Register August 2011 No. 668
Chapter NR 132
METALLIC MINERAL MINING
NR 132.05 Notification of intent to collect data.
NR 132.06 Application to mine.
NR 132.08 Reclamation plan.
NR 132.085 Irrevocable trust agreement.
NR 132.12 Permit review and modification.
NR 132.13 Certificates of completion and bond release.
NR 132.15 Confidentiality.
NR 132.17 Minimum design and operation requirements.
NR 132.18 Location criteria and environmental standards.
Ch. NR 132 Note
Note: Chapter NR 132 as it existed on August 31, 1982 was repealed and a new chapter NR 132 was created effective September 1, 1982.
NR 132.01
NR 132.01
Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish procedures and standards for the comprehensive regulation of metallic mineral mining in this state and to coordinate and reconcile applicable state and federal statutes and regulations so as to facilitate the procedures by which department permits, licenses and approvals may be applied for, hearings may be held, and determinations may be made by the department in a coordinated and integrated manner.
NR 132.01 History
History: Cr.
Register, August, 1982, No. 320, eff. 9-1-82.
NR 132.02(1)(1) )The provisions of this chapter are applicable to all metallic mineral mining as defined by s.
293.01 (9), Stats., including the storage, handling, processing, transportation and disposal of all materials resulting from a mining operation except to the extent that mining wastes are regulated by
ch. NR 182.
NR 132.02(2)
(2) Nothing herein shall require the amendment or modification of an application to mine, a mining plan or reclamation plan relating to a mining operation in existence on May 21, 1978 and for which a mining permit application approved by the department was on file on the date these rules became effective except to the extent there is a change in the mining operation requiring a modification of the mining permit under these rules.
NR 132.02 History
History: Cr.
Register, August, 1982, No. 320, eff. 9-1-82; correction in (1) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats.,
Register, January, 2000, No. 529.
NR 132.03
NR 132.03
Definitions. The following special definitions are applicable to the terms used in this chapter:
NR 132.03(1)
(1) "Abandonment of mining" means the cessation of mining, not set forth in an operator's mining or reclamation plans or by any other sufficient written or constructive notice, extending for more than 6 months. Abandonment of mining does not include the cessation of mining due either to labor strikes or the cessation of mining due to such unforeseen developments as adverse market conditions for a period not to exceed 5 years as determined by the department after consulting with the metallic mining council.
NR 132.03(2)
(2) "Applicant" means a person who has applied for a mining permit.
NR 132.03(3)
(3) "Baseline data" means the data collected by the applicant or the department which the department has accepted through the regulatory process of
ss. NR 132.05 and
132.11, and s.
293.43, Stats., as representing the existing environmental conditions prior to the commencement of mining.
NR 132.03(4)
(4) "Concentrator" means a facility where ore is separated into values (concentrates) and rejects (tailings).
NR 132.03(5)
(5) "Department" means department of natural resources.
NR 132.03(6)
(6) "Forfeited any bond" means the forfeiture of any performance security occasioned by noncompliance with any mining laws or provisions of this chapter.
NR 132.03(7)
(7) "Materials" means all substances handled, processed, transported, stored or disposed of on the mining site during the mining, concentrating and reclamation operation, including merchantable by-product and other materials generated by the operation as well as those brought onto the mining site.
NR 132.03(8)
(8) "Merchantable by-product" means all waste soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation and other material directly resulting from or displaced by the mining, cleaning or preparation of minerals during mining operations which are determined by the department to be marketable upon a showing of marketability made by the operator, accompanied by a verified statement by the operator of his or her intent to sell such material within 3 years from the time it results from or is displaced by mining. If after 3 years from the time merchantable by-product results from or is displaced by mining such material has not been transported off the mining site, it shall be considered and regulated as refuse unless removal is continuing at a rate of more than 12,000 cubic yards per year. Regardless of whether the material constitutes merchantable by-product, it shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter.
