HOUSE BILL NO. 147
INTRODUCED BY R. DALE
AN ACT REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO COMPLETE AND PUBLISH A FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AT LEAST 15 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF ISSUANCE OF THE WRITTEN FINDINGS ON A PERMIT APPLICATION; AMENDING SECTION 82-4-231, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, The Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act now requires the Department of Environmental Quality to complete and publish a final environmental impact statement within 365 days of notifying the applicant that the application for a permit or a major permit amendment is administratively complete; and
WHEREAS, applications that are administratively complete may be revised significantly because of substantive deficiencies under The Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act discovered by the Department in its subsequent acceptability review of the application; and
WHEREAS, the preparation of an environmental impact statement prior to the Department's acceptability review is inefficient; and
WHEREAS, completion of the environmental impact statement 15 days prior to the Department's written findings will allow efficient preparation of the environmental impact statement and will not delay the decision on the application.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 82-4-231, MCA, is amended to read:
"82-4-231. Submission of and action on reclamation plan. (1) As rapidly, completely, and effectively as the most
modern technology and the most advanced state of the art will allow, each operator granted a permit under this part shall
reclaim and revegetate the land affected by the operation, except that underground tunnels, shafts, or other subsurface
excavations need not be revegetated. Under the provisions of this part and rules adopted by the board, an operator shall
prepare and carry out a method of operation, a plan of grading, backfilling, highwall reduction, subsidence stabilization,
water control, and topsoiling, and a reclamation plan for the area of land affected by the operation. In developing a method
of operation and plans of grading, backfilling, highwall reduction, subsidence stabilization, water control, grading, highwall
reduction, topsoiling, and reclamation, all measures shall must be taken to eliminate damages to landowners and members
of the public, their real and personal property, public roads, streams, and all other public property from soil erosion,
subsidence, landslides, water pollution, and hazards dangerous to life and property.
(2) The reclamation plan shall must set forth in detail the manner in which the applicant intends to comply with this
section and 82-4-232 through 82-4-234 and this section, as amended, and the steps to be taken to comply with applicable
air and water quality laws and rules and any applicable health and safety standards.
(3) The application for permit or major revision of a permit, which shall must contain the reclamation plan, shall must
be submitted to the department.
(4) The department shall determine whether the application is administratively complete. An application is
administratively complete if it contains information addressing each application requirement in 82-4-222 and the rules
implementing that section and all information necessary to initiate processing and public review. The department shall
notify the applicant in writing of its determination no later than 90 days after submittal of the application. If the department
determines that the application is not administratively complete, it shall specify in the notice those items which that the
application must address. The application shall be is presumed administratively complete as to those requirements not
specified in the notice.
(5) If the department determines that an environmental impact statement on the application is required, it shall notify the applicant in writing at the same time it gives the applicant notice pursuant to subsection (4).
(6) After the applicant receives notice that the application is administratively complete, the applicant shall publish
notice of filing of the application once a week for 4 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality
of the proposed operation. The department shall notify various local governmental bodies, planning agencies, sewage and
water treatment authorities, and water companies in the locality in which the proposed mining will take place of the
application and provide a reasonable time for them to submit written comments. Any person having an interest which that
is or may be adversely affected or the officer or head of any federal, state, or local governmental agency or authority shall
have the right to may file written objections to the proposed initial or revised application for permit or major revision
within 30 days of the applicant's published notice. If written objections are filed and an objector requests an informal
conference, the department shall hold an informal conference in the locality of the proposed operation within 30 days of
receipt of the request. The department shall notify the applicant and all parties to the informal conference of its decision
and the reasons therefor for the decision within 60 days of the informal conference. The department may arrange with the
applicant upon request by any party to the administrative proceeding for access to the proposed mining area for the purpose
of gathering information relevant to the proceeding.
(7) The filing of written objections or a request for an informal conference shall may not preclude the department from
proceeding with its review of the application as specified in subsection (8).
(8) (a) The department shall review each administratively complete application and determine the acceptability of the application. During the review, the department may propose modifications to the application or delete areas from the application in accordance with the requirements of 82-4-227. A complete application is considered acceptable when the application is in compliance with all of the applicable requirements of this part and the regulatory program pursuant to this part.
