Authority: IC 14-34-2-1

Affected: IC 14-34

Sec. 4. (a) Any person who extracts coal for commercial use or sale during coal exploration operations must first obtain a permit for those operations from the director under 312 IAC 25-4-1 through 312 IAC 25-4-134.

(b) With the prior written approval of the director, no permit to conduct surface coal mining operations is required for the sale or commercial use of coal extracted during exploration operations if such sale or commercial use is for coal testing purposes only. The person conducting the exploration shall file an application for such approval with the director. The application shall demonstrate that the coal testing is necessary for the development of a surface coal mining and reclamation operation for which a surface coal mining operations permit application is to be submitted in the near future and that the proposed commercial use or sale of coal extracted during exploration operations is solely for the purpose of testing the coal. The application shall contain each of the following:

1. (1) The name of the testing firm and the locations at which the coal will be tested.

2. (2) If the coal will be sold directly to or commercially used directly by the intended end user, a statement from the intended end user, or if the coal is sold indirectly to the intended end user through an agent or broker, a statement from the agent or broker. The statement shall include each of the following:

   1. (A) The specific reason for the test, including why the coal may be so different from the intended user's other coal supplies as to require testing.
   2. (B) The amount of coal necessary for the test and why a lesser amount is not sufficient.
   3. (C) A description of the specific tests that will be conducted.
3. (3) Evidence that sufficient reserves of coal are available to the person conducting exploration or its principals for future commercial use or sale to the intended end user, or agent or broker of such user identified in this subsection, to demonstrate that the amount of coal to be removed is not the total reserve but is a sampling of a larger reserve.
4. (4) An explanation as to why other means of exploration, such as core drilling, are not adequate to determine the quality of the coal and/or the feasibility of developing a surface coal mining operation.

(Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 25-6-4; filed Jun 21, 2001, 2:53 p.m.: 24 IR 3510, eff Dec 1, 2001; readopted filed May 29, 2007, 9:51 a.m.: 20070613-IR-312070146RFA; readopted filed Sep 19, 2013, 10:12 a.m.: 20131016-IR-312130125RFA; readopted filed Mar 26, 2019, 3:40 p.m.: 20190424-IR-312190011RFA; readopted filed Mar 25, 2025, 9:50 a.m.: 20250423-IR-312240574RFA)