AB426: Bill Text

AB426,106,11 (w) Tailings pipelines are as short as practicable.

AB426,106,12 (x) Upstream rainfall catchment areas are minimized.

AB426,106,14 (y) The outside of the top of any dam is higher than the inside of the top of the dam so that runoff from the top is forced to the inside of the dam.

AB426,106,15 (z) The mining waste site design includes staged reclamation, if practicable.

AB426,106,19 (8) Limitation on regulation of certain mining waste. The department may not regulate the use of mining waste in reclamation or the construction of any facility or structure except through the department's review of the mining plan and reclamation plan and the approval of the application for the mining permit.

AB426,106,23 (9) Applicability of other laws. Subchapters I to V and VII of ch. 289 and rules promulgated under those subchapters do not apply to a mining waste site, to the disposal of mining waste in a mining waste site, or to mining wastes used in the reclamation or construction of facilities and structures on the mining site.

AB426,107,2 295.53 Environmental impact statement. (1) Consultants. The department may enter into contracts for environmental consultant services under s. 23.41 to assist in the preparation of an environmental impact statement or to provide assistance to applicants.

AB426,107,6 (2) Notice. After the department receives an application for a mining permit, it shall notify the public and affected agencies that an environmental impact statement will be prepared for the proposed mine and that the process of identifying major issues under s. NR 150.21 (3), Wis. Adm. Code, is beginning.

AB426,107,19 (3) Environmental impact report. (a) An applicant shall prepare an environmental impact report for the mining project. In the environmental impact report, the applicant shall provide a description of the proposed mining project, the present environmental conditions in the area and the anticipated environmental impacts of the proposed mining project, the present socioeconomic conditions in the area and the anticipated socioeconomic impacts of the proposed mining project, details of any wetlands compensation program under s. 295.60 (8), any measures for navigable waters under s. 295.605 (4), any proposed changes to the forest designations specified in sub. (4) (c), and the alternatives to the proposed mining project. As the applicant provides more information or makes modifications to the proposed mining project, the department may revise the requirements it specified under s. 295.465 (2) to ensure the potential environmental effects can be identified in the department's environmental impact statement.

AB426,107,25 (b) The department shall assist the applicant in meeting the deadlines for ultimate submission and review of those analyses consistent with this subchapter. If a particular scientific analysis is not completed as of the date the environmental impact report is required to be submitted, the applicant shall identify in the environmental impact report the scope of the analysis and anticipated date that it will be submitted.

AB426,108,2 (c) 1. The applicant shall submit the environmental impact report with the application for the mining permit.

AB426,108,7 3. Upon receipt of the environmental impact report, the department shall review the environmental impact report and, if the department finds that the environmental impact report does not contain information reasonably necessary for the department to evaluate the proposed mining project and its environmental effects, the department may request additional information from the applicant.

AB426,108,13 (d) The department shall accept original data from an environmental impact report for use in the environmental impact statement and need not verify all original data provided by the applicant to accept the data as accurate. The department shall use original data from an environmental impact report in the environmental impact statement if the data contains the information identified in sub. (1) (e) 1. and any of the following conditions is met:

AB426,108,17 1. The department, its consultant, or a cooperating state or federal agency collects sufficient data to perform a limited statistical comparison with data from the environmental impact report that demonstrates that the data sets are statistically similar within a reasonable confidence limit.

AB426,108,20 2. An expert who is employed by, or is a consultant to, the department or is employed by, or is a consultant to, a cooperating state or federal agency determines that the data is within the range of expected results.

AB426,108,23 3. The department, its consultant or a cooperating state or federal agency determines that the methodology used in the environmental impact report is scientifically and technically adequate for the tests being performed.

AB426,109,2 (4) Procedure for environmental impact statement. (a) The department shall prepare an environmental impact statement for every application for a mining permit. In preparing the environmental impact statement, the department shall comply with s. 1.11 (2) and s. NR 150.22 (2), Wis. Adm. Code.

AB426,109,5 (b) The department shall include in the environmental impact statement a description of the significant long-term and short-term impacts, including impacts after the mining has ended, on all of the following:

AB426,109,6 1. Tourism.

AB426,109,7 2. Employment.

AB426,109,8 3. Schools and medical care facilities.

AB426,109,9 4. Private and public social services.

AB426,109,10 5. The tax base.

AB426,109,11 6. The local economy.

