§ 23-2709. Administration of title.

1. The department shall have and be entitled to exercise the following
powers and duties:

(a) to issue permits in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
article and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;

(b) to administer and enforce the provisions of this title and any
rule or regulation promulgated thereunder or order issued pursuant
thereto;

(c) to establish environmental standards and criteria for mining and
reclamation of the affected land to achieve the purposes of this title;

(d) to order, pursuant to section 71-0301 of this chapter, an
immediate suspension of mining or reclamation operations or operations
incidental or appurtenant thereto whenever such operations are being
carried on in violation of this title or of rules, regulations and
orders adopted pursuant thereto;

(e) to conduct investigations and obtain data with respect to research
experiments and demonstrations, and to collect and disseminate
information regarding mining and reclamation;

(f) to accept grants or funds for purposes of administration of this
title and research into the fields of mining and land reclamation;

(g) to cooperate with any other governmental entity to further the
purposes of this title;

(h) to contract with the soil and water conservation district in the
county where a mine is located to achieve the purposes of this title;

(i) to allow, upon agreement by the department and the permittee, the
reclamation of unreclaimed land affected by mining prior to April first,
nineteen hundred seventy-five, as a substitute for reclamation of land
affected by mining after that date, provided that a net environmental
benefit results from such substitution; and

(j) to determine, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, if a
mining operation has been abandoned.

2. This title shall not apply to the commissioner of general services
acting with respect to lands under water pursuant to the public lands
law.

3. The state geological survey shall be the state agency responsible
for the collection of mineral production information for the state in
association with the United States bureau of mines. The state geological
survey shall also continue to be the state agency responsible for the
conduct of mineral resource investigations and inventories. Such
information shall be made available to the department upon request and
the survey shall have access to any records of the department collected
in conjunction with the administration of this title.