Title PRC — California Pub. Res. Code

The department shall have possession and control of all records, books, papers, offices, equipment, supplies, moneys, funds, appropriations, land and other property, real or personal, held for the benefit or use of all bodies, offices, and officers whose duties, powers, and funct…

The provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150), Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code apply to the director. The director may appoint, in accordance with civil service, such deputies, officers, and other employees as may be necessary.

The work of the department shall be divided into at least the following: (a) California Geological Survey. (b) (1) Geologic Energy Management Division. (2) Any reference in any law or regulation to the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservati…

The director, with approval of the Director of Finance, may accept on behalf of the various divisions of the department federal grants for the purposes for which the department is established. Such grants shall be deposited in the Special Deposit Fund in the State Treasury provid…

Whenever the department has received and deposited any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund in an excessive amount or in error, or whenever a refund of all or a portion of such money is due any person, firm, or corporation because of the termination of an…

For the purpose of disseminating information relating to its activities, powers, duties, or functions, the department may issue publications, construct and maintain exhibits, and perform acts and carry on functions, as in the opinion of the director, will best tend to disseminate…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or of law and except as provided in the State Building Standards Law, Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code, on and after January 1, 1980, the department, director, the State Geologis…

The department shall prepare, update, and maintain Important Farmland Series maps as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 65560 of the Government Code and other soils and land capability information, and prepare and maintain an automated map and data base system to record and re…

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (1) It is in the state’s public interest to have an accurate inventory of the state’s soil resources. (2) In California, the United States Soil Conservation Service has been responsible for undertaking soil surve…

The department, through the California Resources Information System and as budgetary resources permit, may provide informational assistance to local agencies in the development of geobased natural resource information systems. In addition, the department may assist local agencies…

The department may do any of the following: (a) Advise a city, county, city and county, special district, including a resource conservation district, state agency, federal agency, tribal agency, and the general public on issues of conservation importance, including, but not limit…

Grants administered by the department, including, but not limited to, those awarded pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 9001), Division 10.2 (commencing with Section 10200), and Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500), are not subject to the State Contract Act (…

Upon an appropriation by the Legislature, or as other funds become available and are appropriated for these purposes, the department may provide grants and other forms of local assistance to resource conservation districts.

There is in the department a State Mining and Geology Board consisting of nine members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

As used in this article, “board” means the State Mining and Geology Board and “division” means the California Geological Survey of the department.

(a) One member of the board shall be a professional geologist with background and experience in mining geology; one member shall be a mining engineer with background and experience in mining minerals in California; one member shall have background and experience in groundwater hy…

(a) No member of the board shall participate in any action of the board or attempt to influence any decision of the board that involves himself or herself, or any person with whom he or she is connected, as a director, officer, paid consultant, or full-time or part-time employee,…

(a) For the purposes of this section, “ex parte communication” means any oral or written communication between a member of the board and an interested person about a matter within the board’s jurisdiction that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other official procee…

(a) No board member shall make, participate in making, or in any other way attempt to use his or her official position to influence a board decision about which the member has knowingly had an ex parte communication that has not been reported pursuant to Section 663.1. (b) In add…

Each member of the board shall hold office for four years. Vacancies shall be immediately filled by the Governor.

Each member of the board shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) for each day during which the member is engaged in the performance of official duties. The compensation of each member, except the compensation of the chair, shall not, however, exceed in any one fiscal year the su…

The board shall maintain its headquarters in Sacramento and shall hold meetings at such times and at such places as shall be determined by it. Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting any business of the board. A majority affirmative vote…

The Governor shall designate the chair of the board from among the members of the board. The person designated as the chair shall hold the office at the pleasure of the Governor. The board shall annually elect a vice chair from among its members.

The board may appoint an executive officer who shall be exempt from civil service. The board may also employ the clerical assistance necessary for the proper discharge of its duties. Neither the board nor its employees shall have or be given any powers in relation to the administ…

The director shall have no power to amend or repeal any order, ruling, or directive of the board.

The board shall represent the state’s interest in the development, utilization, and conservation of the mineral resources of the state and the reclamation of mined lands, as provided by law, and federal matters pertaining to mining, and shall determine, establish, and maintain an…

The board shall also serve as a policy and appeals board for the purposes of Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2621) of Division 2.

The board may provide for a statewide program of research regarding the technical phases of reclaiming mined lands which may be delegated to it by law and may accept funds from the United States or from any person to aid in carrying out the provisions of this section. The board m…

The board shall provide for a public information program on matters involving the state’s terrain, mineral resources, mining, the reclamation of mined lands, and the seismological and geological aspects of earthquakes and other geological hazards.

The board shall nominate, and the director shall appoint, the State Geologist, who shall either be registered in compliance with the Geologist and Geophysicist Act (Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 7800) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) at least one year f…

The director may authorize the State Geologist to exercise his power to appoint employees of the division in accordance with the State Civil Service Act. The director may authorize the State Geologist, or any employee of the division, to exercise any power granted to, or perform …

The Geologic Energy Management Division shall be in charge of a chief, known as the State Oil and Gas Supervisor.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the state and to the needs of the society, and that the reclamation of mined lands is necessary to prevent or minimize adverse effects on the environ…

It is the intent of the Legislature to create and maintain an effective and comprehensive surface mining and reclamation policy with regulation of surface mining operations so as to assure that: (a) Adverse environmental effects are prevented or minimized and that mined lands are…

It is not the intent of the Legislature by the enactment of this chapter to take private property for public use without payment of just compensation in violation of the California and United States Constitutions.

This chapter does not apply to any of the following activities: (a) Excavations or grading of lands conducted for farming. (b) Onsite excavation and onsite earthmoving activities that are integral and necessary for the construction of structures and that are undertaken to prepare…

No provision of this chapter or any ruling, requirement, or policy of the board is a limitation on any of the following: (a) On the police power of any city or county or on the power of any city or county to declare, prohibit, and abate nuisances. (b) On the power of the Attorney…

(a) The Cache Creek Resource Management Plan, in conjunction with a site specific plan deemed consistent by the lead agency with the Cache Creek Resource Management Plan, shall be considered to be a functional equivalent of a reclamation plan for the purposes of this chapter. No …

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Metropolitan Water District” means the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. (2) “Metropolitan Reclamation Plan” means a master reclamation plan that may be approved pursuant to this section for…

(a) Any interested person may commence an action on his or her own behalf against the board, the lead agency, the State Geologist, the supervisor, or the director for a writ of mandate pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil …

(a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the board shall submit to the Legislature on December 1 of each year a report on the actions taken pursuant to this chapter during the preceding fiscal year. The report shall include a statement of the actions, including…

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the state nor any county, city, district, or other political subdivision shall be exempt from any fee imposed upon a mining operation pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2207.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this article shall govern the construction of this chapter.

“Area of regional significance” means an area designated by the board pursuant to Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction of which is judged to be of prime importance in meeting future needs for minerals in a particular region of the state wit…

“Area of statewide significance” means an area designated by the board pursuant to Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction of which is judged to be of prime importance in meeting future needs for minerals in the state and which, if prematurely…

“Idle” means that an operator of a surface mining operation has curtailed production at the surface mining operation, with the intent to resume the surface mining operation at a future date, for a period of one year or more by more than 90 percent of its maximum annual mineral pr…

“Lead agency” means the city, county, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or the board which has the principal responsibility for approving a reclamation plan pursuant to this chapter.

“Mined lands” includes the surface, subsurface, and ground water of an area in which surface mining operations will be, are being, or have been conducted, including private ways and roads appurtenant to any such area, land excavations, workings, mining waste, and areas in which s…