(b) If the applicant significantly modifies the application after the application has been determined administratively complete in accordance with subsection (4), the department shall under this section either deny the application or conduct a new review, including an administrative completeness determination, public notice, and objection period.
(c) If an environmental impact statement is determined to be necessary prior to making a permit decision, the
department shall complete and publish the final environmental impact statement within 365 days of the date of notice
provided pursuant to subsection (5) at least 15 days prior to the date of issuance of the written findings pursuant to
subsection (8)(f).
(d) Within 120 days after it determines that an application is administratively complete, the department shall notify the applicant in writing whether the application is or is not acceptable. If the application is not acceptable, the department shall set forth the reasons why it is not acceptable, and it may propose modifications, delete areas, or reject the entire application. All items not specified as unacceptable in the department's notification are presumed to be acceptable. If the applicant revises the application in response to a notice of unacceptability, the department shall review the revised application and notify the applicant in writing within 120 days of the date of receipt whether the revised application is acceptable. If the revision constitutes a significant modification under subsection (8)(b), the department shall conduct a new review, beginning with an administrative completeness determination.
(e) When the application is determined to be acceptable, the department shall publish notice of its determination once a
week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed operation. Any person
having an interest that is or may be adversely affected may file a written objection to the determination within 10 days of
the department's last published notice. If a written objection is filed and an objector requests an informal conference, the
department shall hold an informal conference in the locality of the proposed operation within 20 days of receipt of the
request. The department shall notify the applicant and all parties to the informal conference of its decision and the reasons
therefor for the decision within 10 days of the informal conference.
(f) The department shall prepare written findings granting or denying the permit or major revision application in whole
or in part no later than 45 days from the date the application is determined acceptable or from the publication of the final
environmental impact statement, whichever occurs later. However, if lands subject to the federal lands program are
included in the application for permit or major revision, the department shall prepare and submit written findings to the
federal regulatory authority. If the department's decision is to grant the permit, the department shall issue the permit on the
date of its written finding or, if any federal concurrence is necessary, on the date when such the concurrence is obtained. If
the application is denied, specific reasons for the denial must be set forth in the written notification to the applicant.
(g) If the department fails to act within the times specified in this subsection (8), it shall immediately notify the board in writing of its failure to comply and the reasons for the failure to comply.
(9) The applicant, a landowner, or any person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected by the department's
permit decision may within 30 days of that decision submit a written notice requesting a hearing. The notice must contain
the grounds upon which the requester contends that the decision is in error. The hearing shall must be held within 30 days
of the request. For purposes of a hearing, the department may order site inspections of the area pertinent to the application.
The department shall within 20 days of the hearing notify the person who requested the hearing, by certified mail, and all
other persons, by regular mail, of the findings and decisions. No A person who presided at the informal conference may not
either preside at the hearing or participate in the decision thereon.
(10) In addition to the method of operation, grading, backfilling, highwall reduction, subsidence stabilization, water
control, highwall reduction, topsoiling, and reclamation requirements of this part and rules adopted under this part, the
operator, consistent with the directives of subsection (1) of this section, shall:
(a) bury under adequate fill all toxic materials, shale, mineral, or any other material determined by the department to be
acid producing acid-producing, toxic, undesirable, or creating a hazard;
(b) as directed by rules, seal off tunnels, shafts, or other openings or any breakthrough of water creating a hazard;
(c) impound, drain, or treat all runoff or underground mine waters so as to reduce soil erosion, damage to grazing and agricultural lands, and pollution of surface and subsurface waters;
(d) remove or bury all metal, lumber, and other refuse resulting from the operation;
(e) use explosives in connection with the operation only in accordance with department regulations designed to minimize noise, damage to adjacent lands, and water pollution and ensure public safety and for other purposes;
(f) adopt measures to prevent land subsidence unless the department approves a plan for inducing subsidence into an
abandoned operation in a predictable and controlled manner, with measures for grading, topsoiling, and revegetating the
subsided land surface. In order for a controlled subsidence plan to be approved, the applicant must shall show that
subsidence will not cause a direct or indirect hazard to any public or private buildings, roads, facilities, or use areas,
constitute a hazard to human life or health, or constitute a hazard to domestic livestock or to a viable agricultural operation,
or violate any other restrictions the department may consider necessary.
