For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the definitions and meanings ascribed to them in this section:
(1) "Agency" means an official, committee, department, commission, officer, division, authority, bureau, council, board, section, or unit of government within the state, including a county, municipality, or other local or regional entity or special district.(2) "Authorized agent" means the person that acts on behalf of the operator for the purpose of reviewing and signing documents required by the Department and is the primary contact for the operator for all matters related to reclamation.(3) "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.(4) "Extraction" means the removal of fuller's earth from its location, so as to make it suitable for commercial, industrial, or construction use; but does not include excavation solely in aid of on-site farming or on-site construction, nor the process of searching, prospecting, exploring, or investigating for fuller's earth.(5) "Final highwall" means the last face of overburden or fuller's earth exposed by excavating.(6) "Fuller's earth" means clay possessing a high absorptive capacity and consisting largely of montmorillonite or palygorskite, also known as attapulgite.(7) "Local government" means any county or municipality.(8) "Mine" means an area of land upon which mining operations have been conducted, are being conducted, or are planned to be conducted, as the term is commonly used in the trade.(9) "On-site" means within the contiguous limits of an area of land under one ownership or control and upon which farming or construction activities are taking place. Areas of land that are divided by public or private roads are considered contiguous if such areas are under one ownership or control.(10) "Operation" means any activity, other than prospecting, necessary for site preparation, extraction, waste disposal, storage, or reclamation.(11) "Operator" means any person engaged in an operation.(12) "Overburden" means soil and rock removed to gain access to the fuller's earth in the process of extraction and means such soil or rock before or after its removal. Overburden includes all such soil and rock that must be removed, whether it occurs above a single stratum of extractable fuller's earth or between two or more strata of extractable fuller's earth.(13) "Reclamation" means the reasonable rehabilitation of land where fuller's earth extraction has occurred.(14) "Temporary land use" means any use of lands under reclamation or restoration after contouring is complete, but before release, that is necessary for the mining operation or other reclamation or restoration activities within the mine.Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62C-38.002
Rulemaking Authority 378.404 FS. Law Implemented 378.404 FS.
New 3-19-87, Amended 11-29-90, Formerly 16C-38.002, Amended 1-3-02.New 3-19-87, Amended 11-29-90, Formerly 16C-38.002, Amended 1-3-02.