(1) A person may not engage in onshore exploration that disturbs more than one surface acre or involves drilling to greater than 50 feet except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section.

(2) An application for an onshore exploration permit must include:

(a) The name and address of the surface owner and mineral owner.

(b) The names and addresses of the persons conducting the exploration.

(c) The name and address of any designated agent.

(d) A brief description of the exploration activities, including:

(A) The amount of road to be constructed;

(B) The number, depth and location of proposed drill holes;

(C) The number, depth and location of proposed monitoring wells; and

(D) The number, length, width and depth of exploration trenches.

(e) Provisions for the reclamation of surface disturbance caused by exploration activities.

(f) Exploration drill hole or monitoring well abandonment procedures, including:

(A) The capping of all holes;

(B) The plugging of any hole producing surface flow; and

(C) Appropriate sealing for any holes which have encountered aquifers.

(g) An exploration boundary map with the location of the proposed exploration and delineation of exploration boundaries.

(h) Such other information as the department by rule may require to assess the impacts of the proposed exploration.

(i) A nonrefundable fee of $2,000 per application.

(3) Each permit application may include a single contiguous exploration boundary that is no more than 640 acres.

(4) Any production records, mineral assessments or trade secrets submitted as part of the application under subsection (2) of this section are confidential. [Formerly 517.962; 1999 c.492 § 11; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 § 1]