444.770.  Permit required, when — release of certain bonds — complaints, requirements. — 1.  It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage in surface mining without first obtaining from the commission a permit to do so, in such form as is hereinafter provided, including any operator involved in any gravel mining operation where the annual tonnage of gravel mined by such operator is less than five thousand tons, except as provided in subsection 2 of this section.

  2.  (1)  A property owner or operator conducting gravel removal at the request of a property owner for the primary purpose of managing seasonal gravel accretion on property not used primarily for gravel mining, or a political subdivision who contracts with an operator for excavation to obtain sand and gravel material solely for the use of such political subdivision shall be exempt from obtaining a permit as required in subsection 1 of this section.  Such gravel removal shall be conducted solely on the property owner's or political subdivision's property and shall be in accordance with department guidelines, rules, and regulations.  The property owner shall notify the department before any person or operator conducts gravel removal from the property owner's property if the gravel is sold.  Notification shall include the nature of the activity, name of the county and stream in which the site is located and the property owner's name.  The property owner shall not be required to notify the department regarding any gravel removal at each site location for up to one year from the original notification regarding that site.  The property owner shall renotify the department before any person or operator conducts gravel removal at any site after the expiration of one year from the previous notification regarding that site.  At the time of each notification to the department, the department shall provide the property owner with a copy of the department's guidelines, rules, and regulations relevant to the activity reported.  Said guidelines, rules and regulations may be transmitted either by mail or via the internet.

  (2)  The annual tonnage of gravel mined by such property owner or operator conducting gravel removal at the request of a property owner shall be less than two thousand tons, with a site limitation of one thousand tons annually.  Any operator conducting gravel removal at the request of a property owner that has removed two thousand tons of sand and gravel material within one calendar year shall have a watershed management practice plan approved by the commission in order to remove any future sand or gravel material the remainder of the calendar year.  The application for approval shall be accompanied by an application fee equivalent to the fee paid under section 444.772 and shall contain the name of the watershed from which the operator will be conducting sand and gravel removal, the location within the watershed district that the sand and gravel will be removed, and the description of the vehicles and equipment used for removal.  Upon approval of the watershed management practice plan, the department shall provide a copy of the relevant commission regulations to the operator.

  (3)  No property owner or operator conducting gravel removal at the request of a property owner for the primary purpose of managing seasonal gravel accretion on property not used primarily for gravel mining shall conduct gravel removal from any site located within a distance, to be determined by the commission and included in the guidelines, rules, and regulations given to the property owner at the time of notification, of any building, structure, highway, road, bridge, viaduct, water or sewer line, and pipeline or utility line.

  3.  Sections 444.760 to 444.790 shall apply only to those areas which are opened on or after January 1, 1972, or to the extended portion of affected areas extended after that date.  The effective date of this section for minerals not previously covered under the provisions of sections 444.760 to 444.790 shall be August 28, 1990.

  4.  All surface mining operations where land is affected after September 28, 1971, which are under the control of any government agency whose regulations are equal to or greater than those imposed by section 444.774, are not subject to the further provisions of sections 444.760 to 444.790, except that such operations shall be registered with the Missouri mining commission.

  5.  Any portion of a surface mining operation which is subject to the provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.245 and the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall not be subject to the provisions of sections 444.760 to 444.790, and any bonds or portions thereof applicable to such operations shall be promptly released by the commission, and the associated permits cancelled by the commission upon presentation to it of satisfactory evidence that the operator has received a permit pursuant to section 260.205 and the regulations promulgated thereunder.  Any land reclamation bond associated with such released permits shall be retained by the commission until presentation to the commission of satisfactory evidence that:

  (1)  The operator has complied with sections 260.226 and 260.227, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, pertaining to closure and postclosure plans and financial assurance instruments; and

  (2)  The operator has commenced operation of the solid waste disposal area or sanitary landfill as those terms are defined in chapter 260.

  6.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, any political subdivision which uses its own personnel and equipment or any private individual for personal use may conduct in-stream gravel operations without obtaining from the commission a permit to conduct such an activity.

  7.  Any person filing a complaint of an alleged violation of this section with the department shall identify themself by name and telephone number, provide the date and location of the violation, and provide adequate information, as determined by the department, that there has been a violation.  Any records, statements, or communications submitted by any person to the department relevant to the complaint shall remain confidential and used solely by the department to investigate such alleged violation.