NR 132.03(9)
(9) "Metallic mineral" means a naturally occurring inorganic, metal-containing substance which is mined or proposed to be mined for the purpose of extracting a metal or metals which form all or a part of the chemical composition of the mineral. Such metals include but are not limited to iron, copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver, titanium, vanadium, nickel, cadmium, molybdenum, chromium, manganese, cobalt, zirconium, beryllium, thorium, and uranium.
NR 132.03(11)
(11) "Mining" or "mining operation" means all or part of the process in the mining of metallic minerals other than for exploration or prospecting, including commercial extraction, agglomeration, beneficiation, construction of roads, removal of overburden and the production of refuse.
NR 132.03(12)
(12) "Mining permit" means the permit which is required of all operators as a condition precedent to commencing mining at a mining site.
NR 132.03(13)
(13) "Mining plan" means the proposal for the mining of the mining site which shall be approved by the department under s.
293.49, Stats., prior to the issuance of the mining permit.
NR 132.03(14)
(14) "Mining site" means the surface area disturbed by a mining operation, including the surface area from which the minerals or refuse or both have been removed, the surface area covered by refuse, all lands disturbed by the construction or improvement of haulageways, pipelines and pipeline corridors, and any surface areas in which structures, equipment, materials and any other things used in the mining operation are situated.
NR 132.03(15)
(15) "Monitoring data" means the data collected by the operator or the department after the commencement of mining.
NR 132.03(16)
(16) "Operator" means any person who is engaged in, or who has applied for or holds a permit to engage in mining, whether individually, jointly or through subsidiaries, agents, employees or contractors.
NR 132.03(17)
(17) "Ore" means a naturally occurring material from which metallic minerals may be recovered at a profit.
NR 132.03(18)
(18) "Overburden" means any unconsolidated material that overlies bedrock.
NR 132.03(19)
(19) "Person" means any individual, corporation, cooperative-owner, lessee, syndicate, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, political subdivision of the state of Wisconsin, any state agency, or any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of the foregoing.
NR 132.03(20)
(20) "Principal shareholder" means any person who owns at least 10% of the beneficial ownership of an operator.
NR 132.03(21)
(21) "Reclamation" means the process by which an area physically or environmentally affected by mining is rehabilitated to either its original state or, if this is shown to be physically or economically impracticable or environmentally or socially undesirable, to a state that provides long-term environmental stability. Reclamation shall provide the greatest feasible protection to the environment and shall include, but is not limited to, the criteria for reclamation set forth in s.
293.13 (2) (c), Stats., and the closure and long-term care requirements of
ch. NR 182 for facilities licensed pursuant to that chapter.
NR 132.03(22)
(22) "Reclamation plan" means the proposal for the reclamation of the mining site which must be approved by the department under s.
293.49, Stats., prior to the issuance of the mining permit, and includes the closure and long-term care requirements of
ch. NR 182 for facilities licensed pursuant to that chapter.
NR 132.03(23)
(23) "Refuse" means all waste soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation and other material, except merchantable by-products, directly resulting from or displaced by the mining, and from the cleaning or preparation of minerals during mining operations, and shall include all waste materials deposited on or in the mining site from other sources and mining waste as defined in
s. NR 182.04.
NR 132.03(24)
(24) "Tailings" means waste material resulting from the beneficiation of crushed ore at a concentrator.
NR 132.03(25)
(25) "Unsuitability" means that the land proposed for surface mining is not suitable for such activity because the surface mining activity itself may reasonably be expected to destroy or irreparably damage either of the following:
NR 132.03(25)(a)
(a) Habitat required for survival of species of vegetation or wildlife as designated in
ch. NR 27, if such endangered species cannot be firmly reestablished elsewhere.
NR 132.03(25)(b)
(b) Unique features of the land, as determined by state or federal designation as any of the following, which cannot have their unique characteristic preserved by relocation or replacement elsewhere:
