Arizona Revised Statutes Title 27. Minerals, Oil and Gas § 27-927. Substantial changes to approved reclamation plan; fee

A. The state mine inspector must approve any substantial change to an approved reclamation plan as provided by this section before the change is implemented.

B. The owner or operator of the exploration operation or mining unit shall submit a notice of a proposed change to the inspector describing the purpose and scope of the proposed change and whether it constitutes a substantial change to the approved reclamation plan. If the inspector fails to respond within thirty days, the change is considered to be consistent with the operation's or unit's approved reclamation plan.

C. If the inspector determines that the change is substantial the inspector shall:

D. The following changes are not considered to be substantial, and the owner or operator is required to file only an amendment to the reclamation plan and modify the financial assurance as necessary:

E. Before implementing a substantial change in an approved reclamation plan, the owner or operator shall submit to the inspector a revised financial assurance mechanism to account for the substantial change.

F. If a surface disturbance is created on more than fifty acres of land that are not included in an initial reclamation plan, the owner or operator shall submit to the inspector a fee of not more than three dollars for each new acre of surface disturbance. This fee shall be submitted with either the notice of proposed change required in subsection B or with a plan amendment submitted pursuant to subsection D.