43-02-02.5-01. Definitions.

The terms used throughout this chapter have the same meaning as in North Dakota Century Code chapter 38-12, except:

1. "Certified mail" means a form of service by the United States postal service, federal express, Pitney Bowes, or other commercial nationwide delivery service that provides the mailer with a document showing the date of delivery or refusal to accept delivery.

2. "Commission" means the industrial commission.

1. 3. 'Director' means the director of the department of mineral resources of the industrial commission.

2. 4. 'Log or well log' means a systematic, detailed, and accurate record of one or more properties as a function of depth in an open or cased well bore. The term includes geophysical, petrophysical, image, or engineered or composite logs, or other well bore measurements acquired while drilling or by wireline operations recorded in paper or digital format.

3. 5. 'Mined area' means the area where coal has been mined for its critical mineral content from within the boundaries of a public service commission-approved mine permit within one calendar year.

4. 6. 'Processing facility' means a facility that extracts critical minerals from coal-bearing formations.

5. 7. 'Testhole' means a hole drilled for the purpose of gathering information on subsurface minerals.

6. 8. 'Waste' means:

1. a. Physical waste;

2. b. Operations that cause or tend to cause unnecessary or excessive surface loss; or

3. c. Operations that do not recover all the mineral being mined that is technically and economically possible.

History: Effective July 1, 2026.

General Authority: NDCC 38-12-02

Law Implemented: NDCC 38-12-02