Surface Mining Reclamation

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Surface Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act

The Division of Conservation (DOC) is responsible for administering the Surface-Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act (Mined Land Reclamation Program). The Act requires that producers who mine industrial materials or minerals of commercial value such as sand, gravel, limestone, clay, gypsum, shale, sandstone, silt, caliche, volcanic ash or salt be licensed to operate a mine, produers also have to register their mining sites, file a reclamation plan for each site, submit a reclamation bond and reclaim mining sites upon completion of mining operations.

Reclamation Trucks Pit Crushing

The major industries affected by the Act include companies and counties who surface mine sand, gravel and limestone for aggregate. The mining of coal, production of oil and gas and mining within the banks of streams are not subject to the Act. The DOC administers the Surface Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act (K.S.A. 49-601-624) that became effective July 1, 1994. The purpose of the program is to ensure any land disturbed for mining purposes, other than coal and gas, is reclaimed.

A Reclamation Plan and a Reclamation Bond is required when a company applies for a license and registers a site. K.A.R. 11-8-8 has established the reclamation bond amounts at $400.00 per acre for sand and gravel operations, and $600.00 per acre for all other minerals. Some counties require a reclamation bond greater than the established amount to meet their conditional use order. The program requires an Annual Report and Site Registration Renewal each year indicating the number of acres affected and tons of material produced. Daily operations and conditional use orders outlined in the company's operational plan are usually not a part of the program. Rather, the program is more involved at the closing stages of a site to assist in final reclamation planning and inspection to assure reclamation requirements have been met. When all requirements are met, the Reclamation Bond can be released.

RALIS - Reclamation Ag Lime Information System

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has begun implementing a requirement that all licensing and registration renewals for all agency programs be completed online.

The new system addresses all program licensing, registration, and reporting requirements. The official name for the database is Reclamation Ag Lime Information System (RALIS).

Below is the link to RALIS; we recommend saving this link to your desktop, as it will be used to renew your mining license, which is due December 31 of each year, as well as completing your Annual Mine Report, which is due April 1 of each year.

RALIS

Governor's Mined Land Reclamation Award

Each year producers, private and county, are encouraged to submit applications for outstanding reclamation work completed during the previous year. A review committee made up of six representatives from agencies who have programs involving natural resources review the applications and select the award recipient. The award is presented by the Governor or a representative of the Governor at the Kansas Aggregate Producer's Association Annual Conference held in January. The state winner's application is then submitted for consideration for the National Association of State Land Reclamationists (NASLR) Non-coal Reclamation Award.

Award Recipients

Governor's

2002 Bayer Construction Co., Inc. -- Manhattan -- Ebert Quarry
2002 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. -- Olathe -- Big Springs
2003 Fogle Quarry, Inc. -- Ottawa -- Fogle Quarry
2003 Central Sand, Inc. -- Wichita -- 65th Street Site
2004 Bayer Stone, Inc. -- St.Marys -- Cottonwood Falls
2005 Hunt Midwest Mining, Inc. -- Kansas City -- Lyndon Quarry
2006 Hamm Quarries, Inc. -- Perry -- Grantville Quarry
2007 Bayer Construction Company, Inc. -- Manhattan -- Moore Quarry
2008 Midwest Minerals, Inc. -- Pittsburg -- Pittsburg Quarry
2009 Cornejo Materials, Inc. – Wichita – Clark Quarry
2009 Special Recognition to Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks - Folgle Quarry
2010 Bayer Construction Company, Inc. – Manhattan - Stevens Quarry
2011 Mid-States Materials, LLC - Lecompton - Big Springs Quarry
2012 Harshman Construction, LLC - Cedar Point - Finerty Quarry
2013 Mid-States Materials, LLC - Lecompton - Big Springs Quarry - Phase II
2014 Hamm, Inc. - Perry - Overbrook Quarry
2015 Alsop Sand Co., Inc. - Stone Lake Addition, City of Salina
2016 Bayer Construction Co., Inc. - Clay County - Martin Quarry
2017 Mid-States Materials, LLC - Lecompton - Big Springs Quarry - Phase III
2018 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. - Marion - North Marion Quarry
2019 Hamm Companies - Herington - Herington Quarry
2020 Acme Brick Company - Kanopolis - Vondra
2021 Mid-States Materials LLC - Scranton - Plummer Creek
2022 Hamm Companies - Onaga - Onaga Quarry
2023 McCoy Rock Quarry - Alma - Bellinger

National

2003 Fogle Quarry, Inc. - Ottawa - Fogle Quarry
2008 Bayer Construction Company, Inc. - Manhattan - Moore Quarry
2010 Bayer Construction Company, Inc. – Manhattan - Stevens Quarry
2012 Harshman Construction, LLC - Cedar Point - Finerty Quarry
2017 Mid-States Materials, LLC - Lecompton - Big Springs Quarry - Phase III
2020 Hamm Companies - Herington - Herington Quarry
2021 ACME Brick Company - Kanopolis - Vondra
2022 Mid-States Materials LLC - Scranton - Plummer Creek
2024 McCoy Rock Quarry - Alma - Bellinger Quarry

Latest News

McCoy Rock Quarry wins 2023 Governor's Mined Land Reclamation Award

Christina Koelzer presents the Governors Mined Land Reclamation Award to McCoy Rock Quarry representatives Jaime Perez, Quarry Manager; Duane McCoy, President; and Dalton McCoy, Vice President McCoy Rock Quarry received the 2023 Governor's Mined Land Reclamation Award from the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Conservation in Manhattan on January 11, 2024.

McCoy Rock Quarry received the 2023 Governor's Mined Land Reclamation Award from the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Conservation in Manhattan on January 11, 2024.

This award recognizes companies that excel in implementing mined land reclamation and convey a positive image of mining in Kansas; McCoy Rock Quarry was recognized for their reclamation work on the Bellinger site near Alma. KDA Division of Conservation representative Christina Koelzer presented the Governor's Mined Land Reclamation Award to McCoy Rock Quarry on behalf of Governor Laura Kelly.

The Bellinger project reclaimed 10 acres of land planted with native grass. The quarrying extraction process included removing the sub soil and topsoil by excavators and hauling the materials via articulating caterpillar trucks to stockpiles. The motto for McCoy Rock Quarry during the reclamation process was "as good or better" meaning the land will be reclaimed as it was prior to quarrying or even better because of land improvements that occur simultaneously.

McCoy Rock Quarry is based in Paxico, Kansas; it operates several location sites with 12 employees delivering stone across the Midwest. Their philosophy is to take care of the land that has taken care of them.

For more information, contact Koelzer at KDA Division of Conservation, 785-564-6626 or Christina.Koelzer@ks.gov.