No permit or revision application shall be approved, unless the application affirmatively demonstrates and the Commission finds, in writing, on the basis of information set forth in the application or from information otherwise available, which is documented in the approval and made available to the applicant, that:
  (1) the permit application is accurate and complete and that all requirements of the Act and this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations) have been complied with;
  (2) the applicant has demonstrated that surface coal mining and reclamation operations, as required by the Act and this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations), can be feasibly accomplished under the mining and reclamation operations plan contained in the application;
  (3) the assessment of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated coal mining in the cumulative impact area on the hydrologic balance has been made by the Commission, and the operations proposed under the application have been designed to prevent damage to the hydrologic balance outside the proposed permit area;
  (4) the proposed permit area is:
    (A) not included within an area designated unsuitable for surface coal mining operations under §§12.74 - 12.77 of this title (relating to Criteria for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations) and §§12.78 - 12.85 of this title (relating to Process for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations) or within an area subject to the prohibitions of §12.71(a) of this title (relating to Areas Where Surface Coal Mining Operations are Prohibited or Limited); or
    (B) not within an area under study for designation as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations or in an administrative proceeding begun under §§12.78 - 12.85 of this title (relating to Process for Designating Areas as Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations), unless the applicant demonstrates that, before January 4, 1977, he or she made substantial legal and financial commitments in relation to the operation for which he or she is applying for a permit; or
    (C) not on any lands subject to the prohibitions or limitations of §12.71(a)(1), (a)(6) or (a)(7) of this title; or
    (D) not within 100 feet of the outside right-of-way line of any public road, except as provided for in §12.72(a) of this title (relating to Procedures for Compatibility Findings, Public Road Closures and Relocations, Buffer Zones, and Valid Existing Rights Determinations); or
    (E) not within 300 feet from any occupied dwelling, except as provided for in §12.71(a)(5) of this title;
  (5) the proposed operations will not adversely affect any properties listed on and eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, except as provided for in §12.71(a)(3) of this title. This finding may be supported in part by inclusion of appropriate permit conditions, revisions in the operation plan, or a documented decision by the Commission that no additional protection measures are required under the National Historic Preservation Act;
  (6) for operations involving the surface mining of coal where the private mineral estate to be mined has been severed from the private surface estate, the applicant has submitted to the Commission the documentation required under §§12.117(b) or 12.157(b) of this title (relating to Right of Entry and Operation Information);
  (7) the applicant has either:
    (A) submitted the proof required by §12.215(e)(1) of this title (relating to Review of Permit Applications); or
    (B) made the demonstration required by §12.215(e)(2) of this title (relating to Review of Permit Applications);
  (8) the applicant has submitted proof that all reclamation fees required by Subchapter R of this chapter (relating to Texas Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program) have been paid;
  (9) surface coal mining and reclamation operations to be performed under the permit will not be inconsistent with other such operations anticipated to be performed in areas adjacent to the proposed permit area;
  (10) the applicant will submit the performance bond or other equivalent guarantee required under Subchapter J of this chapter (relating to Bond and Insurance Requirements for Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations), prior to the issuance of the permit;
  (11) the applicant has, with respect to both prime farmland and alluvial valley floors obtained either a negative determination or satisfied the requirements of §12.201 and §12.202 of this title (relating to Prime Farmland, and to Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations on Areas or Adjacent to Areas Including Alluvial Valley Floors in the Arid or Semiarid Areas West of the 100th Meridian);
  (12) the proposed postmining land use of the permit area has been approved by the Commission in accordance with the requirements of §12.399 or §12.568 of this title (relating to Postmining Land Use);
  (13) the Commission has made all specific approvals required under Subchapter K of this chapter (relating to Permanent Program Performance Standards);
  (14) the Commission has found that the activities would not affect the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their critical habitats as determined under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 USC 1531 et seq.); and
  (15) the applicant has, where applicable, satisfied the requirements for approval of a long-term, intensive agricultural postmining land use, in accordance with the requirements of §12.390 or §12.555 of this title (relating to Revegetation: General Requirements).
  (16) For permits to be issued under §12.206 of this title (relating to Mining in Previously Mined Areas), the permit application must:
    (A) identify the lands eligible for remining;
    (B) identify the potential environmental and safety problems related to prior mining activity which could reasonably be anticipated to occur at the site; and
    (C) include the mitigation plans to sufficiently address these potential environmental and safety problems so that reclamation as required by the applicable requirements of the regulatory program can be accomplished.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.216 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093; amended to be effective November 4, 1997, 22 TexReg 10640; amended to be effective June 9, 2003, 28 TexReg 4412; amended to be effective February 24, 2014, 39 TexReg 1121