BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 209
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
209 (Pavley)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 25-13
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Natural |7-1 |Williams, Cristina |Harper |
|Resources | |Garcia, Hadley, | |
| | |McCarty, Rendon, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Mark Stone, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Nazarian, |Gallagher, Jones |
| | |Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Revises the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975
(SMARA), renames the Office of Mine Reclamation to instead be
the Division of Mines, and creates the Supervisor of Mines and
Reclamation to direct the Division. Specifically, this bill:
1) Increases the maximum reporting fee for any single
mining operation from $4,000 to $10,000 annually over a
three year period. Increases the total allowable revenue
generated by the reporting fees from $3,500,000 to
$8,000,000 annually.
2) Allows the director of the Department of Conservation
(Director) to appeal a lead agency's approval of a
financial assurance cost estimate (FACE) to the California
State Mining and Geology Board (Board) if the Director has
commented that the FACE is inadequate.
3) Specifies the level of detail a reclamation plan map
must have and requires maps to be prepared by specific
licensed professionals.
4) Exempts a borrow pit surface mining operation, owned or
operated by the lead agency solely for use by the lead
agency from certain requirements that apply to idle mines.
5) Requires, under certain circumstances, the lead agency
to provide the operator with a minimum five day written
notice of a pending inspection.
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6) Allows a lead agency employee to inspect surface mining
operations that are owned by the local agency.
7) Requires the Department of Conservation (DOC) to
establish a training program for all surface mine
inspectors that shall include workshops. Requires all mine
inspectors to complete an inspection workshop.
8) Requires that this bill will only become operative if
both this bill and AB 1142 (Gray) of the current
legislative session are enacted.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates SMARA, which prohibits a person from conducting
surface mining operations unless the lead agency for the
operation issues a surface mining permit and approves a
reclamation plan and financial assurances for reclamation.
Depending on the circumstances, a lead agency can be a city,
county, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission, or the Board. Reclamation plans and financial
assurances must be submitted to the Director for review.
2)Requires the Board to impose an annual reporting fee for each
active or idle mining operation. Specifies that the maximum
fee for any single mining operation may not exceed $4,000
annually and may not be less than $100 annually, as adjusted
for the cost of living, for the purpose of carrying out SMARA.
3)Provides a mechanism by which the Board can strip a local
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agency of its lead agency status for failure to implement
state law, the Board then serves as the lead agency.
4)Requires lead agencies to require financial assurances of each
surface mining operation to ensure reclamation is performed in
accordance with the surface mining operation's approved
reclamation plan.
5)Requires the financial assurance to remain in effect for the
duration of the surface mining operation and until the
reclamation is complete. Requires the amount of financial
assurance to be adjusted annually to account for new lands
disturbed by surface mining operations, inflation, and
reclamation of lands accomplished in accordance with the
approved reclamation plan.
6)Requires lead agencies to conduct annual mine inspections to
determine compliance with SMARA.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the administrative fee increase authorized in the
bill will result in an estimated increase in revenue between
$3.6 million and $6.2 million (special fund). The actual
revenue increase will depend upon how the Board calculates fees
for different operations. The statute requires that Board set
fees on an equitable basis reflecting the size and type of
operation.
COMMENTS: There are over a thousand active mines in California
that remove aggregate for building material, metals, and
minerals. California is the only state in the United States
where surface mine reclamation is not regulated by the state.
Local governments including cities and counties are the lead
agencies for most mines. However, DOC and the Board oversee
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their permitting, inspection, and enforcement actions. Mining
operators are required under SMARA to develop and implement
reclamation plans, which will return the mine to a condition
where it can be used for another purpose after the mining
operation is complete. Annual reports and inspections are
supposed to ensure that mining operators are making progress
toward reclamation. However, there are instances when the mine
operator cannot be located or is unable to complete the mine
reclamation. Financial assurances are required to make sure
there will be resources available to reclaim the mine. The
state and lead agencies have an interest in properly reclaimed
mines, because a surface mine is a large hole in the ground and
can have many dangerous features. If the mine is reclaimed, the
land can be returned to another use. If it is not, the state or
the lead agency could be responsible for protecting the public
from the dangers of the mine, cleaning up the mine, and
reclaiming the mine.
In the Governor's signing statement for SB 447 (Lara), Chapter
417, Statutes of 2013, he called for a top-to-bottom review of
SMARA. Multiple stakeholder group meetings have been held to
discuss the administration's concerns with SMARA. Issues that
are under discussion include:
1)Meaningful reclamation of disturbed mine lands;
2)Adequate financial assurance;
3)Financial assurances are not released until reclamation is
complete;
4)Financial assurance can be used for reclamation if the mine
owner does not reclaim their mine;
5)Quality inspections of mines occur annually;
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6)When inspectors find non-compliance enforcement is clear,
timely, and meaningful;
7)The Board has tools to improve local SMARA implementation;
8)Reporting fees and penalties are paid by operators and that
fees cover the cost of the program; and,
9)Inappropriate exemptions from SMARA are stopped.
The goal of these talks is to amend SMARA to meet its intent. In
last couple of months DOC released language on these issues and
solicited feedback from stakeholders. This language was amended
into this bill, and therefore, the current bill is the product
of the Governor's stakeholder process.
Analysis Prepared by:
Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN:
0002192
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