AB426,109,16 (c) The department and other state agencies shall address the application for a mining permit, for any approval, and for any action relating to the mining project involving other state agencies in one comprehensive analysis in the environmental impact statement prepared by the department, including any environmental analysis required by the department with regard to any of the following:

AB426,109,19 1. The withdrawal of land entered as county forest land under s. 28.11 and any modification of, or amendment to, a county forest land use plan necessitated by the withdrawal of the land.

AB426,109,20 2. The withdrawal of land entered as forest cropland under s. 77.10.

AB426,109,23 3. The withdrawal of land designated as managed forest land under subch. VI of ch. 77 and any modification of, or amendment to, a managed forest land management plan necessitated by the withdrawal of the land.

AB426,110,3 4. The transfer of land for which amounts were awarded by the department, including under s. 23.09 (17m), 26.38, 28.11 (5r), or 77.895, to fund the acquisition of, or to fund activities conducted on, forest land and any modification of, or amendment to, a forest stewardship management plan or other plan necessitated by the transfer of the land.

AB426,110,11 (d) The public notice, informational hearing, and comment provisions in s. 295.57, the provision concerning the effective date of approvals in s. 295.58 (6), and the provisions for review in s. 295.77 apply to an environmental impact statement prepared under this subsection. If the department revises and redistributes an environmental impact statement or portion of an environmental impact statement prepared under this section, the department shall distribute the environmental impact statement or portion of the environmental impact statement as provided in s. 295.57, but the period for public comment is 30 days, rather than 45 days.

AB426,111,3 (e) The department shall conduct its environmental review process jointly with any federal or local agency that consents to a joint environmental review process. The department may adopt any environmental analysis prepared by another state agency or by a federal or local agency. The department may enter into a written agreement with any of those agencies that have a major responsibility related to or that are significantly affected by the proposed mining. In the written agreement, the parties shall define the responsibility of each agency in the development of a single environmental impact statement on the proposed mining and outline the procedures to be used in the regulatory process. The department shall be the lead agency for any environmental review process involving other state agencies. To the extent that any federal or local agency's environmental review process conflicts with the provisions of this section or s. 295.57, then the department shall follow the provisions of this section and s. 295.57 and may only coordinate its environmental review to the extent consistent with the provisions of this section and s. 295.57. The department shall comment on any federal agency's environmental assessment or environmental impact statement associated with a mining project in accordance with s. NR 150.30, Wis. Adm. Code.

AB426,111,12 (5) Relationship to other laws. This section and s. 295.57 govern the department's obligations under ss. 1.11 and 1.12 with respect to a mining project. Sections 23.11 (5) and 23.40 and ss. NR 2.085, 2.09, and 2.157, Wis. Adm. Code, do not apply with respect to a mining project. The rest of ch. NR 2, Wis. Adm. Code, only applies with respect to a mining project to the extent that it does not conflict with this section and s. 295.57. Sections NR 150.24 and 150.25, Wis. Adm. Code, do not apply with respect to a mining project. The rest of ch. 150, Wis. Adm. Code, only applies with respect to a mining project to the extent that it does not conflict with this section and s. 295.57.

AB426,111,15 295.56 Exemptions. (1) The department may grant an exemption, as provided in this section, from any of the requirements of this subchapter applicable to any of the following:

AB426,111,17 (a) A mining permit application, including the mining plan, reclamation plan, and mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.

AB426,111,18 (b) A mining permit.

AB426,111,19 (c) Any other approval.

AB426,111,23 (2) (a) An applicant shall submit a request for an exemption in writing and shall describe the grounds for the exemption and provide documentation identifying the conditions requiring the exemption, the reasons for the exemption, and the reasonableness of the exemption.

AB426,112,4 (b) An applicant may obtain an exemption only if the applicant submits the request no later than the 180th day after the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under s. 295.57 (2), unless the condition that is the basis for the requested exemption is not known to the applicant before that day, in which case the deadline is extended to the 20th day before the deadline under s. 295.57 (7) (a).

AB426,112,10 (c) The department shall issue a decision on a request for an exemption no later than the 15th day after the day on which it received the request under par. (a). Subject to par. (b) and except as provided in par. (d), the department shall grant the exemption if it is consistent with the purposes of this subchapter and will not violate any applicable environmental law outside of this subchapter and if one of the following applies:

AB426,112,11 1. The exemption will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts.

AB426,112,15 2. The exemption will result in significant adverse environmental impacts, but the applicant will offset those impacts through compensation or mitigation, as provided in s. 295.60; through the measures provided in s. 295.605, or through the conservation measures provided in s. 295.61.

