as part of the permit application a blasting plan which must outline the procedures and standards by which the permittee will meet the provisions of subsection 13 of section 38-14.1-24.