The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the extraction of coal (1) by a landowner or lessee for the landowner's or lessee's own noncommercial use from land owned or leased by it; (2) for commercial purposes if the surface coal mining operation affects two acres or less; or (3) as an incidental part of highway or other construction financed in whole or in part as specified by regulation, by federal, state, or municipal government agency.
Alaska Legal Code