BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 108
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 108 (Rubio)
As Amended August 26, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
NATURAL RESOURCES 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Knight, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Brownley, Dickinson, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Grove, Halderman, Hill, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Monning, Skinner | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Amends the definition of an idle mine by taking a
snapshot of a five-year period, rather than the life of the
mine, to determine if production has been curtailed to the point
where the interim management plan (IMP) requirements should
apply; allows a mining operator to come into compliance with the
Surface Mining and Reclamation Act's (SMARA) idle mine
requirements by July 1, 2013, if the operator has neglected to
prepare an interim management plan as required by law.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines idle mines as those at which operations are curtailed
for a period of one year or more by more than 90% of the
maximum annual mineral production within any of the last five
years and where there is an intent to resume surface mining
operations at a future date.
2)Permits a mine operator who has failed to properly report a
mine's mineral production or mine status on its annual report
to the director of the Department of Conservation (DOC) to
correct the report in its 2012 annual report if the following
occurs:
a) The 2012 annual report is submitted on or before July 1,
2013; and,
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b) The lead agency confirms in writing to the DOC all of
the following:
i) The operator has notified the lead agency and the
director of DOC that it intends to continue surface
mining operations and provides evidence to support any
production modified on the corrected annual report;
ii) The operator has an existing, valid permit or a
vested right to conduct surface mining operations;
iii) The operator's reclamation plan has been approved
and is in compliance with SMARA and the mining operation
is in compliance with the approved reclamation plan, has
an approved financial assurance in place, and has been
inspected by the lead agency. The Office of Mine
Reclamation may enter a mine site to conduct an
inspection; and,
iv) The operator demonstrates that there are
commercially useful mineral reserves remaining at the
permitted surface mining operation.
3)Requires payment of all unpaid fees for the years during which
the operation's status was not properly reported.
4)Allows a mine operation that is considered abandoned because
it became idle and did not have an approved IMP to return to
the idle status at the request of the operator if an IMP is
approved by July 1, 2013, and 2) and 3) above are met.
5)Requires the mine operator to be responsible for the
reasonable costs of an inspection conducted by the Office of
Mine Reclamation pursuant to 2) b) iii) above.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits conducting surface mining operations without first
obtaining a permit, submitting a reclamation plan, and
providing financial assurances to a lead agency, which is
usually a local government.
2)Requires a surface mining operator to submit an IMP to the
lead agency for review and approval within 90 days of a
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surface mining operation becoming idle.
3)Defines idle mines as those at which operations are curtailed
for a period of one year or more by more than 90% of the
previous maximum annual mineral production and where there is
an intent to resume surface mining operations at a future
date.
4)Requires that an IMP, among other things, provide measures for
maintaining the site in a safe and stable condition.
5)Establishes that an IMP is an amendment to the applicable
reclamation plan and is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act.
6)Allows an IMP to remain in effect for a period not to exceed
five years, at which time the lead agency shall either: a)
renew the IMP for another period not to exceed five years if
the surface mining operator has complied fully with the IMP;
or, b) require the surface mining operator to commence
reclamation in accordance with its approved reclamation plan.
7)Classifies a surface mining operation that remains idle for
over one year without an approved IMP as "abandoned" and
requires the operator to commence and complete reclamation in
accordance with the approved reclamation plan.
8)Requires the owner or the operator of a mining operation
within the state to annually provide the director of the
Department of Conservation with a report that identifies,
among other things, the mining operation's status (i.e.,
active, idle, reclaimed, or in the process of being reclaimed)
and the commodities produced by the mine and the type of
mining operation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown one-time costs, potentially exceeding
$200,000 to the Department of Conservation during 2011-12 and
2012-13 to inspect mines for which the owners seek to change the
mine's status from abandoned to idle.
COMMENTS : According to a 2011 State Mining and Geology Board
report, lack of operator adherence to statutory requirements can
result in many surface mining operations becoming abandoned even
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if such operations had an intent to resume mining.
Currently, 97 mines should have IMPs but only 35 have them, and
35 lead agencies (more than 28% of all lead agencies in
California) had mines that required IMPs but did not have them
in place.
Lack of operator compliance with SMARA's idle mine requirements,
and lack of IMP monitoring by SMARA lead agencies, has resulted
in many surface mining operations becoming statutorily
abandoned, even if such operations had an intent to resume
mining.
In the report's conclusion, the State Mining and Geology Board
highlights the need for legislative action to provide relief to
operators that failed to follow statutory requirements for IMPs.
This bill provides a brief amnesty period for a mining operator
who did not adhere to SMARA's statutory requirements regarding
IMPs. Specifically, this bill will allow a mining operator to
come into compliance with the idle mine requirements by July 1,
2013. Without this amnesty, an operator of a mine that has
inadvertently become abandoned will be forced to execute its
reclamation plan. If an operator wishes to resume mining, it
would be able to do so once reclamation is completed and new
permits are obtained. This would lead to an absurd and
unproductive result since the operator would have to essentially
undue the reclamation work it was required to complete.
This bill also amends the definition of an idle mine by taking a
snapshot of a five year period, rather than the life of the
mine, to determine if production has been curtailed to the point
where the interim management plan requirements should apply.
This amendment is in response to the recession and will prevent
a mine from becoming idle simply because the demand for
materials is significantly lower than usual.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002287
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