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The Land Reclamation Division (LRD) maintains a statewide GIS database of pertinent geographic information, including AFFECTED, the affected acres coverage. Land within a permit which is adversely affected by mining or by direct support of mining must be reclaimed. Land parcels may be affected in different fical years and are refered to as annual affected acres. Each Permit has different layers associated with it, including a boundary coverage, post-mining land use (state of reclaimed property when reclamation process is complete), and an Annual Affected Acreage (identifies what land is mined in what years). Each mined area goes through three phases of reclamatiom. This pertains primarily to surface mines, but is applicable to surface disturbances from underground mines as well. Phase I is the Grading Release, which involves filling in the hole caused by the mine. Phase II is the Vegetation Release, wherein the mine operator seeds the affected area to conform to the post-mining landuse. In Phase III, the operator has to meet productivity standards set up in the post-mining land use plan, related to rate of agricultural or cropland production. Phase assignment is based on correspondence with the operators. An operator must make a formal request for each phase. Onsite visits ensure compliance. The Bond Release Status is used to monitor areas as they are reclaimed over time. The status and to some extent the geographic boundaries tend to be very dynamic in nature as there is frequent change. With statutory authority derived from the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and equivalent state legislation, the IDNR Office of Mines and Minerals Land Reclamation Division receives maps and other documents from coal mine operators to monitor compliance. There are collateral Paradox databases on the LAN with more detailed administrative information. |