§ 30:917 — Inspections and monitoring

§917. Inspections and monitoring
A. For the purpose of the administration and enforcement of any permit under this
Chapter, or of determining whether any person is in violation of any requirement of this
Chapter:
(1) The secretary shall require any permittee to (a) establish and maintain appropriate
records, (b) make monthly reports to the secretary, (c) install, use, and maintain any
necessary monitoring equipment or methods, (d) evaluate results in accordance with such
methods, at such locations, intervals, and in such manner as the secretary shall prescribe, and
(e) provide such other information relative to surface coal mining and reclamation operations
as the secretary deems reasonable and necessary.
(2)(a) For those surface coal mining and reclamation operations which remove or
disturb strata that serve as aquifers which significantly insure the hydrologic balance of water
use either on or off the mining site, the secretary shall specify those:
(i) Monitoring sites to record the quantity and quality of surface drainage above and
below the minesite as well as in the potential zone of influence.
(ii) Monitoring sites to record level, amount, and samples of ground water and
aquifers potentially affected by the mining and also directly below the lowermost, deepest,
coal seam to be mined.
(iii) Records of well logs and borehole data to be maintained, and
(iv) Monitoring sites to record precipitation.
(b) The monitoring data collection and analysis required by this Section shall be
conducted according to standards and procedures set forth by the secretary in order to assure
their reliability and validity.
(3) The authorized representatives of the secretary without advance notice and upon
presentation of appropriate credentials (a) shall have the right of entry to, upon, or through
any surface coal mining and reclamation operations or any premises in which any records
required to be maintained under Paragraph (1) of this Subsection are located; and (b) may
at reasonable times, and without delay, have access to and copy any records, inspect any
monitoring equipment or method of operation required under this Chapter.
B. The inspections by the secretary shall (1) occur on an irregular basis averaging not
less than one partial inspection per month and one complete inspection per calendar quarter
for the surface coal mining and reclamation operation covered by each permit; (2) occur
without prior notice to the permittee or his agents or employees except for necessary onsite
meetings with the permittee; and (3) include the filing of inspection reports adequate to
enforce the requirements of and to carry out the terms and purposes of this Chapter.
C. Each permittee shall conspicuously maintain at the entrances to the surface coal
mining and reclamation operations a clearly visible sign which sets forth the name, business
address, and phone number of the permittee and the permit number of the surface coal
mining and reclamation operations.
D. Each inspector, upon detection of each violation of any requirement of this
Chapter or the regulations issued pursuant to this Chapter, shall forthwith inform the operator
in writing, and shall report in writing any such violation to the secretary.
E. Copies of any records, reports, inspection materials, or information obtained under
this Chapter by the secretary shall be made immediately available to the public at central and
sufficient locations in the parish of the area of mining so that they are conveniently available
to residents in the areas of mining.
F. After the state has assumed exclusive jurisdiction of surface coal mining
operations as provided in Section 503 of P.L. 95-87, and as long as the state retains such
jurisdiction, then no employee of the department performing any function or duty under this
Chapter shall have a direct or indirect financial interest in any surface coal mining operation.
Whoever knowingly violates the provisions of this Subsection shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment
of not more than one year, or by both. The secretary shall by regulation establish methods by
which the provisions of this Subsection will be monitored and enforced by the secretary,
including appropriate provisions for the filing by such employees in the review of statements
and supplements thereto concerning any financial interest which may be effected by this
Subsection. This Subsection shall not be given effect (1) if the Secretary of the Interior does
not require the inclusion of similar provisions in state laws as a condition for approval by the
Secretary of the Interior of state programs of regulation of surface coal mining and
reclamation operations pursuant to Section 503 of P.L. 95-87 or (2) if any such requirement
of the Secretary of the Interior is declared invalid by final decree of a court of competent
jurisdiction: Provided, that if similar provisions are required by the Secretary of the Interior
to be included in state laws, the Secretary of Natural Resources and the secretary may
commence and prosecute an action in the appropriate federal court to have the regulation
requiring inclusion declared invalid.
G.(1) Any person who is or may be adversely affected by a surface coal mining
operation may notify the secretary or any representative of the secretary responsible for
conducting the inspection, in writing, of any violation of this Chapter which he has reason
to believe exists at the surface mining site. The secretary shall, by regulation, establish
procedures for informal review of any refusal by a representative of the secretary to issue a
citation with respect to any such alleged violation. The secretary shall furnish such persons
requesting the review a written statement of the reasons for the secretary's final disposition
of the case.
(2) The secretary shall also, by regulation, establish procedures to insure that
adequate and complete inspections are made. Any such person may notify the secretary of
any failure to make such inspections, after which the secretary shall determine whether
adequate and complete inspections have been made. The secretary shall furnish such persons
a written statement of the reasons for the secretary's determination that adequate and
complete inspections have or have not been conducted.
1 30 U.S.C.A. §1253.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1978, No. 406, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.