Title 82, Title 82

Upon proper application by the holder of an exploration license, the department may excuse such holder from reclamation obligations with reference to any specified openings or excavations exposing geological indications or phenomena of especial interest, even though the licensee …

(1) A person may not engage in mining, ore processing, or reprocessing of tailings or waste material, construct or operate a hard-rock mill, use cyanide ore-processing reagents or other metal leaching solvents or reagents, or disturb land in anticipation of those activities in th…

(1) Taking into account the site-specific conditions and circumstances, including the postmining use of the mine site, disturbed lands must be reclaimed consistent with the requirements and standards set forth in this section. (2) The reclamation plan must provide that reclamatio…

(1) (a) The department shall review all applications for operating permits for completeness and compliance with the requirements of this part and rules adopted pursuant to this part within: (i) for rock products, 60 days of receipt of the initial application and within 20 days of…

(1) (a) An applicant for an exploration license or operating permit shall file with the department a bond payable to the state of Montana with surety satisfactory to the department in the sum to be determined by the department of not less than $200 for each acre or fraction of an…

(1) Within 30 days after completion or abandonment of operations on an area under permit or within 30 days after each anniversary date of the permit, whichever is earlier, or at a later date that may be provided by rule and each year after that date until reclamation is completed…

(1) Subject to this part, when one operator succeeds to the interest of another in any uncompleted operation by transfer, including sale, assignment, lease, or otherwise, the department may release the first operator from the duties imposed on the operator by this part. Provided …

(1) The department shall cause the permit area to be inspected at least annually to determine whether the permittee has complied with this part, the rules adopted under this part, or the permit. (2) The permittee shall proceed with reclamation as scheduled in the approved reclama…

(1) During the term of an operating permit or exploration license issued under this part, an operator or licensee may apply for a revision as described in subsections (6)(g) through (6)(l) or an amendment to the permit or license. The operator may not apply for an amendment to de…

(1) A person may not engage in mining of rock products or disturb land in anticipation of mining rock products before obtaining a final operating permit from the department pursuant to this section. (2) (a) A person mining rock products or a landowner allowing another person to m…

(1) Legal actions seeking review of a department decision granting or denying an exploration license or operating permit issued under this part must be filed within 90 days after the decision is made. Summons must be issued and process served on all defendants within 60 days afte…

When issuing a final order in an action challenging the grant or denial of an exploration license or operating permit issued under this part, the court may award costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, to a prevailing or substantially prevailin…

(1) An application for a permit or an application for an amendment to a permit may be denied for the following reasons: (a) the plan of operation or reclamation conflicts with Title 75, chapter 2, as amended, Title 75, chapter 5, as amended, Title 75, chapter 6, as amended, or ru…

A permit may be denied and returned to the applicant with a request that the application be resubmitted with a different plan for reclamation. The person making application for a permit may then resubmit to the department a new plan for reclamation.

(1) Upon receipt of an application for an operating permit, the department shall provide notice of the application by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the area to be affected by the operation. The notice must be published once a week for 3 successive weeks. (2…

(1) A person having an interest that is or may be adversely affected, with 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 …

(1) An owner of an interest in real property who obtains all or part of the owner's supply of water for beneficial uses, as defined in 85-2-102, from an underground source other than a subterranean stream having a permanent, distinct, and known channel may sue the operator engage…

(1) An owner of an interest in real property or an individual who resides within an area subject to property damage or safety hazards related to the use of explosives by any person subject to the provisions of this part may file a complaint with the department, describing the all…

(1) Whenever an environmental emergency exists, as determined by the department, at an active, temporarily abandoned, or permanently abandoned exploration, mining, ore processing, or hard-rock mill site, the department may enter the site and may apply for and, if approved by the …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person may not conduct mining or exploration activities in this state if that person or any firm or business association of which that person was a principal or controlling member had a bond forfeited under this part, if the department …

(1) When the department has reason to believe that a person is in violation of this part, a rule adopted or an order issued under this part, an administrative deficiency notice, or a term or condition of a permit issued under this part, it shall send a letter of warning or violat…

(1) If any of the requirements of this part, of the rules adopted under this part, or of a license or permit has not been complied with, the department shall serve a notice of violation on the licensee or permittee or, if necessary, the director shall order the suspension of the …

(1) There is established a fund of the permanent fund type to pay exclusively for the cost to the state of long-term or perpetual water treatment at the Zortman and Landusky mine sites. (2) The fund is financed with: (a) funds transferred from the orphan share account pursuant to…

