South Carolina Code 48-20-50. Certificates of exploration
An explorer engaging in exploration regulated pursuant to this section shall make a written application to the department for a certificate of exploration. The application must be on a form furnished by the department and must state fully the information requested. The applicant may be required to furnish other information as may be necessary to the department in order to enforce this chapter adequately. If the explorer does not receive notification of denial of the certificate of exploration within fifteen calendar days of the tendering of the application, the application is approved. If the certificate of exploration is denied, the department shall state the reasons, and the explorer must be given an additional thirty calendar days to either appeal the decision as set forth in § 48-20-190 or modify its application for reconsideration by the department.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 48-20-50
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Department: means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 48-20-40
- Exploration: means the act of breaking the surface soil to determine the location, quantity, or quality of a mineral deposit. See South Carolina Code 48-20-40
- Explorer: means a person engaged in exploration activities, as defined in this section, whether individually, jointly, or through subsidiaries, agents, employees, or contractors. See South Carolina Code 48-20-40
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Operating permit: means a permit for mining activity that is issued to an operator by the department. See South Carolina Code 48-20-40
- Reclamation: means the reasonable rehabilitation of the affected land for useful purposes and the protection of the natural resources of the surrounding area. See South Carolina Code 48-20-40
The application must be accompanied by a reclamation plan on forms furnished by the department. The department shall approve reclamation plans in accordance with § 48-20-90.
Public notice and public hearing requirements of this chapter do not apply to an application for a certificate of exploration or the processing or granting of the certificate. The department shall treat the application for a certificate of exploration and the certificate, if any, and any material submitted with the application, as confidential trade secrets and proprietary business information of the applicant. The application and the certificate, if any, and any material submitted with the application is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and is not part of the public record.
Upon approval of an application for a certificate of exploration, the department shall require a performance bond or other security in an amount, and pursuant to requirements, set forth in § 48-20-110.
An explorer engaging in exploration involving an affected area greater than two acres is required to obtain an operating permit in accordance with the procedures set forth in §§ 48-20-60 and 48-20-70.