AB426,112,17 (d) 1. The department shall deny a request for an exemption if granting the exemption would violate federal law.

AB426,112,23 2. If federal law imposes a standard for an exemption that differs from the standard in par. (c) and that cannot be modified by state law, and if that standard has been approved by the federal government for use by the state through a delegation agreement, federally approved state implementation plan, or other program approval, then the department shall determine whether to grant the request for the exemption using the federal standard.

AB426,112,25 295.57 Application procedure. (1) Submission. (a) An applicant shall submit the application for a mining permit as provided in s. 295.47.

AB426,113,6 (b) The department and the state geologist shall protect as confidential any information, other than effluent data, contained in an application for a mining permit, upon a showing that the information is entitled to protection as a trade secret, as defined in s. 134.90 (1) (c), and any information relating to production or sales figures or to processes or production unique to the applicant or that would tend to adversely affect the competitive position of the applicant if made public.

AB426,113,12 (2) Determination of administrative completeness. (a) An application for a mining permit is administratively complete on the 30th day after the department receives the application, unless, before that day, the department provides the applicant with written notification that the application is not administratively complete. The department may determine that an application is not administratively complete only if the applicant does not submit one of the following:

AB426,113,14 2. A mining plan that contains the types of information specified in s. 295.48 (1), (2), (3), and (4).

AB426,113,16 3. A reclamation plan that contains the types of information specified in s. 295.49 (1), (2), and (3).

AB426,113,18 4. A mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation that contains the types of information specified in s. 295.51 (5), (6), and (7).

AB426,113,19 5. An environmental impact report.

AB426,113,20 6. The evidence required under s. 295.47 (2) (g).

AB426,113,22 (b) In making the determination under par. (a), the department may not consider the quality of the information provided.

AB426,113,24 (c) In a notice provided under par. (a), the department shall specify what is missing from the application.

AB426,114,11 (d) The running of the 30-day period under par. (a) is tolled from the day on which the department provides notification, in compliance with par. (a), that an application is not administratively complete until the day on which the applicant submits the missing or revised mining plan, reclamation plan, mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation, environmental impact report, or evidence required under s. 295.47 (2) (g). The department shall notify the applicant when it receives the missing or revised mining plan, reclamation plan, waste site feasibility study and plan of operation, environmental impact report, or evidence required under s. 295.47 (2) (g). The application is administratively complete on the day on which the department provides the notification to the applicant or on the expiration of the remainder of the 30-day period, whichever is sooner.

AB426,114,15 (e) The department may request additional information needed to process a mining application from the applicant after the application is administratively complete, but the department may not delay the determination of administrative completeness based on a request for additional information.

AB426,114,19 (3) Notice of additional approvals. Within 30 days after the mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2), the department shall notify the applicant in writing of any approval required for the construction or operation of the mining site that was not previously identified by the department.

AB426,114,24 (3m) Receipt of certain approvals. If a storm water discharge permit under s. 283.33 (1) (a) or a water quality certification under rules promulgated under subch. II of ch. 281 to implement 33 USC 1341 (a) is needed for a mining operation, the person applying for the mining permit may apply for and be issued the permit or certification.

AB426,115,3 (4) Public information and notice. (a) The department shall make available for review in the city, village, or town in which the proposed mining site is located, information concerning the proposed mining, including all of the following:

AB426,115,5 1. The application for the mining permit, including the mining plan, reclamation plan, and mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.

AB426,115,6 2. Any of the following relating to an approval other than the mining permit:

AB426,115,7 a. The application.

AB426,115,8 b. A draft approval.

AB426,115,9 c. Information or summaries relating to the approval.

AB426,115,12 3. The environmental impact statement, environmental impact report, and any additional supporting information used in the department's evaluation of the proposed mining.

AB426,115,14 4. The department's analyses and preliminary determinations relating to any approval.

AB426,115,22 (b) The department shall distribute a notice that describes the availability of the information under par. (a); the opportunity for written public comment, including an invitation for the submission of written comments by any person within 45 days after the notice is published; and the date, time, and location of the public informational hearing and that includes any additional information that a law concerning any approval requires to be provided. The department shall publish the notice as a Class I notice under ch. 985. The department shall also send the notice to all of the following:

AB426,115,24 1. The clerk of any city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed mining site.

AB426,116,2 2. The clerk of any city, village, town, or county within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed mining site is located.

