Title 82, Title 82

(1) The legislature, mindful of its constitutional obligations under Article II, section 3, and Article IX of the Montana constitution, has enacted The Strip and Underground Mine Siting Act. It is the legislature's intent that the requirements of this part provide adequate remedi…

When used in this part, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following definitions apply: (1) "Board" means the board of environmental review provided for in 2-15-3502. (2) "Department" means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15…

The provisions of this part shall not apply where any preparatory work was conducted prior to January 1, 1974, or for which contracts for preparatory work or the sale of Montana coal from a new strip mine by an operator holding a valid permit under 82-4-221 were in existence and …

(1) The department shall: (a) adopt, after an opportunity for a hearing, general rules pertaining to new strip mines and to new underground mines and preparatory work to accomplish the purposes of this part, rules regarding filing of reports, issuance of permits, and other matter…

Except for bond forfeiture moneys, all fees, penalties, and other moneys available or paid to the department under the provisions of this part shall be placed in the state treasury and credited to the general fund.

No person may commence preparatory work until the operator shall have first obtained from the department a mine-site location permit for a new strip mine or a new underground mine or a permit under part 2 of this chapter, if the application for such permit includes an appropriate…

(1) A person desiring a mine-site location permit shall file with the department an application that must contain a reclamation plan for any preparatory work and any other information the department considers necessary to determine if the proposed area to be affected by the opera…

A fee of $50 shall be paid before the mine-site location permit required in this part may be issued. The operator shall also file with the department a bond payable to the state of Montana with surety satisfactory to the department in the penal sum to be determined by the departm…

A mine-site location permit shall authorize the applicant to engage in preparatory work upon the area described in the application and designated in the permit for a period of 1 year from the date of issuance and is renewable until the applicant has applied for and received a str…

(1) The department may not issue a permit under this part if it finds that a new strip mine or a new underground mine is not consistent with the purposes and policies of this part. (2) The department shall not approve a new strip-mining site, a new underground-mining site, or pre…

The department may choose to accept information submitted under this part to the extent it is applicable and relevant as satisfying the requirements of part 2 of this chapter.

When the department has sufficient information to approve or disapprove a mine-site location permit application on either the entire area being considered for a mine-site location permit or a portion of the area on the grounds listed in 82-4-227(2) and (7), the department shall p…

A mine-site location permit granted by the department in accordance with the provisions of this part shall remain in full force and effect until the provisions of the permit are complied with and the bond is released, except that those areas of land covered by a mine-site locatio…

(1) If any of the requirements of this part or rules or orders of the department have not been complied with within the time limits set by the department or by this part, the department shall serve a notice of noncompliance on the operator or, when necessary, the director of the …

(1) A person aggrieved by a final decision of the department under this part may request a hearing before the board by submitting a written request stating the reason for the request within 30 days after the department's decision. (2) The contested case provisions of the Montana …

(1) A person or operator who violates any of the provisions of this part or rules or orders adopted under this part shall pay a civil penalty of not less than $100 or more than $1,000 for the violation and an additional civil penalty of not less than $100 or more than $1,000 for …

(1) A resident of this state who has knowledge that a requirement of this part or a rule adopted under this part is not being enforced by a public officer or employee whose duty it is to enforce the requirement or rule may bring the failure to enforce to the attention of the publ…

This part shall be known and may be cited as "The Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act".

(1) The legislature, mindful of its constitutional obligations under Article II, section 3, and Article IX of the Montana constitution, has enacted The Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act. It is the legislature's intent that the requirements of this part provide ad…

Unless the context requires otherwise, in this part the following definitions apply: (1) "Abandoned" means an operation in which a mineral is not being produced and that the department determines will not continue or resume operation. (2) "Adjacent area" means the area outside th…

(1) The department shall adopt, after an opportunity for a hearing, general rules pertaining to strip mining and to underground mining to accomplish the purposes of this part. The department may adopt rules with respect to filing of reports, issuance of permits, monitoring, and o…

(1) An applicant, permittee, or person with an interest that is or may be adversely affected and who submitted comments or written objections during the relevant comment period for an application pursuant to subsections (1)(a) through (1)(e), may request a hearing before the boar…

(1) Within 1 year of October 1, 2011, and in accordance with subsection (3), the department shall adopt rules necessary to regulate underground mining using in situ coal gasification. (2) Unless required by this part, the department may not adopt a rule to regulate in situ coal g…

