Under current law, if none of the grounds for denial of the application for a
metallic mining permit apply, DNR must issue the mining permit if it finds the
following: 1) the mining plan and reclamation plan are reasonably certain to result
in reclamation of the mining site as required by current law and DNR has approved
the mining plan; 2) the proposed mining operation will comply with all applicable air,
groundwater, surface water, and solid and hazardous waste management statutes
and rules; 3) the proposed mine will not endanger public health, safety, or welfare;
4) the proposed mine will result in a net positive economic impact in the area
expected to be most impacted by the mine; and 5) the proposed mining operation
conforms with all applicable zoning ordinances.
Under this bill, the standards for approval of an iron mining permit differ in
some respects from the standards under current law. Under the bill, if none of the
grounds for denial of the application for an iron mining permit apply, DNR must
issue an iron mining permit if it finds the following: 1) the mining plan and
reclamation plan are reasonably certain to result in reclamation of the mining site
as required by the provisions of this bill; 2) the applicant has committed to
conducting the proposed iron mining in compliance with the mining permit and any
other approvals issued by DNR; 3) the proposed iron mining is not likely to result in
substantial adverse impacts to public health, safety, or welfare; 4) the proposed iron
mine will result in a net positive economic impact in the area expected to be most
impacted by the mine; 5) the applicant will obtain all applicable zoning approvals;
and 6) the waste site feasibility study and plan of operation comply with the
provisions of this bill.
Review of DNR decisions
Currently, any person aggrieved by a decision of DNR under the metallic
mining laws may obtain a contested case administrative hearing under this state's
administrative procedure laws.
Under this bill, no person is entitled to a contested case hearing on a decision
by the DNR under the iron mining laws or a decision by DNR on any environmental
approval needed for iron mining or bulk sampling. Judicial review of such a decision,
on the administrative record before DNR, is the exclusive method for challenging the
decision.
Current law authorizes citizen suits against a person alleged to be in violation
of the metallic mining laws and against DNR when there is alleged to be a failure of
DNR to perform a duty under those laws.
The bill does not provide for citizen suits related to iron mining.
Wetlands
This bill makes various changes in current law relating to iron mining and
impacts to wetlands and establishes different requirements than those found under
current law. All of the changes explained below regarding wetlands apply to
wetlands that are impacted by iron mining.
Wetland water quality certification
Under the current permitting process there are two permitting procedures for
discharging dredged or fill material into a wetland depending on whether the
wetland is subjected to federal jurisdiction. Under federal law, activities involving
the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters subject to federal jurisdiction
must comply with certain guidelines contained in regulations promulgated by the
federal Environmental Protection Agency in order for a federal permit to be issued
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). Wetlands are usually the type of waters
involved (federal wetlands). Wetlands that are exempt from federal jurisdiction are
those that are nonnavigable and isolated, intrastate waters. Current state law
regulates discharges and other activities in these wetlands (nonfederal wetlands).
Current law relating to wetlands also makes a distinction between wetlands
that are in, or in close proximity to, an area of special natural resource interest
(ASNRI wetlands) and wetlands that are outside these areas. Current law defines
"an area of special natural resource interest" as being an area that has significant
ecological, cultural, aesthetic, educational, recreational, or scientific values and
specifically lists certain areas, including Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, state
forests, and state parks.
Under current law, before ACE may issue a federal permit, DNR must issue a
water quality certification that certifies that the discharge complies with state water
quality standards applicable to wetlands. For a discharge into nonfederal wetlands,
DNR must issue a water quality certification that certifies that the discharge
complies with these water quality standards. In issuing water quality certification
for both federal wetlands and nonfederal wetlands, DNR may impose conditions that
must be met as part of the water quality certification.
This bill limits DNR's authority in imposing conditions for federal permits as
part of the water quality certification. If DNR determines that implementation of the
federal compensatory mitigation requirements will offset any significant adverse
impact to the wetlands or if for federal ASNRI wetlands avoidance and minimization
of adverse impacts has occurred to the extent practicable and any remaining
significant adverse impacts are offset by compensation or mitigation, DNR may not
impose any additional conditions. If DNR does not make this determination, DNR
may impose only the conditions necessary to offset significant adverse impacts that
are not offset by the federal compensatory mitigation requirements. The bill also
provides that DNR may not increase the number of acres to be mitigated under the
federal compensatory mitigation requirements.
