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 Surface Mining or Agricultural Lime license. 

Surface Mining license renewals are due December 31 each year.  Annual Mine Reports are due April 1 each year.

 Agricultural Lime license renewals and tonnage reports are due July 31 each year.

• RALIS

The laws associated with this part of our program are in The Kansas Agricultural Liming Materials Act.

Every manufacturer of liming materials to be distributed in Kansas must be registered. To register a new site, print the Application for New Site, fill it out, and send it along with the $25 fee to the address on the form. These registrations expire on June 30 of each year. This form may also be used to renew the sites each year.

In July, each registrant must report the tonnage of liming material sold during the previous registration period and pay a fee of $.05 per ton.

Kansas State University Soil Testing Lab has provided an Agriculture Lime Testing Procedure - July 1, 2015 informational worksheet to help explain and define the ag lime testing process.

Payments may be made using the Electronic Payment Form - Ag Lime. To do so, please fill out the form and send it in along with the forms you are making payments on.

All persons, companies, or local governments engaging in surface mining or operation of an underground mine shall be licensed. Only one license per operator or company is required and will permit the licensee to mine at any location in the state. This includes persons mining limestone, building stone, rock, gravel, sand, volcanic ash, shale, clay, gypsum, salt, sandstone, silt, caliche, silica, and other industrial materials or minerals. This Act does not include coal, oil, and gas. K.S.A. 49-605.

Initial licenses are issued upon receipt of application and a first time fee of $300 if all local, county, state, and federal, conditional use permits are satisfied. License applications shall be accompanied by a site registration(s), reclamation plan, site map, and a reclamation bond. One license allows an applicant to operate a mine at any registered location in the state.

Licenses are renewed annually and are due December 1. Notices are sent out mid-November. The renewal amount is determined by the number of tons of material produced in the previous year and reported in the Annual Mine Report. K.A.R. 11-8-2 has established the renewal fee amounts between $25 and $150 depending upon the amount reported in the Annual Mine Report. A license shall be renewed annually until all sites registered by that person have been properly reclaimed or transferred to another licensed operator.

The mining license will expire December 31 if not renewed. If a company is issued a license after October 1, they will not be required to renew the license for the following year. They will, however, be required to submit an Annual Report by April 1.

• LR-1 Application For Mining License

All persons, companies, or local governments engaging in surface mining or operation of an underground mine are required to be licensed. Only one license per operator or company is required and will permit the licensee to mine at any location in the state. This includes persons, companies, or local governments mining limestone, building stone, rock, gravel, sand, volcanic ash, shale, clay, gypsum, salt, sandstone, silt, caliche, silica, and other industrial materials or minerals. This Act does not include coal, oil, and gas. K.S.A. 49-605.

• LR-2 Application For New Site Registration

A Reclamation Plan for each site shall accompany each initial site registration. The plan will describe the amount of land to be affected, how reclamation will be achieved, and the post mining land use. The reclamation plan submitted is a preliminary plan and may be changed at any time. Final planning should occur with the site landowner and Division of Conservation staff. A map/aerial photo of the site shall be included with the plan. Google Maps which is an excellent resource for map production using satellite imagery.

• LR-3 Reclamation Plan

Each applicant for registration of a surface mining site is required to obtain a reclamation bond or other security (i.e. Irrevocable Letter of Credit, Certificate of Deposit, etc.) with each mine site application.

K.A.R. 11-8-8(a) (1&2) established the following bond requirement amounts:

1. $400 per affected acre for sand and gravel mining operations
2. $600 per affected acre for all other types (mineral) mined

The bonding requirement does not apply when:

1. No new lands were affected after July 1, 1994 (pre-law)
2. Aggregate of operator's site is less than 2 acres

A county bond may replace an otherwise required bond if it is of equal or greater amount. Cash deposit, Surety Bond, Irrevocable Letter of Credit, or Certificate of Deposit is sufficient. Water is not bonded. Counties are exempt from the bond requirements. A bond can only be released by the DOC.

An Assignment for each type of bond is required along with each bond (for example, an Assignment of Certificate of Deposit would accompany a Certificate of Deposit).

• LR-4 Surety Bond - Does not require an Assignment
• LR-4A Certificate Of Deposit
• LR-4B Letter of Credit
• LR-4C Cash Bond
• LR-4D Corporate Demonstration

The Reclamation Approval Request certifies that all reclamation is complete and ready for final inspection by Division of Conservation staff.

• LR-8 Reclamation Approval Request

A Reclamation Bond Release Request is to be completed when reclamation of a site is complete, ownership/lease rights have been transferred, or a partial release has been filed.

• LR-9 Reclamation Bond Release Request WEB

All mining operations have ceased and reclamation procedures are ready to begin. Included on this form is the expected date grading is to be completed and the expected date of seeding.

• LR-7 Conclusion of Mining Operations Report

If a mine site is to have the lease transferred, be sold, or have a change of ownership or operator, this form is required, along with the Change in Responsibility, Form LR-5A and a notarized letter explaining the change in reclamation responsibilities.

If the mine site area is to be increased, the application shall be processed as a new site registration. K.S.A. 49-609(b) Any land disturbed for mining shall meet the requirements for reclamation before it can be removed from registration or bond release. If the property is sold, leased, or otherwise transferred to another operator to continue mining, a legal agreement between the two parties shall determine reclamation responsibility and reported with the form.

This can be a costly transfer if it is not negotiated in the contract. The form is signed by both parties involved in the transfer to indicate reclamation responsibility.

• LR-5 Mine Site Transfer

The Change in Reclamation Responsibility is very important because it will identify who will be responsible for any reclamation to be completed. This can be a costly transfer if it is not negotiated in the contract. This form is to be signed by both parties involved in the transfer to indicate reclamation responsibility. A notarized letter signed by both parties much accompany this form explaining the change in reclamation responsibility.

Transfer/Sale of Mine Site, Form LR-5, must accompany this form.

• LR-5A Change in Reclamation Responsibility

An operator may at any time apply for cancellation of registration of any site. A reason for cancellation of a mine site could be never mining the site, or the site being closed for a substantial amount of time. The DOC would have to approve of the natural reclamation in that instance. Any land disturbed for mining shall meet the requirements for reclamation before it can be removed from registration or bond release.

• LR-6 Cancellation of Mine Site

• Electronic Payment Form