(Temporary) Mining permit required. (1) An operator may not engage in strip or underground mining without having first obtained from the department a permit designating the area of land affected by the operation. The designation must include all lands reasonably anticipated to be…

(1) An operator desiring a permit shall file an application that must contain a complete and detailed plan for the mining, reclamation, revegetation, and rehabilitation of the land and water to be affected by the operation. The plan must reflect thorough advance investigation and…

(1) Before a permit may be issued, the operator shall file with the department a bond payable to the state of Montana with surety satisfactory to the department in an amount to be determined by the department of not less than $200 for each acre or fraction of an acre of the area …

(Temporary) Application for permit amendment. (1) A permittee may apply to increase the permit boundary, but an increase may not extend the period for which an original permit was issued. The operator shall file an amendment application and map in the same form and with the same …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (7), prospecting by any person on land not included in a valid strip-mining or underground-mining permit is unlawful without possessing a valid prospecting permit issued by the department as provided in this section. A prospecting permit may n…

(1) An application for a prospecting, strip-mining, or underground-mining permit or major revision may not be approved by the department unless, on the basis of the information set forth in the application, in an onsite inspection, and in an evaluation of the operation by the dep…

(1) Any person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected may petition the department to have an area designated as unsuitable for strip- or underground-coal-mining operations or to have a designation terminated. The petition shall contain allegations of facts with s…

(Temporary) Minor revisions -- application -- exemptions. (1) During the term of a permit, the permittee may apply to the department to revise the permit and reclamation plan. Major revisions are subject to the provisions of 82-4-225. (2) An application for a minor revision must:…

(1) As rapidly, completely, and effectively as the most modern technology and the most advanced state of the art will allow, each operator granted a permit under this part shall reclaim and revegetate the land affected by the operation, except that underground tunnels, shafts, or…

(1) (a) Area strip mining, a method of operation that does not produce a bench or fill bench, is required where strip mining is proposed. The area of land affected must be backfilled and graded to the approximate original contour of the land. However: (i) consistent with the adja…

(1) The operator shall establish on regraded areas and on all other disturbed areas, except water areas, surface areas of roads, and other constructed features approved as part of the postmining land use, a vegetative cover that is in accordance with the approved permit and recla…

The operator shall commence the reclamation of the area of land affected by the operator's operation as soon as possible after the beginning of strip mining or underground mining of that area in accordance with plans previously approved by the department. Those grading, backfilli…

(1) Success of revegetation must be judged on the effectiveness of the vegetation for the approved postmining land use, the extent of cover compared to the cover occurring in the natural vegetation, and the requirements of 82-4-233. Standards for success are: (a) for areas reclai…

All vegetation that is planted or seeded on the area of land affected as required by this part or rules adopted under this part becomes the property of the landowner after complete release of the bond, unless the operator and the landowner agree otherwise.

(1) An operator shall file an annual report with the department on a date determined by the department. An annual report must include: (a) the name and address of the operator and permit number or numbers; and (b) a report with detail required by the department, supplemented with…

When one operator succeeds another at an uncompleted operation, either by sale, assignment, lease, or otherwise, the department may release the first operator from all liability under this part as to that particular operation if both operators have been issued a permit and have o…

(1) The department may have reclamation work done by its employees, by employees of other governmental agencies, by soil conservation districts, or through contracts with qualified persons. The department may construct, operate, and maintain plants for the control and treatment o…

In keeping with the provisions of this part, the department may reclaim any affected lands with respect to which a bond has been forfeited.

(1) Except for bond forfeiture money, all fees, penalties, and other money available or paid to the department under the provisions of this part must be placed in the state treasury and credited to the general fund. (2) Bond forfeiture money must be used to pay for expenses that …

The department may receive any federal funds, state funds, or any other funds for the reclamation of land affected by strip mining or underground mining.

(1) The permittee of an underground coal mining operation shall: (a) promptly repair or compensate for material damage to any occupied residential dwelling and related structures and to any noncommercial building resulting from subsidence caused by an underground coal mining oper…

(1) There is a coal and uranium mine permitting and reclamation program account within the special revenue fund established in 17-2-102. (2) Each fiscal year, there must be deposited in the account the proceeds from the coal severance tax, as provided in 15-35-108, to be appropri…

(1) An operating permit that is revoked in accordance with this part does not terminate until 5 years after revocation or until substantial completion of seeding and planting on disturbed areas, whichever occurs earlier. (2) A person may apply for the transfer of a revoked permit…