For issuing a wetland water quality certification for nonfederal wetlands, if
DNR determines that impacts to the wetland will be avoided or minimized to the
extent practicable, any remaining impacts to nonfederal wetlands or an area of
special natural resource interest, may not be used as a basis for denying certification
if any remaining significant adverse impacts to the wetland or an area of special
natural resource interest will be offset by compensation or mitigation. Under the
bill, DNR must issue water quality certification for nonfederal wetlands if DNR
determines that all practicable measures will be taken to minimize the adverse
impacts to wetlands and any remaining significant adverse impacts are offset
through compensation or mitigation.
The bill requires that an applicant for a wetland water quality certification for
a nonfederal wetland submit a siting analysis as to various configurations for the
iron mining site to DNR for review. These are limited to configurations associated
with the proposed areas of iron deposits to be mined and areas contiguous to these
deposits. In reviewing the analysis, DNR must recognize limitations associated with
the proposed locations for iron mining, the need for waste sites and processing
facilities to be contiguous to the location of the iron deposits, and the presumption
that nonfederal wetlands will be impacted. If it is impracticable to avoid an impact
or use of a nonfederal wetland, the applicant shall identify in the analysis the
configurations that would result in impacts to the fewest acres. DNR then
determines which configuration will affect the fewest acres and evaluates how that
configuration will impact the functional values and water quality of the nonfederal
wetland.
Wetland water quality standards
Under rules promulgated by DNR, the state wetland water quality standards
require that various functional values of the wetlands be protected from adverse
impacts. These functional values include providing protection from flooding,
recharging groundwaters, providing habitat for wildlife, and providing protection to
shorelines from erosion. Current law also sets forth criteria to be used to assure the
maintenance or enhancement of these functional values. These criteria include
requiring that certain solids, debris, or toxic substances be absent. This bill
incorporates all of the functional values and criteria that are contained in the DNR
rules for water quality certifications for wetlands. The wetland water quality
standards under the bill require that the impacts must be minimized and that any
remaining significant impacts be offset by compensation or mitigation. The bill also
requires that in evaluating the significant adverse impacts, DNR must compare the
functional values of the wetlands that will be impacted by the mining site with other
wetlands and water bodies in the region.
Mitigation and compensation
Under current law, DNR is authorized, but is not required, to consider
mitigation in determining whether to grant a water quality certification or other
permit or approval affecting wetlands. Under current law, wetland mitigation
consists of a project that restores, enhances, or creates (improves) a wetland to offset
adverse impacts to other wetlands or that uses credits from a wetlands mitigation
bank. A wetlands mitigation bank is a system of accounting for wetland loss that
includes one or more sites where wetlands are improved to provide transferable
credits to be subsequently applied to offset adverse impacts to other wetlands.
Mitigation is based on a ratio of acres improved compared to the number of acres
adversely impacted. The bill requires DNR to consider mitigation or compensation
when issuing water quality certifications for both federal and nonfederal wetlands.
Under the bill, compensation allows for the offsetting of adverse impacts to
other water quality functions besides those in wetlands. Compensation may include
projects such as riparian restoration projects and shoreline stabilization projects if
such projects are at locations that are more than one-half mile from the mining site.
Under current law, the ratio of acres for purposes of mitigation requires that 1.5
acres of wetlands be improved to every one acre that is adversely impacted with
limited exception allowing the ratio to be one acre to one acre. The bill specifies that
the ratio for mitigation may not exceed 1.5 acres. Under current law, in calculating
the number of credits a person will receive in implementing mitigation, each acre
restored receives one credit, the range of credits for each acre enhanced is from no
credits to one credit, and each acre created receives one-half credit with a limited
exception. Under the bill, each acre restored, enhanced, or created receives at least
one credit.
Current law prohibits DNR from considering wetlands mitigation in reviewing
whether to grant a permit or other approval for a project that adversely affects an
area of special natural resource interest or an ASNRI wetland. Under the bill,
mitigation and compensation to offset significant adverse impacts to these areas and
ASNRI wetlands are allowed.
