SENATE BILL NO. 449
INTRODUCED BY J. TESTER
AN ACT ELIMINATING THE HARD-ROCK MINING AND RECLAMATION ACCOUNT AND THE OPENCUT MINING AND RECLAMATION ACCOUNT IN THE STATE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND; ESTABLISHING AN ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION AND RESPONSE ACCOUNT IN THE STATE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND; DEDICATING CERTAIN FINES AND PENALTIES TO THE ACCOUNT; DEDICATING CERTAIN UNCLAIMED OR EXCESS RECLAMATION BOND FUNDS TO THE ACCOUNT; PROVIDING THAT FUNDS IN THE ACCOUNT BE APPROPRIATED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES; AMENDING SECTIONS 75-10-1223, 82-4-241, 82-4-311, 82-4-424, AND 82-4-426, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Environmental rehabilitation and response account. (1) There is an environmental rehabilitation and response account in the state special revenue fund provided for in 17-2-102.
(2) There must be deposited in the account:
(a) fine and penalty money received pursuant to 75-10-1223, 82-4-311, and 82-4-424 and other funds or contributions designated for deposit to the account;
(b) unclaimed or excess reclamation bond money received pursuant to 82-4-241, 82-4-311, 82-4-424, and 82-4-426; and
(c) interest earned on the account.
(3) Money in the account is available to the department of environmental quality by appropriation and must be used to pay for:
(a) reclamation and revegetation of land affected by mining activities, research pertaining to the reclamation and revegetation of land, and the rehabilitation of water affected by mining activities;
(b) reclamation and revegetation of unreclaimed mine lands for which the department may not require reclamation by, or obtain costs of reclamation from, a legally responsible party;
(c) remediation of sites containing hazardous wastes or hazardous substances for which the department may not recover costs from a legally responsible party; or
(d) response to an imminent threat of substantial harm to the environment, to public health, or to public safety for which no funding or insufficient funding is available pursuant to 75-1-1101.
(4) Any unspent or unencumbered money in the account at the end of a fiscal year must remain in the account until spent or appropriated by the legislature.
Section 2. Section 75-10-1223, MCA, is amended to read:
"75-10-1223. Penalties and fines. (1) A person that who disposes of septage in violation of 75-10-1210 or of the
standards adopted pursuant to 75-10-1202 is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined an amount not to
exceed $500.
(2) A person that who violates this part or a rule or order adopted pursuant to this part is subject to a civil penalty of not
more than $500. Each day that violation of this part, a rule of the department, or an order issued pursuant to this part occurs
constitutes a separate violation. The department or the county attorney of the county in which the violation occurred may
file an action to collect the penalty.
(3) Penalties collected by the department under this section must be deposited in the account provided for in
75-10-1203 environmental rehabilitation and response account in the state special revenue fund provided for in [section 1].
Fines and penalties collected by a county must be deposited in the general fund of the county."
Section 3. Section 82-4-241, MCA, is amended to read:
"82-4-241. Receipts paid into general fund -- disposition of bond forfeiture money. (1) Except for bond forfeiture
moneys money, all fees, penalties, and other moneys money available or paid to the department under the provisions of this
part shall must be placed in the state treasury and credited to the general fund.
(2) Bond forfeiture money must be used to pay for expenses that the department incurs pursuant to 82-4-240.
(3) Funds held by the department as bond or as a result of bond forfeiture that are no longer needed for reclamation and for which the department is not able to locate a surety or other person who owns the funds after diligent search must be deposited in the state special revenue fund and credited to the environmental rehabilitation and response account provided for in [section 1]."
Section 4. Section 82-4-311, MCA, is amended to read:
"82-4-311. Hard-rock mining and reclamation account Disposition of fees, fines, penalties, and other uncleared
money. All fees, fines, penalties, and other uncleared money that has been or will be paid to the department under the
provisions of this part must be placed in the environmental rehabilitation and response account in the state special revenue
fund in the state treasury and credited to a special account that is designated as the hard-rock mining and reclamation
account. This account is available to the department by appropriation and may be expended for the research, reclamation,
and revegetation of land and the rehabilitation of water affected by any mining operations provided for in [section 1]. Funds
held by the department as bond or as a result of bond forfeiture that are no longer needed for reclamation and for which the
department is not able to locate a surety or other person who owns the funds after diligent search must be deposited in the
environmental rehabilitation and response account in the state special revenue fund. Any unencumbered and any
unexpended balance of this account remaining at the end of a fiscal year does not lapse but must be carried forward for the
purposes of this section until expended or until appropriated by subsequent legislative action."
Section 5. Section 82-4-424, MCA, is amended to read:
"82-4-424. Receipt and expenditure of funds -- disposition of fees, fines, penalties, and other money. (1) The department may receive any federal funds, state funds, or any other funds for the reclamation of land affected by opencut mining. The department may cause the reclamation work to be done by its employees, by employees of other governmental agencies, by soil conservation districts, or through contracts with qualified persons.
(2) Any funds of any public works programs available to the department must be expended and used to reclaim and
rehabilitate any lands that have been subject to opencut mining and that have not been reclaimed and rehabilitated in
accordance with the standards of this part.
(3)(2) There is an opencut mining and reclamation account within the state special revenue fund established in
17-2-102. There must be deposited in the account all All fees, fines, penalties, and other money that have been or will be
paid under the provisions of this part must be deposited in the environmental rehabilitation and response account in the
state special revenue fund provided for in [section 1]. The money in the account is available to the department through
appropriation and must be spent by the department for the reclamation and revegetation of land, research pertaining to the
reclamation and revegetation of land, and the rehabilitation of water affected by opencut mining operations and for
administration of this part. Funds held by the department as bond or as a result of bond forfeiture that are no longer needed
for reclamation and for which the department is not able to locate a surety or other person who owns the funds after
diligent search must be deposited in the environmental rehabilitation and response account in the state special revenue
fund. Any unspent or unencumbered money in the account at the end of a fiscal year must remain in the account until
spent or appropriated by the legislature."
Section 6. Section 82-4-426, MCA, is amended to read:
"82-4-426. Reclamation of land on which bond forfeited. In keeping with the provisions of this part, the department
may reclaim any affected lands with respect to which a bond has been forfeited. If the amount of the forfeited bond exceeds
the cost of reclamation, the excess must be deposited in the state general fund environmental rehabilitation and response
account in the state special revenue fund provided for in [section 1]."
Section 7. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 75, chapter 1, and the provisions of Title 75, chapter 1, apply to [section 1].
Section 8. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
Section 9. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2001.
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