(a) Each person who conducts underground mining activities shall effectively support and maintain all surface-access openings to underground operations, and secure surface facilities in areas in which there are no current operations but operations are to be resumed under an approved permit. Temporary abandonment shall not relieve a person of his or her obligation to comply with any provisions of the approved permit.
(b) Before temporary cessation of mining and reclamation operations for a period of thirty days or more, or as soon as it is known that a temporary cessation will extend beyond 30 days, each person who conducts underground mining activities shall submit to the Commission a notice of intention to cease or abandon operations. This notice shall include a statement of the exact number of surface acres and the horizontal and vertical extent of subsurface strata which have been in the permit area prior to cessation or abandonment, the extent and kind of reclamation of surface area which will have been accomplished, and identification of the backfilling, regrading, revegetation, environmental monitoring, underground-opening closures and water treatment activities that will continue during the temporary cessation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.566 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093.