1. A permit will be issued for a fixed term not to exceed five years except as provided in subsection 3. The permit area shall be no larger than a logical pit sequence and include lands used for activities incidental to coal extraction. Coal removal boundaries cannot go beyond those approved for the permit term without obtaining a revision under section 69-05.2-11-02.

2. Permitted acreage where surface coal mining operations are not complete shall be successively renewed under section 69-05.2-11-03 until final bond release.

3. A term for a fixed period greater than five years may be approved if: a. The applicant needs a specified longer term and a larger permit area to make the showing necessary to obtain financing for equipment and opening the operation, and this need is verified, in writing, by the applicant's proposed financing source; and b. The application is accurate and complete for the specified longer term.

History: Effective August 1, 1980; amended effective June 1, 1983; May 1, 1990; January 1, 1993; April 1, 2013.

General Authority: NDCC 38-14.1-03

Law Implemented: NDCC 38-14.1-12