Under current law, mitigation must occur within one-half mile of the impacted
wetland (on-site). If DNR determines that it is not practicable or ecologically
preferable that the mitigation occur on-site, DNR shall allow mitigation to be
preformed as near as practicable to the location of the adversely impacted wetland.
Under the bill, if it is not practicable or ecologically preferable to conduct
compensation or mitigation at an on-site location or if there is insufficient wetland
acreage on-site, off-site compensation or mitigation may be performed. This may
include purchases of credits from a mitigation bank located anywhere in the state.
The bill also authorizes other persons to perform compensation or mitigation, subject
to DNR approval.
Exemptions
Under current law, artificial wetlands are exempt from the wetland water
quality standards unless DNR determines significant functional values are present.
This bill exempts these same artificial wetlands from the wetland water quality
standards and eliminates the exception to the exemption for wetlands with certain
significant functional values.
Under current law, certain activities in nonfederal wetlands are exempt from
the water quality certification requirements for wetlands. These include
maintenance of drainage and irrigation ditches, damaged parts of structures that are
in bodies of waters, and maintenance of certain temporary mining roads. Under
current law, these activities lose their exemption under certain circumstances, such
as using a wetland for a use for which it was not previous used, or conducting an
activity that may impair the flow of a body of water. Under the bill, very similar
exemptions apply to iron mining activities. However, the provision regarding losing
the exemption does not apply. Instead, the exemptions only apply if the person
conducting the activity minimizes the adverse effect to the environment.
Other provisions
Under current law, for purposes of delineating the boundary of a wetland, DNR
shall use the procedures contained in the wetlands delineation manual published by
the ACE. The bill provides that if the applicant has provided information to DNR
that is identified in the manual as being sufficient for determining where a wetland
is or for delineating a wetland's boundaries, DNR may visit the site to conduct
surveys or gather site-specific data provided that DNR does not discontinue
processing the application to do so.
Current law requires a permit holder to grant DNR an easement to ensure that
an improved wetland is not destroyed or substantially degraded by subsequent
owners. This bill imposes this requirement on persons who receive a water quality
certification and requires DNR to suspend the certification if the permit holder fails
to grant the easement within the time limit set forth in the mining permit.
Groundwater quality
Groundwater quality standards
Under current law, DNR and the Department of Health Services (DHS)
establish groundwater quality standards, consisting of enforcement standards and
preventive action limits, for substances that contaminate groundwater. The
preventive action limit for a substance is 10 percent, 20 percent, or 50 percent of the
enforcement limit depending on the type of substance.
Under this bill, the enforcement standards and preventive action limits
established by DNR and DHS continue to apply to iron mining operations.
Point of standards application
Current law generally requires each state regulatory agency, including DNR,
to promulgate rules containing design and operational criteria for facilities and
activities affecting groundwater that are designed, to the extent technically and
economically feasible, to minimize the level of substances in groundwater and to
maintain compliance with preventive action limits, unless compliance with the
preventive action limits is not technically and economically feasible. Current law
requires each regulatory agency to promulgate rules that specify the range of
responses that the regulatory agency may take or that it may require the person
controlling a facility or activity to take if a preventive action limit is attained or
exceeded at what is called a point of standards application. Under current law and
under this bill, any point at which groundwater is monitored is a point of standards
application to determine whether a preventive action limit has been attained or
exceeded.
Current law generally prohibits a regulatory agency from promulgating rules
containing design and operational criteria that allow an enforcement standard to be
exceeded at a point of standards application. Under current law and under this bill,
for determining whether an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded, a
point of standards application is any point beyond the boundary of the property on
which the regulated facility or activity is located, any point of present groundwater
use, and, for certain facilities, such as waste disposal facilities, any point beyond a
three-dimensional design management zone (DMZ) established by DNR by rule.
Design management zone
Under DNR's rules, the horizontal dimensions of a DMZ vary depending on the
type of facility. For a metallic mining waste site, the horizontal distance to the
boundary of the DMZ is generally 1,200 feet from the outer waste boundary or at the
boundary of the property owned or leased by the applicant, whichever distance is
less. For a metallic surface mine, the horizontal distance to the boundary of the DMZ
is generally 1,200 feet from the edge of the mining excavation or at the property
boundary, whichever distance is less. Generally, the smaller the DMZ, the more
likely that a preventive action limit or enforcement standard will be attained or
exceeded at the boundary and the more likely that the operator will be required to
implement a response.
