Senate Bill No. 209

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 11, 2015

An act to amend Section 2774 of the Public Resources Code, relating to surface mining.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 209, as introduced, Pavley. Surface mining: inspections: training.

The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 requires the owner or operator of a mining operation to forward annually to the director and the lead agency a report that provides, among other things, proof of annual inspection by the lead agency. The act requires a lead agency to inspect a surface mining operation within 6 months of receiving th operation’s report and to conduct an inspection no less than once every calendar year. The act authorizes a lead agency to authorize an inspection to be conducted by a state licensed geologist, state licensed civil engineer, state licensed landscape architect, or state licensed forester, as specified.

This bill would require the Department of Conservation, no later than January 1, 2018, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, to offer continuing educational opportunities for lead agency employees to become certified, as appropriate, by the department to inspect surface mining operations. The bill would prohibit a lead agency that operates a surface mining operation from having an inspection performed by a lead agency employee, as specified, unless that employee has become certified as a surface mining operation inspector within the previous 2 years.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 2774 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

2774.  

(a) Every lead agency shall adopt ordinances in
accordance with state policy that establish procedures for the
review and approval of reclamation plans and financial assurances
and the issuance of a permit to conduct surface mining operations,
except that any lead agency without an active surface mining
operation in its jurisdiction may defer adopting an implementing
ordinance until the filing of a permit application. The ordinances
shall establish procedures requiring at least one public hearing and
shall be periodically reviewed by the lead agency and revised, as
necessary, to ensure that the ordinances continue to be in
accordance with state policy.

(b)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The lead agency shall conduct an inspection of a surface
mining operation within six months of receipt by the lead agency
of the surface mining operation’s report submitted pursuant to
Section 2207, solely to determine whether the surface mining
operation is in compliance with this chapter. In no event shall a
lead agency inspect a surface mining operation less than once in
any calendar year. The lead agency may cause an inspection to be
conducted by a state licensed geologist, state licensed civil
engineer, state licensed landscape architect, or state licensed
forester, who is experienced in land reclamation and who has not
been employed by a surface mining operation within the
jurisdiction of the lead agency in any capacity during the previous
12 months. begin insert If a lead agency operates a surface mining operation,
the inspector shall not have been an employee of the lead agency
in any capacity during the previous 12 months unless, beginning
January 1, 2018, the lead agency employee has become certified
as a surface mining operation inspector within the previous two
years pursuant to paragraph (2). end insert All inspections shall be conducted
using a form developed by the department and approved by the
board that shall include the professional licensing and disciplinary
information of the person who conducted the inspection. The
operator shall be solely responsible for the reasonable cost of the
inspection. The lead agency shall notify the director within 30 days
of the date of completion of the inspection that the inspection has
been conducted. The notice shall contain a statement regarding
the surface mining operation’s compliance with this chapter, shall
include a copy of the completed inspection form, and shall specify
which aspects of the surface mining operations, if any, are
inconsistent with this chapter. If the surface mining operation has
a review of its reclamation plan, financial assurances, or an interim
management plan pending under subdivision (b), (c), (d), or (h)
of Section 2770, or an appeal pending before the board or lead
agency governing body under subdivision (e) or (h) of Section
2770, the notice shall so indicate. The lead agency shall forward
to the operator a copy of the notice, a copy of the completed
inspection form, and any supporting documentation, including,
but not limited to, any inspection report prepared by the geologist,
civil engineer, landscape architect, or forester, who conducted the
inspection.

begin insert

(2) No later than January 1, 2018, and on an ongoing basis
thereafter, the department shall offer continuing educational
opportunities for lead agency employees to become certified, as
appropriate, by the department to inspect surface mining
operations.

end insert

(c) Before approving a surface mining operation’s reclamation
plan, financial assurances, including existing financial assurances
reviewed by the lead agency pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
2770, or any amendments, the lead agency shall submit the plan,
assurances, or amendments to the director for review. All
documentation for that submission shall be submitted to the director
at one time. When the lead agency submits a reclamation plan or
plan amendments to the director for review, the lead agency shall
also submit to the director, for use in reviewing the reclamation
plan or plan amendments, information from any related document
prepared, adopted, or certified pursuant to begin delete Division end delete begin insert the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division end insert 13 (commencing with Section
begin delete 21000), end delete begin insert 21000)), end insert and shall submit any other pertinent information.
The lead agency shall certify to the director that the reclamation
plan is in compliance with the applicable requirements of this
chapter and Article 1 (commencing with Section 3500) of Chapter
8 of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations
and the lead agency’s mining ordinance in effect at the time that
the reclamation plan is submitted to the director for review.

(d) (1) The director shall have 30 days from the date of receipt
of a reclamation plan or plan amendments submitted pursuant to
subdivision (c), and 45 days from the date of receipt of financial
assurances submitted pursuant to subdivision (c), to prepare written
comments, if the director so chooses. The lead agency shall
evaluate written comments received from the director relating to
the reclamation plan, plan amendments, or financial assurances
within a reasonable amount of time.

(2) The lead agency shall prepare a written response to the
director’s comments describing the disposition of the major issues
raised by the director’s comments, and submit the lead agency’s
proposed response to the director at least 30 days prior to approval
of the reclamation plan, plan amendment, or financial assurance.
The lead agency’s response to the director’s comments shall
describe whether the lead agency proposes to adopt the director’s
comments to the reclamation plan, plan amendment, or financial
assurance. If the lead agency does not propose to adopt the
director’s comments, the lead agency shall specify, in detail, why
the lead agency proposes not to adopt the comments. Copies of
any written comments received and responses prepared by the lead
agency shall be forwarded to the operator. The lead agency shall
also give the director at least 30 days’ notice of the time, place,
and date of the hearing before the lead agency at which time the
reclamation plan, plan amendment, or financial assurance is
scheduled to be approved by the lead agency. If no hearing is
required by this chapter, or by the local ordinance, or other state
law, then the lead agency shall provide 30 days’ notice to the
director that it intends to approve the reclamation plan, plan
amendment, or financial assurance. The lead agency shall send to
the director its final response to the director’s comments within
30 days following its approval of the reclamation plan, plan
amendment, or financial assurance during which period the
department retains all powers, duties, and authorities of this
chapter.

(3) To the extent that there is a conflict between the comments
of a trustee agency or a responsible agency that are based on the
agency’s statutory or regulatory authority and the comments of
other commenting agencies which are received by the lead agency
pursuant to begin delete Division end delete begin insert the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division end insert 13 (commencing with Section begin delete 21000) end delete begin insert 21000)) end insert regarding
a reclamation plan or plan amendments, the lead agency shall
consider only the comments of the trustee agency or responsible
agency.

(e) A lead agency shall notify the director of the filing of an
application for a permit to conduct surface mining operations
within 30 days of an application being filed with the lead agency.
By July 1, 1991, each lead agency shall submit to the director for
every active or idle mining operation within its jurisdiction, a copy
of the mining permit required pursuant to Section 2774, and any
conditions or amendments to those permits. By July 1 of each
subsequent year, the lead agency shall submit to the director for
each active or idle mining operation a copy of any permit or
reclamation plan amendments, as applicable, or a statement that
there have been no changes during the previous year. Failure to
file with the director the information required under this section
shall be cause for action under Section 2774.4.