(1) Agents, employees, or contractors of the department may enter upon property for the purpose of conducting studies or exploratory work to determine whether the property has been mined and not reclaimed and rehabilitated in accordance with the requirements of this part and to d…

(1) Before commencement of a project using public funds to restore or reclaim property or to abate, control, or prevent adverse effects of past mining practices on private property, the department may file a notice of the right to claim a lien in the clerk and recorder's office i…

(1) An operator with an existing tailings storage facility shall provide the department with written designation of an engineer of record, including contact information, within 180 days after October 1, 2015. (2) An application for a permit pursuant to 82-4-335 or an amendment th…

(1) An operator or a permit applicant proposing to construct a new tailings storage facility, an operator that is constructing a new tailings storage facility, or an operator proposing to expand an existing tailings storage facility shall submit to the department a design documen…

(1) (a) The operator or permit applicant shall identify at least three independent review panel members to serve on the independent review panel and shall submit those names to the department. The department may reject any proposed panel members. If the department rejects a propo…

(1) An operator constructing a new or expanded tailings storage facility shall: (a) when indicated by the construction management plan, engage a professional engineer or other oversight specified in the plan to implement the construction management plan specified in the final des…

(1) A tailings operation, maintenance, and surveillance manual is required for a tailings storage facility. (2) For a tailings storage facility that exists on or before October 1, 2015, the tailings operation, maintenance, and surveillance manual must be developed within 180 days…

(1) Following department approval of a design document pursuant to 82-4-376 during mining, or as required in a reclamation plan approved pursuant to 82-4-336, the operator shall assemble a panel in accordance with the panel requirements in 82-4-377. A reasonable effort must be ma…

(1) The engineer of record shall inspect a tailings storage facility annually during operation or as required during closure pursuant to a reclamation plan under 82-4-336. (2) (a) The engineer of record shall prepare a report describing the scope of the inspection and actions rec…

(1) Open-pit mining for gold or silver using heap leaching or vat leaching with cyanide ore-processing reagents is prohibited except as described in subsection (2). (2) A mine described in this section operating on November 3, 1998, may continue operating under its existing opera…

This part shall be known and may be cited as "The Opencut Mining Act".

(1) The legislature, mindful of its constitutional obligations under Article II, section 3, and Article IX of the Montana constitution, has enacted The Opencut Mining Act. It is the legislature's intent that the requirements of this part provide adequate remedies for the protecti…

When used in this part, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following definitions apply: (1) "Affected land" means the area of land and land covered by water that is disturbed by opencut operations. A private road may be included as affected land only…

Nothing in this part may be construed to be applicable to mining or exploration operations which are regulated under the provisions of part 3 of this chapter.

The provisions of this part relating to fees or bonds do not apply to the federal government or its agencies, the state of Montana, counties, cities, or towns.

This part is not applicable to operations on certain federal and state lands as specified by the department, provided it is first determined by the department that laws, regulations, or rules administered or issued by the federal or state agency administering or having jurisdicti…

(1) The department has the powers, duties, and functions to: (a) issue permits when, on the basis of the information set forth in the application and an evaluation of the proposed opencut operations, the department finds that the requirements of this part and rules adopted to imp…

(1) The department may receive any federal funds, state funds, or any other funds for the reclamation of affected land. The department may cause the reclamation work to be done by its employees, by employees of other governmental agencies, by soil conservation districts, or throu…

The department or its representatives may enter upon lands subjected to opencut operations at all reasonable times for the purpose of inspection to determine whether the provisions of this part have been complied with. The department shall attempt to provide reasonable notice to …

In keeping with the provisions of this part, the department or its agents or contractors may enter and reclaim any affected land with respect to which a bond has been forfeited.

(1) (a) Subject to subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c), a person whose interests are or may be adversely affected by a final decision of the department to approve or disapprove a permit application and accompanying material or a permit amendment application and accompanying material un…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), a permit is required for an operator who: (a) conducts an opencut operation that results in the removal of more than 10,000 cubic yards of materials and overburden; or (b) conducts an opencut operation where less than 10,000 cubi…

(1) (a) An operator who requires a permit pursuant to 82-4-431 shall apply for a permit on forms furnished by the department prior to commencing operations. (b) Operations subject to subsections (2) through (13) are those: (i) that affect ground water or surface water, including …