Under this bill, for an iron mining site, the horizontal distance to the boundary
of the DMZ is generally 1,200 feet from the engineered structures of a mining waste
site, including any wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoon, the edge of
the mine and adjacent mine mill and ferrous mineral processing and other facilities
or at the property boundary, whichever distance is less.
Under current rules, DNR may reduce the horizontal distance to the boundary
of the DMZ on a metallic mining site if certain conditions are met, but may not
expand it.
Under the bill, DNR may not reduce the horizontal distance to the boundary of
the DMZ on a metallic mining site but may expand it by an additional 1,200 feet in
any direction if DNR determines that preventive action limits and enforcement
standards will be met at the boundary of the expanded DMZ and that preventive
action limits and enforcement standards cannot be met at the boundary of the DMZ
if it is not expanded.
Under DNR's rules, a DMZ extends vertically from the land surface through all
saturated geological formations. Under the bill, the vertical distance to the boundary
of the DMZ on an iron mining site extends no deeper than 1,000 feet into the
Precambrian bedrock or than the final depth of the mining excavation, whichever is
greater.
Mandatory intervention boundary
Currently, for metallic mining waste sites and metallic mines, in addition to the
DMZ, DNR's rules provide for a mandatory intervention boundary that is 150 feet
from the outer waste boundary or the edge of the mine. Under the rules, if a
preventive action limit or an enforcement standard is exceeded beyond the
mandatory intervention boundary, DNR must require a response by the operator.
The bill does not provide a mandatory intervention boundary for an iron mining
site.
Response when preventive action limit is attained or exceeded
Under DNR's groundwater rules, when a preventive action limit is attained or
exceeded at a point of standards application, DNR must determine the appropriate
response, taking into consideration the response proposed by the operator. The
response must be designed and implemented to minimize the concentration of the
substance in groundwater at the point of standards application to the extent feasible,
to regain and maintain compliance with the preventive action limit, and to ensure
that the enforcement standard is not attained or exceeded at the point of standards
application. DNR's rules specify a range of responses for when a preventive action
limit is attained or exceeded at a point of standards application, including requiring
a revision of operational procedures and requiring remedial action to restore
groundwater quality.
Under the bill, when a preventive action limit is attained or exceeded at a point
of standards application and the quality of groundwater is statistically significantly
different from the quality of the groundwater unaffected by the iron mining, DNR
must evaluate the range of responses proposed by the operator, including alternate
responses to the responses specified in DNR's rules, and designate the appropriate
response. DNR may determine that no response is necessary if it determines that
the preventive action limit will not be attained or exceeded at any point outside the
DMZ or, in some cases, if the natural concentration of the substance is above the
preventive action limit.
Response when enforcement standard is attained or exceeded
Under DNR's groundwater rules, when an enforcement standard is attained or
exceeded at a point of standards application for a solid or hazardous waste facility,
DNR must require responses as necessary to prevent any new releases of the
substance from traveling beyond the DMZ and to restore the contaminated
groundwater within a reasonable period. When an enforcement standard is attained
or exceeded at a point of standards application for a facility that is not a solid or
hazardous waste facility, DNR must generally prohibit the activity that uses or
produces the substance and require remedial actions, unless it can be shown that an
alternative response will achieve compliance with the enforcement standard at the
point of standards application.
Under the bill, when an enforcement standard is attained or exceeded at a point
of standards application and the quality of groundwater is statistically significantly
different from the quality of the groundwater unaffected by the iron mining, DNR
must evaluate the operator's proposed range of responses and designate an
appropriate response. DNR may not prohibit an activity or require closure of a
mining waste site unless DNR determines that no other remedial action would
prevent the violation of the enforcement standard at the point of standards
application.
Disposal of mining waste
Approval of facility
Under current law, no person may construct or operate a solid waste disposal
facility, such as a landfill, without the approval of DNR under the solid waste
statutes and rules. The rules under which metallic mining waste facilities are
regulated differ in some ways from the rules for other solid waste facilities.
Under this bill, the current solid waste laws do not apply to iron mining waste
facilities. Instead, the standards for an iron mining waste facility are specified in the
iron mining laws and the process for approving an iron mining waste facility is part
of the process for approving the iron mining permit. Under the bill, if a mining site
will include a disposal facility for waste that is not mining waste, such as trash from
an office or cafeteria, the current solid waste laws apply to that disposal facility.