(g) stockpile and protect from erosion all mining and processing wastes until these wastes can be disposed of according to the provisions of this part;
(h) deposit as much stockpiled waste material as possible back into the mine voids upon abandonment in such a manner
as to that will prevent or minimize land subsidence. The remaining waste material shall must be disposed of as provided by
this part and the rules of the board.
(i) seal all portals, entryways, drifts, shafts, or other openings between the surface and underground mine workings when no longer needed;
(j) to the extent possible using the best technology currently available, minimize disturbances and adverse impacts of
the operation on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values and achieve enhancement of such those resources where
when practicable;
(k) minimize the disturbances to the prevailing hydrologic balance at the mine site and in associated offsite areas and to the quality and quantity of water in surface water and ground water systems both during and after strip- or underground-coal-mining operations and during reclamation by:
(i) avoiding acid or other toxic mine drainage by such measures as, including but not limited to:
(A) preventing or removing water from contact with toxic-producing deposits;
(B) treating drainage to reduce toxic content which that adversely affects downstream water upon being released to
water courses;
(C) casing, sealing, or otherwise managing boreholes, shafts, and wells and keeping acid or other toxic drainage from entering ground and surface waters;
(ii) (A) conducting strip- or underground-mining operations so as to prevent, to the extent possible using the best
technology currently available, additional contributions of suspended solids to streamflow or runoff outside the permit area,
but in no event shall the contributions may not be in excess of requirements set by applicable state or federal law;
(B) constructing any siltation structures pursuant to subsection (10)(k)(ii)(A) prior to commencement of strip- or
underground-mining operations, such the structures to be certified by a qualified registered engineer and to be constructed
as designed and as approved in the reclamation plan;
(iii) cleaning out and removing temporary or large settling ponds or other siltation structures from drainways after disturbed areas are revegetated and stabilized and depositing the silt and debris at a site and in a manner approved by the department;
(iv) restoring recharge capacity of the mined area to approximate premining conditions;
(v) avoiding channel deepening or enlargement in operations requiring that requires the discharge of water from mines;
(vi) preserving throughout the mining and reclamation process the essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors in the arid and semiarid areas of the country; and
(vii) such other actions as that the department may prescribe;
(l) conduct strip- or underground-mine operations in accordance with the approved coal conservation plan;
(m) stabilize and protect all surface areas, including spoil piles, to effectively control air pollution;
(n) seal all auger holes with an impervious and noncombustible material in order to prevent drainage except where the
department determines that the resulting impoundment of water in such auger holes may create a hazard to the environment
or the public health and safety;
(o) develop contingency plans to prevent sustained combustion;
(p) refrain from construction of roads or other access ways up a streambed or drainage channel or in such proximity to
such the channel so as to seriously alter the normal flow of water;
(q) meet such other criteria as that are necessary to achieve reclamation in accordance with the purposes of this part,
taking into consideration the physical, climatological, and other characteristics of the site;
(r) with regard to underground mines, eliminate fire hazards and otherwise eliminate conditions which that constitute a
hazard to health and safety of the public;
(s) locate openings for all new drift mines working acid-producing or iron-producing coal seams in such a manner as to
prevent that prevents a gravity discharge of water from the mine.
(11) An operator may not throw, dump, pile, or permit the throwing, dumping, or piling, or throwing or otherwise
placing of any overburden, stones, rocks, mineral, earth, soil, dirt, debris, trees, wood, logs, or any other materials or
substances of any kind or nature beyond or outside of the area of land which that is under permit and for which a bond has
been posted under 82-4-223, as amended, or place the materials described in this section in such a way that normal erosion
or slides brought about by natural physical causes will permit the materials to go beyond or outside of that area of land. An
operator shall conduct the strip- or underground-mining operation in such a manner as to protect that protects areas outside
the permit area."
Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
Latest Version of HB 147 (HB0147.ENR)
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