2016-04-17_REVISION - C1981008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Apr 1716 12:00p p.3 every one of these small farms and should also have been considered exempt from an extended liability bond period. Each farm is 40 acres, 60 acres, or 80 acres. The haul road runs right through all of their properties and limits the farmer when he has bond release to do whatever he wants with his place because he would not be able to plow up the haul road which is now reclaimed or plant what he wants, or have his farm back because the haul road would have an additional ten years. This is not right and should be part of that exemption. There are several ways to view this. The haul road is such a small minute fraction of the total acreage that it is wrong to cause such adversity in a farmers life because of wanting to do another ten years which may also tum out to be twenty years and then the kids would also be dead and never getting to enjoy their farm again. I am talking about an acre and half on these 80 acre parcel or 40acre parcels or 60 acre parcels, whatever the case may be. Very Very little amount of acreage affecting an entire farm, verses the size of the entire parcel that it is affecting. In 34-33-102, Article 33, "The purpose of this article is to assure that the coal required for local and national energy needs and for economic and social well-being is provided and to provide a baince among the protection of the environment and agricultural productivity." Protection of the environment, let's look at that. Each farmer has a farm and that is his environment and should be protected and also his agricultural productivity_ If a one acre or acre and half divides his farm and keeps him from doing what a farmer does every year, then his environment and his production is adversely affected. For example, when phase three bond release is given, every farmer here is going to go in and re -plow his field and re -plant and begin real farming practices without the interference of a coal mine or the state and really have his farm back., But if he can never do that because he has this strip through his field that has another ten years and so he is adversely affected. "It is the further intent fo the general assembly by the enactment of this article to protect society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations , assure the rights of the surface landowners and other persons with a legal interest in the land and apputanenances thereto are fully protected from such operations." The "INTENT' is very important and the rights of the landowners. The landowners want their properties back in WHOLE not in half and be able to farm as they did prior to mining activities. These Farms were designed to work contiguously, not farm up to this line and quit because this acre has not been released yet. It also states that these farms were going to be reclaimed and bond release given in a timely manner. 24 years has been very hard on all these farmers and now because the rules that are implied for haul roads, it may be another ten years to get the farm returned in its pre -mining state, 34 years, this isn't right. Sediment control which is an exemption is also like a haul road. It goes around the entire perimenter and it is disturbed as is the haul road and it also is reclaimed as is the haul road. The haul road should have the same exemption. These haul roads that are East of 27 road are not really disturbed areas even though the definition of a disturbed area classifies it as such. Some of these roads did not even have the top soil removed and the road was placed on the existing vegetation. But even using the "Disturbed Area" term inology(1.04) "an area where vegetaion, topspoil, or overburden is removed "OR" upon which topsoil, spoil, coal processing waste, underground developement waste or noncoal waste is placed by surface coal mining operations." The "OR" 2