(a) The commissioner shall establish fees determined after careful consideration of the direct and indirect costs incurred by the department in performing its various functions and services under this part. The fees may include, but are not limited to, an exploration permit fee, an application fee, and a maintenance acreage fee taking into account the acreage permitted. In no instance shall a permit application fee exceed the actual or anticipated cost of reviewing, administering, and enforcing the permit.(b) Prior to promulgating any fee increase, the commissioner shall review the basis for the fee increase and make a determination that the fee increase is warranted. The factors used in the determinations must include, if relevant: staffing needs, ability to attract and retain quality staff, feasible cost containment measures, comparisons with salaries paid by other governments and the private sector, levels of federal grants and state appropriations, and the ability of the program to maintain or improve its performance in carrying out its duties.(c) Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the coal mining protection fund, created in § 59-8-132.(d) No permit, renewal, or transfer of a permit shall be issued to an applicant until all fees required by this section are paid in full.(e)(1) If a fee required by this section is not paid within fifteen (15) days after the due date, a penalty of five percent (5%) of the amount due accrues at once. Thereafter, on the first day of each month during which a fee or accrued penalty remains unpaid, an additional penalty of five percent (5%) of the then unpaid balance accrues. In addition, a fee not paid within fifteen (15) days after the due date bears interest at the maximum rate permitted under title 47, chapter 14, or another law, from the due date to the date paid; provided, however, the total of the penalties and interest that accrue pursuant to this subsection (e) must not exceed three (3) times the amount of the original fee.(2) If a fee is not paid in full, including any interest and penalty within sixty (60) days of the due date, the commissioner may suspend the permit, pending the opportunity for hearing, until the amount due is paid in full, and refer the matter for collection.(3) In addition to the other powers and authority provided in this section, the commissioner is authorized to seek injunctive relief in the chancery court of Sumner County or any court of competent jurisdiction for a judgment in the amount owed the state under this chapter.(4)(A) A person required to pay the fees set forth under this chapter who disagrees with the calculation or applicability of the fee may petition the commissioner for a hearing.(B) In order to perfect a hearing, a petition for a hearing, together with the total amount of the fee due, must be received by the commissioner not later than fifteen (15) days after the due date.(C) The hearing must be conducted in accordance with contested case provisions in the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.(D) If it is finally determined that the amount in dispute was improperly assessed, the commissioner shall return the amount determined to be improperly assessed with interest.Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 401, s 2, eff. 5/11/2023.Repealed and reenacted by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 548, s 3, eff. 5/26/2021.Added by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 839, s 1, eff. eight (8) months immediately following the receipt of notification from the secretary of the interior that this state has been approved to exercise primacy over the regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations within its territorial boundaries.