§ 35-11-415 — Duties of operator

(a) Every operator to whom any permit or license is issued
shall comply with all requirements of this act, the rules and
regulations promulgated hereunder, and reclamation plans and
other terms and conditions of any permit or license.
(b) The operator, pursuant to an approved surface mining
permit and mining plan and reclamation plan, or any approved
revisions thereto, shall:
(i) Conspicuously post and maintain at each entrance
to the operation, a sign which clearly shows the name, address
and telephone number of the operator, the name of his local
authorized agent, and the permit number of his operation;
(ii) Conduct all surface mining and reclamation
activities within the permit area in conformity with his
approved plan;
(iii) Protect the removed and segregated topsoil from
wind and water erosion, and from acid or toxic materials, and
preserve such in a usable condition for sustaining vegetation
when restored in reclamation, or if topsoil is virtually
nonexistent or is not capable of sustaining vegetation, then
subsoil, which is available and suitable, shall be removed,
segregated, and preserved in a like manner as may be required in
the approved reclamation plan;
(iv) Cover, bury, impound, contain or otherwise
dispose of toxic acid forming, or radioactive material or any
material determined by the administrator to be hazardous to
health and safety, or which constitutes a threat of pollution to
surface or subsurface water as may be required in the approved
reclamation plan;
(v) Conduct contouring operations to return the land
to the use set out in the reclamation plan;
(vi) Backfill or grade, and replace topsoil, or
approved subsoil, which has been segregated and preserved as may
be required in the approved reclamation plan;
(vii) Replace, as nearly as possible, native or
superior self regenerating vegetation on land affected, as may
be required in the approved reclamation plan;
(viii) Prevent, throughout the mining and reclamation
operation, and for a period of five (5) years after the
operation has been terminated, pollution of surface and
subsurface waters on the land affected by the institution of
plantings and revegetation, the construction of drainage systems
and treatment facilities including settling ponds and the
casing, sealing of boreholes, shafts, and wells so that no
pollution is allowed to drain untreated into surface or
subsurface water in accordance with state or federal water
quality standards, whichever are higher, as may be required in
the approved reclamation plan;
(ix) Reclaim the affected land as mining progresses
in conformity with the approved reclamation plan;
(x) For surface coal mining operations, preserve
throughout the mining and reclamation process the essential
hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors if these areas
are classified within a permit. This paragraph does not alter
the authority granted under any other section of this act with
respect to requirements for preserving throughout the mining and
reclamation process the essential hydrologic functions of the
minesite, or associated offsite areas, of other mining
operations;
(xi) For surface coal mining operations, insure that
explosives are used only in accordance with existing state and
federal law and the rules and regulations promulgated by the
council, which shall include but are not limited to provisions
to:
(A) Provide adequate advance written notice to
local governments and residents who might be affected by the use
of these explosives by publication of the planned blasting
schedule in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality
and by mailing a copy of the proposed blasting schedule to every
resident within one-half (1/2) mile of the proposed blasting
site and by providing daily notice to the resident or occupiers
in these areas prior to any blasting;
(B) Maintain for a period of at least three (3)
years and make available for public inspection upon request a
log detailing the location of the blasts, the pattern and depth
of the drill holes, the amount of explosives used per hole, and
the order and length of delay in the blast;
(C) Limit the types of explosives and detonating
equipment, the size, timing and frequency of blasts based upon
the physical conditions of the site so as to prevent:
(I) Injury to persons;
(II) Damage to public and private property
outside the permit area;
(III) Adverse impacts on any underground
mine;
(IV) A change in the course, channel or
availability of ground or surface water outside the permit area.
(D) Require that all blasting operations be
conducted by trained and competent persons as certified by the
administrator;
(E) Provide that upon the request of a resident
or owner of a man-made dwelling or structure within one-half
(1/2) mile of any portion of the permitted area the applicant or
permittee shall conduct a preblasting survey of these structures
and submit the survey to the administrator and a copy to the
resident or owner making the request. The area of the survey
shall be decided by the administrator and shall include
provisions as the United States secretary of the interior shall
promulgate.
(xii) For surface coal mining operations, replace in
accordance with state law the water supply of an owner of
interest in real property who obtains all or part of his supply
of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial or other
legitimate use from an underground or surface source where the
supply has been affected by contamination, diminution or
interruption proximately resulting from the surface coal mine
operation;
(xiii) Comply with the blasting plan required and
submitted under W.S. 35-11-406(b)(xxi) for the use of explosives
at noncoal surface mining operations.