WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                         Ch. 739

(2) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT
ARTICLE, PUBLIC NOTICE ON PENDING APPLICATIONS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBTITLE SHALL BE THE ONLY NOTICE REQUIRED
BY LAW.

[(1)](3) The Committee shall publish a public notice that it has received a
proposed reclamation plan from the applicant.

(i) The public notice shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county of the proposed mining and reclamation operation.

(ii) The public notice shall include the name of the applicant, the
ownership of the land to be affected, a description of the location of the proposed
operation, the location where the application is available for public inspection, and notice
that written comments and requests for a public informational hearing will be received by
the Committee for at least 30 days after the newspaper publication.

[(2)] (4) If a hearing is requested, the Committee shall hold a public
informational hearing on the proposed reclamation plan. The Committee shall notify the
applicant and any person who requests a hearing of the date, time, and location of the
hearing and shall publish the date, time, and location of the hearing in a newspaper of
general circulation in the area of the proposed operation.

[(3)] (5) Any public informational hearing shall be at least 15 but not more
than 60 days after the Committee provides public notice of the hearing. Members of the
public shall be provided an opportunity to comment on the proposed reclamation plan, in
writing, until the date of any hearing.

[(4)] (6) The Committee shall approve or reject the proposed reclamation
plan. If a public informational hearing is requested, the Committee shall approve or reject
the proposed reclamation plan after the hearing. If the proposed reclamation plan is
rejected, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the reason for rejection or the
Committee's suggested modifications. The applicant may resubmit the plan with
corrections or the Committee's suggested modifications. If the changes are made, the
Committee may approve the reclamation plan.

[(5)] (7) The Committee shall notify the applicant, the Department, and
any participants to a hearing, of its decision.

(b)     The Committee shall determine that revegetation of reclaimed surface coal
mined land meets the revegetation standards of the regulatory program before the
Department may release any bond held to assure revegetation of the land.

(c)     If the Committee has reason to believe that a violation of the subtitle,
regulations, or permit conditions exists, the Committee shall notify the Department. The
Department shall provide the Committee with a report that indicates the results of an
inspection, or the reason why no action was taken.

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