Location of facility
Current law requires DNR to promulgate rules for the location of solid waste
facilities. Unless DNR grants an exemption, as described below (in the section on
exemptions), the rules prohibit the location of a mining waste site in any of the
following areas: 1) within 1,000 feet of a state trunk highway, a state park or scenic
easement or overlook, a scenic or wild river, or a hiking or bike trail, unless the
proposed waste site is visually inconspicuous or is screened; 2) within an area
designated in the statutes as being unsuitable for surface mining, such as a
wilderness area, a wildlife refuge, or a state or national park; 3) within 200 feet of
the property boundary; 4) within a floodplain; 5) within 300 feet of a navigable river
or stream; 6) within 1,000 feet of a lake; or 6) within 1,200 feet of a private or public
water supply well.
This bill includes the same locational limits for an iron mining waste site,
except that it does not prohibit an iron mining waste site from being located within
an area designated in the statutes as being unsuitable for surface mining.
Waste site feasibility study and plan of operation
The current solid waste statutes require an applicant for the approval of a solid
waste disposal facility to submit a waste site feasibility study, to demonstrate the
suitability of the site for the disposal of solid waste, and a plan of operation for the
facility. DNR's rules concerning metallic mining waste facilities contain extensive
requirements for the waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.
This bill requires an applicant for an iron mining permit to submit a waste site
feasibility study and plan of operation as part of the application for the mining
permit. The bill contains extensive requirements for the waste site feasibility study
and plan of operation, many of which are similar to the requirements in DNR's
current rules. Some of the technical requirements in the bill differ from the current
rules.
The bill requires the applicant to perform analyses to assess the potential
environmental impact of mining waste handling, storage, and disposal. The
applicant must conduct investigations on the proposed waste site and in the
laboratory to determine the characteristics of the site through measures such as soil
borings and tests and determining groundwater levels and flow patterns and
premining groundwater quality. The applicant must provide information about the
ecosystems and climatology in the vicinity of the proposed mining waste site and
about the geology, zoning, and land use in the area.
Under the bill, the applicant must submit a proposed waste site design that
includes proposed methods for controlling water that has been contaminated by
dissolved materials (leachate) and for controlling access to the facility and
engineering plans and must submit a description of typical daily operations of the
iron mining waste facility.
Proof of financial responsibility
Under current law and under this bill, the operator of a mine must furnish to
DNR a bond or other security in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of reclamation
of the mining site.
Current law also requires the operator of a mining waste facility to provide
proof of financial responsibility for the costs of the care, maintenance, and
monitoring of the facility after it is closed (long-term care). The obligation to provide
proof of financial responsibility for long-term care continues until DNR terminates
that requirement, which it may not do until at least 40 years after closure of the mine.
Under this bill, the operator of an iron mining waste facility is also required to
provide proof of financial responsibility for the costs of the long-term care of the
facility. Under the bill, the operator of an iron mine may apply to DNR for
termination of its obligation to provide proof of financial responsibility for long-term
care of the mining waste facility after the facility has been closed for at least 20 years
by submitting an application that demonstrates that proof of financial responsibility
for long-term care is no longer necessary for adequate protection of public health or
the environment. If DNR decides that additional proof of financial responsibility for
long-term care is still needed, the operator may not submit another application for
five years.
Water withdrawals
Under current law, no person may withdraw water from a stream or lake
without a permit (surface water withdrawal permit) issued by DNR. Current law
also regulates withdrawals of groundwater. That law prohibits a property owner
from withdrawing water from or constructing a well that, together with other wells
on the same property, has a capacity of more than 100,000 gallons per day without
an approval from DNR (high capacity well approval). DNR must review, using an
environmental review process specified in DNR's rules, every application for an
approval of a high capacity well that has a water loss of more than 95 percent of the
amount of water withdrawn, that may have a significant environmental impact on
a spring, or that is located in a groundwater protection area. A groundwater
protection area is an area within 1,200 feet of certain outstanding or exceptional
resource waters or certain trout streams. Current law also provides that if DNR
determines that a proposed high capacity well may impair the water supply of a
public utility, then DNR may not approve the well unless it includes certain approval
conditions that will ensure that the water supply of the public utility will not be
impaired and if DNR determines that a proposed high capacity well that has a water
loss of 95 percent of the amount of water withdrawn, may have a significant impact
on a spring or is located in a groundwater protection area, then DNR generally may
not approve the well unless it includes certain approval conditions that will ensure
that the high capacity well will not cause significant adverse environmental impact.