AB426,116,4 3. The clerk of any city, village, or town, contiguous to any city, village, or town within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed mining site is located.

AB426,116,7 4. The main public library of each city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed mining site or within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed mining site is located.

AB426,116,9 5. Any regional planning commission for the area within which the proposed mining site lies.

AB426,116,12 6. Any state agency that the department knows is required to grant a permit or other authorization necessary for the construction or operation of the proposed mining project.

AB426,116,16 7. The federal environmental protection agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and states potentially affected by the proposed discharge if a water discharge permit under ch. 283 or a water quality certification for a federal wetland under s. 295.60 (4) is to be considered at the public informational hearing.

AB426,116,19 8. The federal environmental protection agency and appropriate agencies in other states that may be affected if an air pollution control permit under ch. 285 is to be considered at the public informational hearing.

AB426,116,22 9. If a water withdrawal permit under s. 295.61 for a withdrawal of surface water is to be considered at the public informational hearing, the persons specified in s. 30.18 (4) (a).

AB426,117,3 10. If an individual permit under s. 30.12 for a structure through which water transferred from the Great Lakes basin would be returned to the source watershed through a stream tributary to one of the Great Lakes is to be considered at the public informational hearing, the governing body of each city, village, and town through which the stream flows or that is adjacent to the stream downstream from the point at which the water would enter the stream.

AB426,117,4 11. Any person upon request.

AB426,117,5 12. The applicant.

AB426,117,8 13. Any other person to whom the department is required to give notice of any proposed determination, application, or hearing concerning an approval under the laws relating to the issuance of any approval or under s. 1.11.

AB426,117,14 (c) The department shall coordinate the public comment period for the mining permit with the public comment period for any other approval for the mining operation, except that if an application for an approval is filed too late to allow public comment within the public comment period for the mining permit, the department shall issue separate notice, as described in par. (b), for the approval after the application is filed.

AB426,118,2 (5) Informational hearing. The department shall hold a public informational hearing before issuing or denying a mining permit and not less than 30 days after publishing the notice under sub. (4) (b). The department shall hold the public informational hearing in the county where the majority of the proposed mining site is located. The department shall hold a single public informational hearing covering the mining permit, all other approvals, and the environmental impact statement, except that if an application for an approval is filed too late to allow the application to be considered at the public informational hearing for the mining permit, the department shall hold a separate public informational hearing on the approval in the county where the proposed site is located not less than 30 days after publishing the notice under sub. (4) (b) for the approval. The public informational hearing under this subsection is not a contested case hearing under ch. 227.

AB426,118,6 (6) Summary. After considering the comments received under subs. (4) and (5) and before acting on the application for the mining permit, the department shall prepare a summary of the comments and the department's response to the comments.

AB426,118,10 (7) Deadline for acting on mining permit application. (a) No more than 360 days after the day on which the application for a mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2), the department shall approve the application, and issue a mining permit, or deny the application, in accordance with s. 295.58.

AB426,118,14 (b) If the department does not comply with par. (a), the application for the mining permit is automatically granted and the department shall issue a mining permit. The applicant may engage in mining based on the automatic approval, notwithstanding any delay by the department in issuing the mining permit.

AB426,118,21 (8) Deadline for acting on other approvals. (a) Except as provided in par. (c), if an applicant files an application for an approval other than a mining permit no later than 60 days after the day on which the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2), the department shall approve the application, and issue the approval, or deny the application no more than 360 days after the day on which the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2).

AB426,119,3 (b) Except as provided in par. (c) if an applicant files an application for an approval other than a mining permit more than 60 days after the day on which the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2), the deadline for acting on the application is extended beyond the deadline under par. (a) by the number of days beyond the 60th day after the day on which the application for the mining permit is administratively complete that the applicant files the application for the approval.

AB426,119,5 (c) Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to the application for an air pollution control permit under s. 285.62.

AB426,119,9 (d) The department shall incorporate an approval other than a mining permit into a single document with the mining permit, unless the application for the approval was filed more than 60 days after the day on which the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under sub. (2).

AB426,119,15 (8m) Submission of technical review to Great Lakes regional body. If an applicant files an application under s. 281.346 for an approval for a withdrawal of surface water or groundwater that is subject to regional review or council approval, the department shall provide its technical review, as defined in s. 281.346 (1) (u), to the regional body, as defined in s. 281.346 (1) (q), no later than 90 days after the applicant files the application for the approval.