                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 OPERATIONS PLAN; RECLAMATION; POLICY OF DIRECTOR (§ 45.2-1206)

A. Each application for a permit shall be accompanied by an operations plan that
follows the form and contains the accompanying material that the Director
requires. The operations plan shall describe the specifications for surface
grading and restoration, including sketches delineating placement of spoil,
stockpiles, and tailing ponds, to a surface that is suitable for the proposed
subsequent use of the land after reclamation is completed.

B. The operations plan shall include a provision for reclamation of all land
estimated to be affected by the mining operation for which the permit is sought.
The reclamation provision shall follow the form and contain the accompanying
material that the Director requires and shall state:

   1. The planned use to which the affected land is to be returned through
   reclamation; and

   2. The proposed actions to ensure suitable reclamation of the affected land
   for the planned use to be carried out by the applicant as an integral part of
   the proposed mining operation and to be conducted simultaneously insofar as
   practicable. The Director shall set schedules for the integration of
   reclamation with the mining operation according to the various individual
   mineral types.

C. It is the policy of the Director to encourage adoption of productive land
use, such as use for pasture, agricultural purposes, recreational areas,
sanitary landfills, forestry and timberland operations, and industrial and
building sites, and to consider the general original contour in determining the
particular reclamation program for the acreage. The Director may require an
amendment to the operations plan to meet the exigencies of any unanticipated
circumstance or event.

HISTORY: 1977, c. 312, § 45.1-182.1; 1984, c. 590; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.