Current law also provides that if a person to whom DNR has issued a surface
water withdrawal permit or a high capacity well approval proposes to begin a new
withdrawal or increase an existing withdrawal that will result in a water loss beyond
a specified threshold amount, then that person must apply for a new or modified
surface water withdrawal permit or high capacity well approval (water loss
application). A water loss is a loss of water from the basin from which it is withdrawn
as a result of interbasin diversion or consumptive use. The water loss application
must contain certain information including the place and source of the proposed
withdrawal, the estimated average volumes and rates of water loss, the anticipated
costs of any proposed construction, and a description of the conservation practices
that the applicant intends to follow. If DNR approves the water loss application then
DNR must modify the applicant's existing surface water withdrawal permit or high
capacity well approval or issue a new permit or approval that specifies certain
conditions with regard to the water withdrawal.
This bill establishes different requirements for surface water and groundwater
withdrawals relating to iron mining. In lieu of a surface water withdrawal permit,
a high capacity well approval, and a water loss application, a person who, as part of
an iron mining operation or bulk sampling (explained below), engages in a surface
water withdrawal or withdrawal of groundwater or the dewatering of mines that
exceeds 100,000 gallons a day, must obtain a water withdrawal permit from DNR
(mining water withdrawal permit). The bill specifies that a person who applies for
a mining water withdrawal permit need not be a riparian (waterfront) property
owner. If the withdrawal of water will involve one or more high capacity wells, DNR
must require the applicant to submit a siting analysis that includes alternate
proposed locations for each well. In evaluating the siting analysis, DNR must
recognize that there is a need for mining waste sites and processing facilities to be
contiguous to the location of the ferrous mineral deposits and must allow any high
capacity well to be located so that need will be met. DNR must also determine which
location has the fewest overall adverse environmental impacts to the extent
practicable. In determining what is practicable, DNR must take into consideration
the ability to implement certain conservation measures.
The bill requires DNR to issue a mining water withdrawal permit if the
withdrawal meets certain requirements (general requirements). Among those
requirements is that the proposed withdrawal and use of the water is substantially
consistent with the protection of public health, safety, and welfare; that it will not be
significantly detrimental to the quantity or quality of the waters of this state; that
it will not significantly impair the rights of riparian owners or the applicant obtains
the consent of riparian owners; and that it will not result in significant injury to
public rights in navigable waters. The bill requires that the applicant submit a plan
to DNR that contains proposed conservation measures, such as mitigation,
compensation, or offsetting of significant impacts to navigable waters by restoring
or enlarging up to 1.5 acres of a natural navigable water in exchange for each acre
of a natural navigable water that is significantly impacted (offsetting impacts to
navigable waters). After DNR reviews the application and plan, DNR must issue a
permit if it finds that the general requirements will be met by implementing some
or all of the conservation measures. The bill further provides that if the applicant
cannot meet the general requirements by implementing conservation measures,
DNR shall nevertheless issue the mining water withdrawal permit if DNR
determines that the public benefits resulting from the iron mining operation exceed
any injury to public rights in a body of water that is affected by the mining operation.
In making this determination, DNR is required to recognize certain factors,
including the extent to which public rights in a navigable body of water may be
substantially and irreparably injured by the proposed withdrawal, public benefits
that may be provided, such as increased employment, from the iron mining
operation, and the social benefits and costs that will result from the mining
operation.
The bill authorizes DNR to impose certain reasonable conditions in the mining
water withdrawal permit, but the conditions may not interfere with, or limit the
amount of water needed for, the iron mining operation or bulk sampling. The bill also
allows an iron mining operator to request a modification of any condition in the
mining water withdrawal permit and establishes certain deadlines under which
DNR must approve or deny the request for modification. The bill specifies that if a
request for modification results in an existing withdrawal resulting in a water loss
averaging more than a specified number of gallons per day in a 30-day period, then
DNR must determine whether, under its rules, it is required to prepare an
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. If so, then DNR
must prepare the environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
Navigable waters
Under current law, DNR regulates certain activities that occur in or near
navigable waterways. In order for a person to conduct such an activity, the person
may be required to obtain one or more permits from DNR. Among the permits that
DNR issues are permits to place structures or deposits in navigable waters, permits
to construct or maintain bridges and culverts, permits to enlarge or connect
waterways, permits to change the courses of streams and rivers, and permits to
remove material from beds of navigable waterways. Current law also requires that
DNR have in place general permits for some of these activities. Under current law,
some activities are exempt from these requirements.
In order to receive an individual permit for the navigable waters activities
regulated by DNR, the activity must meet certain requirements. These
requirements vary depending on the type of permit issued, and may include
requirements that address possible obstruction to navigation, reduction to flood flow
capacity, and interference with the rights of other riparian owners. The bill modifies
the requirements for the purpose of issuing individual permits associated with iron
mining and provides that the same requirements apply to all of these permits. Under
the bill, a navigable waters permit will be issued if it will not significantly impair the
public's rights and interests in navigable waters, will not significantly reduce flood
flow capacity, will not significantly affect riparian rights, and will not significantly
degrade water quality. The bill requires that the applicant submit a plan to DNR that
contains proposed measures, such as improving public rights in navigable waters,
conducting mitigation or compensation, or offsetting impacts to navigable waters.
After DNR reviews the application and plan, DNR must issue a permit or enter into
a contract if it finds that the requirements will be met by implementing some or all
of the measures.
Under current law, to qualify for some of the individual or general permits or
to conduct activities under certain permit exemptions, the person must be an owner
of riparian property. Under the bill for purposes of iron mining, the requirement of
being a riparian owner does not apply.
Exemptions
Current law authorizes DNR to promulgate rules under which it may grant to
an applicant for a metallic mining permit an exemption to a rule promulgated under
the solid waste, hazardous waste, or metallic mining laws if the exemption does not
result in a violation of any federal or state environmental statute or endanger public
health, safety, or welfare or the environment.
This bill authorizes an applicant for an iron mining permit to request an
exemption from any requirement in the iron mining laws applicable to a mining
permit application, a mining permit, or any other approval issued by DNR that is
needed to conduct the iron mining. DNR must grant or deny the exemption within
15 days. DNR must grant the exemption if it is consistent with the purposes of the
iron mining laws; it does not violate other applicable environmental laws; and either:
1) it will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts, or 2) it will result
in significant adverse environmental impacts but the applicant will offset those
impacts through compensation, mitigation, or conservation measures, except that
DNR may not grant the exemption or variance if granting it would violate federal
law.
Relation to other laws
Current law provides that if there is a standard under other state or federal
statutes or rules that specifically regulates in whole an activity also regulated under
the metallic mining law, the standard under the other statutes or rules is the
controlling standard. If the other federal or state statute or rule only specifically
regulates the activity in part, it is controlling as to that part.
Under this bill, if there is a conflict between a provision of the iron mining laws
and a provision in another state environmental law, the provision in the iron mining
laws controls.
Exploration
Current law requires a person who intends to engage in exploration to be
licensed by DNR. Exploration is drilling to search for minerals or to establish the
nature of a known mineral deposit. The law requires DNR to promulgate rules
containing minimum standards for exploration and for the reclamation of
exploration sites.
This bill also requires a person who intends to engage in exploration for iron ore
to be licensed by DNR. The bill requires an applicant for an exploration license to
file an exploration plan and a reclamation plan that include provisions related to the
matters for which DNR is required to establish standards under current law. The
bill contains requirements for filling drillholes once exploration has been completed
that are similar to the requirements in DNR's current rules.
Under the current rules, DNR must deny the application for an exploration
license if it finds that the exploration will not comply with the standards for
exploration and reclamation or if the explorer is in violation of the rules.
Under the bill, DNR must deny the application for an exploration license if it
concludes that, after the reclamation plan has been completed, the exploration will
have a substantial and irreparable adverse impact on the environment or present a
substantial risk of injury to public health and welfare. If DNR intends to deny a
license, it must notify the applicant of that intent and the reasons for the intended
denial and give the applicant ten days to correct the problems with its application.
