(a) After September 1, 1991, any person who mines or proposes to mine from each mine site more than 1,000 tons or 750 cubic yards of minerals, whichever is less, from the earth within 12 successive calendar months or who mines or proposes to mine over 100 cubic yards of minerals from or adjacent to any body of water not subject to the jurisdiction of article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law or to the Public Lands Law shall not engage in such mining unless a permit for such mining operation has been obtained from the department. A separate permit shall be obtained for each mine site.

(b) A mining permit issued by the department shall consist of two parts. Part one shall be a permit certificate, or a copy of such certificate certified by the department, to be prominently displayed by the permittee at the site of the mine. The permit certificate must at all times be visible, legible and protected from the elements. Part two shall be the application and other documents on file with the department including such terms and conditions as may be imposed. The documents constituting part two shall be available for inspection at the department's headquarters for the region in which the mine is located and at the local office of the permittee for use by department personnel.

(c) All permits shall be conditioned upon compliance with an approved mined land-use plan. The department may also impose, as terms of the permit, such conditions as it may deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy the provisions of title 27 or this Subchapter.

(d) A mining permit will not be issued for an existing mine nor renewed for any mine if there is a finding, after notice and hearing, or a departmental order that the operation of the mine is in violation of any provision of the Environmental Conservation Law, or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder unless the applicant or permittee is in compliance with a schedule of abatement of such violation, or if there is no applicable schedule the applicant or permittee agrees to such a schedule or the department imposes one as a condition of the permit.

(e) Mining permits shall expire either annually or at the end of five years depending on the issue and expiration dates and may be renewed upon application to the department at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of the permit. A renewal application shall be submitted to the department pursuant to the provisions of title 27 and shall be accompanied by a report, in accordance with section 422.4 of this Title, which shall be reviewed by the department prior to renewing a mining permit. A renewal application shall contain the following:

(f) The department may refuse to issue or transfer a permit to any applicant who has had a mining permit issued pursuant to title 27 revoked, or who has had a reclamation bond or other security forfeited. If any officer of an applicant has been an officer of a corporation which has had a mining permit issued pursuant to title 27 revoked, or which has had a reclamation bond or other security forfeited, the department shall investigate the responsibility, if any, of the individual in question for the acts or omissions which were the grounds of such revocation or forfeiture. If the department finds that such individual was responsible, in whole or in part, for such revocation or forfeiture, the department may refuse to issue a permit to the corporate applicant of which such individual is an officer. If the department finds that the individual was not responsible, in whole or in part, for the acts or omissions which were the grounds of such revocation or forfeiture, the department shall issue a permit to such an applicant if otherwise entitled thereto.