(1) "Affected land" means the area of land where open-cut mining has been or is taking place or upon which spoil has been deposited or any other surface disturbance, including haul roads, processing and loading facilities, or appurtenances related to the mining operations on or after July 1, 1977, until the land is reclaimed;

(2) "Commercial purposes" means the sale of material from an open-cut mine as either a cash transaction, part of a contractual agreement involving payment for materials provided, or for use in another process to create a product with value;

(3) "Commission" means the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission or such commission or other entity as may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of the commission;

(4) "Department" means the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality or such department or other entity which may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of the department;

(5) "Director" means the executive head and active administrator of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality;

(6) "Final cut" means the last pit created in an open-cut mined area;

(7) "High wall" means that side of the pit adjacent to unmined land;

(8) "Open-cut mining" means the surface extraction of clay, bauxite, sand, gravel, soil, shale, or other materials for commercial purposes;

(9) "Operator" means any person engaged in or controlling an open-cut mining operation;

(10) "Peak" means a projecting point of spoil created in the open-cut mining process;

(11) "Permit term" means the period of time beginning with the date upon which a permit is granted for open-cut mining of lands under the provisions of this subchapter and ending on the date requested by the operator and specified by the department, though not to exceed five (5) years;

(12) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, company, public or private corporation, cooperative, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, or any agency, board, department, or bureau of the state or any other legal entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties;

(13) "Pit" means a tract of land where open-cut mining is taking place;

(14) "Reclamation for productive use" means conditioning areas affected by open-cut mining to make them suitable for any uses or purposes consistent with those enumerated in the declaration policy;

(15) "Ridge" means a lengthened elevation of spoil created in the open-cut mining process;

(16) "Right-of-way" means the portion of land over or under which certain facilities, including, but not limited to, roadways, pipelines, or power lines, are built; and

(17) "Spoil" means all waste material and debris connected with open-cut mining and with the mechanical removal, cleaning, and preparation of materials at the mine site.