(a) Each application shall contain a description of the documents upon which the applicant bases his or her legal right to enter and begin underground mining activities in the permit area and whether that right is the subject of pending litigation. The description shall identify those documents by type and date of execution, identify the specific lands to which the document pertains, and explain the legal rights claimed by the applicant.      
        (b) For underground mining activities where the associated surface operations involve the surface mining of coal and the private mineral estate to be mined has been severed from the private surface estate, the application shall also provide, for lands to be affected by those operations within the permit area:        
          (1) a copy of the written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of coal by surface mining methods; or          
            (2) a copy of the document of conveyance that expresslygrants or reserves the right to extract the coal by surface mining methods; or            
              (3) if the conveyance does not expressly grant the right to extract coal by surface mining methods, documentation that, under the applicable state law, the applicant has the legal authority to extract the coal by those methods.              
                (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to afford the Commission the authority to adjudicate property title disputes.               
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §12.157 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093.