United States Code (Last Updated: May 24, 2014) |
Title 30. MINERAL LANDS AND MINING |
Chapter 25. SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION |
SubChapter VII. ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS |
§ 1291. Definitions
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For the purposes of this chapter— (1) “alluvial valley floors” means the unconsolidated stream laid deposits holding streams where water availability is sufficient for subirrigation or flood irrigation agricultural activities but does not include upland areas which are generally overlain by a thin veneer of colluvial deposits composed chiefly of debris from sheet erosion, deposits by unconcentrated runoff or slope wash, together with talus, other mass movement accumulation and windblown deposits; (2) “approximate original contour” means that surface configuration achieved by backfilling and grading of the mined area so that the reclaimed area, including any terracing or access roads, closely resembles the general surface configuration of the land prior to mining and blends into and complements the drainage pattern of the surrounding terrain, with all highwalls and spoil piles eliminated; water impoundments may be permitted where the regulatory authority determines that they are in compliance with section 1265(b)(8) of this title; (3) “commerce” means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the several States, or between a State and any other place outside thereof, or between points in the same State which directly or indirectly affect interstate commerce; (4) “Federal lands” means any land, including mineral interests, owned by the United States without regard to how the United States acquired ownership of the land and without regard to the agency having responsibility for management thereof, except Indian lands: Provided, That for the purposes of this chapter lands or mineral interests east of the one hundredth meridian west longitude owned by the United States and entrusted to or managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority shall not be subject to sections 1304 (Surface Owner Protection) and 1305 (Federal Lessee Protection) of this title. of title 20; (33) the term “unanticipated event or condition” as used in section 1260(e) of this title means an event or condition encountered in a remining operation that was not contemplated by the applicable surface coal mining and reclamation permit; and (34) the term “lands eligible for remining” means those lands that would otherwise be eligible for expenditures under section 1234 of this title or under section 1232(g)(4) of this title.
References In Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–87,
Section 1001 of title 20, referred to in par. (32), was in the original “section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1968” and was translated as reading “section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965”, meaning section 101 of Pub. L. 89–329, to reflect the probable intent of Congress because section 101 was added to the Higher Education Act of 1965 by Pub. L. 105–244.
Amendments
1998—Par. (32). Pub. L. 105–244 substituted “section 1001” for “section 1141(a)”.
1992—Pars. (33), (34). Pub. L. 102–486 added pars. (33) and (34).
Effective Date Of Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective