Under current law, DNR may, but is not required to, issue a wetland individual
permit if it finds that the proposed project represents the least environmentally
damaging practicable alternative, taking into consideration practicable alternatives
that avoid wetland impacts; that all practicable measures to minimize adverse
impacts will be taken; and that the project will not result in significant adverse
impacts to wetland functional values or to water quality or in other significant
adverse environmental consequences. Under the bill, DNR must issue a wetland
individual permit if it finds that the project will meet these requirements. Also, the
bill specifically requires DNR to issue the permit if any significant adverse impact
to wetland functional values that remains after the impacts are avoided or
minimized to the extent practicable will be compensated for under a mitigation
program (see below).
Other approvals that require a wetland impact evaluation
Under this bill, some of the provisions that apply to wetland individual permits
apply to other DNR approvals that regulate activities affecting wetlands, other than
discharges of dredged or fill material, and that require an evaluation of the impact
on the wetland. Under the bill, DNR may not issue such an approval unless DNR
determines that the activity will comply with all the applicable wetland water
quality standards that are described above. The bill also requires DNR to go through
the same process in reviewing an application for one of these other approvals as is
required for wetland individual permits. After completing the reviewing process, the
department may not deny the approval on the basis of the impacts from the activity
on the wetland if it finds that the proposed project represents the least
environmentally damaging practicable alternative, taking into consideration
practicable alternatives that avoid wetland impacts; that all practicable measures
to minimize adverse wetland impacts will be taken; and that the project will not
result in significant adverse impacts to wetland functional values or to water quality
or in other significant adverse environmental consequences. Also, the bill prohibits
DNR from denying the approval permit if any significant adverse impact to wetland
functional values that will remain after the impacts are avoided or minimized to the
extent practicable will be compensated for under a mitigation program (see below).
Wetland general permits
Current law requires that DNR issue statewide general permits for various
types of discharges of dredged and fill material into wetlands. These include general
permits covering discharges that affect not more than two acres of wetland and that
are necessary for dewatering or for the treatment of hazardous waste or toxic
pollutants provided that hazardous waste or toxic pollutants are not part of the
discharge. The general permits also include discharges that affect not more than
10,000 square feet of wetlands that are part of developments for commercial,
residential, agricultural, municipal, or recreational purposes. In order to proceed
with a discharge that is authorized under a general permit, a person has to give
written notification to DNR not less that 30 days before beginning the discharge. If,
within 30 days after receiving the application, DNR does not either request
additional information or inform the person giving notification that a wetland
individual permit will be required, the person may proceed with the discharge
without any further authorization from DNR.
These provisions relating to general permits also apply to discharges of dredged
and fill materials into wetlands that are associated with iron mining except that a
person may not proceed with a discharge until the mining permit is issued.
Discharges of dredged or fill material into wetland subject to federal
jurisdiction
Under federal law, activities involving the discharge of dredged or fill material
into wetlands subject to federal jurisdiction (federal wetlands) 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). Before a federal permit may be issued, DNR
must issue a water quality certification. Under current law, a wetland individual or
general permit issued by DNR that authorizes a discharge of dredged or fill material
constitutes water quality certification for federal purposes. Under the bill, a wetland
individual permit or other approval for which a wetland impact evaluation is
required constitutes a federal water quality certification for a federal wetland.
Mitigation
Under current law, mitigation is required as part of a wetland individual
permit. Mitigation may be accomplished by creating, enhancing, preserving, or
restoring a wetland in order to compensate for adverse impacts to other wetlands.
The mitigation program established by DNR must allow as mitigation the
purchasing of credits from a mitigation bank established in the state and completing
actual mitigation within the same watershed as the discharge site or within one-
half mile of the discharge site if not in the same watershed. A wetland 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. Current law sets a minimum ratio of at
least 1.2 acres of mitigation for each acre affected by a discharge. The mitigation
program may also include an in lieu fee subprogram, if one is established by DNR.
The in lieu fee subprogram is a program under which payments are made to DNR
or another entity for the purposes of restoring, enhancing, creating, or preserving
wetlands or other water resource features. Wetlands that benefit from the in lieu fee
subprogram must be open to the public for nonmotorized activities such as hunting,
cross-country skiing, and hiking.
Under the bill, as under current law, mitigation may be accomplished by
creating, enhancing, restoring, or preserving another wetland. Under the bill,
mitigation can include a mitigation project performed by an applicant for a mining
permit, purchase of mitigation credits from a mitigation bank for a site located
anywhere in the state or from certain mitigation banks established before February
1, 2002. Mitigation can also include participation in the in lieu fee program as
described above.
Under the bill, if is not practicable or ecologically preferable to conduct
mitigation at a location on the mining site or within one-half mile of the outer
boundary of the mining site (on-site location) or if there is no on-site location that
will provide sufficient wetland acreage, DNR must allow the applicant to conduct
mitigation at a site other than an on-site location. However, If a mining operation
is located in whole or in part within the ceded territory, any mitigation, including
mitigation accomplished through the purchase of mitigation bank credits and the in
lieu fee subprogram, that is required to compensate for adverse impacts to wetlands
in the ceded territory shall occur within the ceded territory. The bill defines "ceded
territory" to be the territory located in the state that was ceded by the Chippewa
Indians to the United States in two treaties in 1837 and 1842. The bill sets a
maximum ratio of 1.5 acres of mitigation for each acre of adversely impacted
wetland.
The bill establishes a different procedure for reviewing mitigation measures for
a federal wetland. Under the bill, DNR reviews the applicable mitigation measures
under federal law and determines whether DNR has reasonable assurance that
these measures will compensate for any significant adverse impacts to wetland
functional values, any significant adverse impacts to water quality, and any other
significant adverse environmental consequences (significant adverse effects). If
DNR determines it has reasonable assurance that the mitigation measures will
compensate for these significant adverse effects, DNR may not impose any
additional conditions. If DNR determines that it does not have reasonable
assurance, it may impose additional conditions, but these are limited to those that
are necessary to compensate for any remaining significant adverse effects. The bill
also provides that DNR may not increase the number of acres to be mitigated under
the federal compensatory mitigation requirements.
Exemptions
Under current law, certain activities in wetlands do not require authorization
under a wetland individual permit. These activities include normal farming,
silviculture, and ranching activities and certain activities related to drainage and
irrigation ditches, temporary mining roads, and damaged parts of structures that
are in use of a wetland. Under current law, these activities lose the exemption under
certain circumstances, such as using a wetland for a use for which it was not
previously used or conducting an activity that may impair the flow of a wetland.
Under the bill, some of these exemptions apply to iron mining activities. However,
the provision regarding losing an exemption does not apply. Instead, the exemptions
only apply if the person conducting the activity minimizes the adverse effect to the
environment.
Under current rules promulgated by the DNR, certain artificial wetlands are
exempt from the wetland permitting requirements unless DNR determines that
significant functional values are present. These exemptions include artificial
wetlands that are within active nonmetallic mining operations. Under this bill,
these same artificial wetlands are exempt from the wetland permitting
requirements, except that the exemption for mining is limited to iron mining and the
exception regarding significant functional values does not apply.
Other provisions
Under current law, for purposes of delineating the boundary of a wetland, DNR
must 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 mining 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 person holding a wetland individual permit to grant an
easement to DNR or to execute a comparable legal instrument, to ensure that a
wetland that is improved under a mitigation program is not destroyed or
substantially degraded by subsequent owners. Under the bill a person who is issued
a wetland individual permit or other approval for which a wetland impact evaluation
is required must grant such an easement or execute such an instrument, and DNR
must suspend the wetland permit or approval if the permit or approval holder fails
to grant the easement or execute the instrument 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, but the
bill changes the manner in which they apply.
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. For other mining facilities, the horizontal
distance to the boundary of the DMZ is generally 150 feet from the edge of the facility
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 an iron 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 for 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.
Under the bill, the horizontal distance to the mandatory intervention boundary
for an iron mining site is generally 300 feet from the outer waste boundary or the
outer edge of the excavation. The bill authorizes DNR to reduce the mandatory
intervention boundary by up to 150 feet if it determines that the reduction is
necessary to adequately identify and respond to potential groundwater quality
issues. Under the bill, if a preventive action limit or enforcement standard is
exceeded beyond the mandatory intervention boundary, DNR must require a
response by the operator.
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, for an iron mining operation 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 created in the bill 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 7) within 1,200 feet of a private or public
water supply well.
Under this bill, the limits on the location of a mining waste site do not apply to
the portion of an iron mine that is backfilled with mining waste. Otherwise, the bill
includes the first, third, fourth, and seventh prohibitions described above. The bill
does not prohibit locating an iron mining waste site in an area designated in the
statutes as being unsuitable for surface mining. (See the discussion of unsuitability
under Grant or denial of mining permit,
Grounds for denial, above.) Also, the
bill allows an activity associated with an iron mining waste site to be located within
300 feet of a navigable river or stream or within 1,000 feet of a lake if DNR approves
the activity under the provisions of the bill related to wetlands, water withdrawals,
or navigable waters.
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 that demonstrates 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; engineering
plans for the iron mining waste facility; and a description of typical daily operations
of the facility.
Proof of financial responsibility
Under current law and under this bill, before beginning mining the operator
must furnish to DNR a bond or other security in an amount sufficient to cover the
cost of reclamation of the mining site, in relation to the portion of the mining site that
will be disturbed at the end of the following year.
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 requirement 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 requirement to provide proof of financial responsibility
for long-term care of the mining waste facility terminates after 40 years.
Water withdrawals
Under current law
There are several laws that may currently apply to withdrawals of groundwater
or surface water.
Current law requires a permit (surface water withdrawal permit) issued by
DNR for certain withdrawals of water from a stream or lake, including withdrawals
for metallic mining. The law requires DNR to deny a surface water withdrawal
permit for metallic mining if the injury to public rights caused by the withdrawal
exceeds the public benefits generated by the mining or if the withdrawal would
unreasonably injure rights of riparian (waterfront) property owners unless the
riparian property owners consent to the proposed withdrawal. Current law also
regulates withdrawals of groundwater. The law prohibits a property owner from
constructing a well that, together with other wells on the same property, has a
capacity of more than 100,000 gallons per day (a high capacity well) or from engaging
in the removal of more than 100,000 gallons per day of water from a mine without
an approval from DNR. Current law prohibits DNR from issuing an approval for the
withdrawal of groundwater for mining or for removing water from (dewatering) a
mine if the withdrawal or removal would result in the unreasonable detriment of
public or private water supplies or the unreasonable detriment of public rights in the
waters of the state. Current law 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. 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 an area
within 1,200 feet of certain outstanding or exceptional resource waters or certain
trout streams, 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 to DNR for 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. To approve a water loss application,
DNR must find, among other things, that the proposed withdrawal and use of the
water is consistent with the protection of public health, safety, and welfare and will
not be detrimental to the public interest; that the proposed withdrawal will not have
a significant detrimental effect on the quantity and quality of the waters of the state;
that no public rights in navigable waters will be adversely affected; and that the
applicant incorporates reasonable conservation practices. If DNR approves the
water loss application, it must specify certain conditions with regard to the water
withdrawal, such as the amount of water loss that is allowed and any other
conditions necessary to protect the environment and public health, safety, and
welfare.
Finally, the current law that implements the Great Lakes Water Resources
Compact requires water use permits for certain withdrawals of groundwater or
surface water.
This bill establishes different requirements for surface water and groundwater
withdrawals relating to iron mining, except that the current law that implements the
Great Lakes Water Resources Compact continues to apply. In lieu of a surface water
withdrawal permit, an approval for a high capacity well or dewatering a mine, and
approval of 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, in a
withdrawal of groundwater that exceeds 100,000 gallons a day, or in the dewatering
of mines that exceeds 100,000 gallons a day, must obtain a water withdrawal permit
from DNR (mining water withdrawal permit). This bill specifies that a person is not
required to be the owner of riparian property in order to obtain a permit to withdraw
surface water from that riparian property if the person leases the riparian property
from the owner or holds an easement on the riparian property. The bill also specifies
that a person is not required to be the owner of a piece of property in order to obtain
a permit to withdraw groundwater from that piece of property if the person leases
the piece of property from the owner, the person holds an easement on the piece of
property, or the person has obtained permission from the owner to withdraw
groundwater from that piece of property. 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 approve the location of each well as part of the process for issuing a mining
water withdrawal permit.
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 and will not be
significantly detrimental to the public interest; 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.
Under the bill, if DNR determines that a high capacity well proposed by an
applicant may impair a privately owned high capacity well, DNR must include
conditions in the water withdrawal permit that will ensure that the privately owned
well will not be impaired, unless the owner of the private well agrees to the
impairment. The bill authorizes DNR to impose other reasonable conditions in the
mining water withdrawal permit, as long as the conditions do 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 increase 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 (waterway permits). 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 waterway 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 environmental pollution, obstruction to
navigation, reduction to flood flow capacity, and interference with the rights of other
riparian owners. The bill modifies certain of these requirements for the purpose of
issuing individual waterway permits associated with bulk sampling or iron mining.
Under the bill, in lieu of these requirements in current law, an individual waterway
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.
Requirements for issuing individual waterway permits under current law that are
not modified under the bill continue to apply to the extent that they do not conflict
with any other provision in the bill. The bill requires that the applicant submit a plan
to DNR that contains proposed measures, such as improving public rights in
navigable waters, conducting wetland mitigation, or offsetting impacts to navigable
waters. After DNR reviews the application and plan, DNR must issue a permit if it
finds that the requirements will be met by implementing some or all of the measures.
Under current law, to qualify for some individual waterway permits or to conduct
activities under certain permit exemptions, a person must be an owner of riparian
property. This bill provides that for the purposes of obtaining an individual
waterway permit associated with bulk sampling or iron mining, a person who is not
a riparian owner may exercise a riparian right held by a riparian owner if the person
exercises that right with respect to riparian property that the person leases or on
which the person holds an easement.
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, but not to a statute, 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 created in the bill
applicable to a mining permit application, a mining permit, or any other approval
issued by DNR that is needed to conduct the iron mining. The request must be
submitted no more than 180 days after the application for the mining permit is
considered to be complete. 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 created in the bill; 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 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, other than the law related to the
Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, 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.
As under current DNR rules, the bill generally requires DNR to issue or deny
an application for an exploration license within ten business days of receipt of the
application. Under the bill, however, if DNR does not comply with that deadline, the
exploration license is automatically issued.
Bulk sampling
Under current law, a person may not prospect for metallic ore without a
prospecting permit from DNR. Prospecting is examining an area to determine the
quantity and quality of metallic minerals by means other than drilling, for example,
by excavating. Under current law, the process for obtaining a prospecting permit is
similar to the process for obtaining a mining permit. When a person completes
prospecting, the person must conduct reclamation, that is, must rehabilitate the site
to either its original state or, if that is physically or economically impracticable or
environmentally or socially undesirable, to a state that provides long-term
environmental stability.
Under the bill, a person intending to examine an area to determine the quantity
and quality of iron ore by means other than drilling is not required to obtain a
prospecting license.
The bill allows a person who intends to engage in bulk sampling to file a bulk
sampling plan with DNR. Bulk sampling is excavating in a potential mining site to
assess the quality and quantity of iron ore deposits and to collect and analyze data
to prepare the application for a mining permit or other approval. A person who files
a bulk sampling plan must do all of the following:
1. Describe the bulk sampling site and the methods to be used for bulk
sampling.
2. Submit a plan for controlling surface erosion that identifies how adverse
impacts to plant and wildlife habitats will be avoided or minimized to the extent
practicable.
3. Submit a plan for revegetation, but not for reclamation, that describes how
adverse environmental impacts will be avoided or minimized to the extent
practicable, how the site will be revegetated and stabilized, and how adverse impacts
to plant and wildlife habitats will be avoided or minimized to the extent practicable.
4. Describe any known adverse environmental impacts that are likely to be
caused by bulk sampling and how those impacts will be avoided or minimized to the
extent practicable.
