Chapter 517 — Chapter 517
165 sections in this chapter.
ORS 517.540 [Repealed by 1993 c.742 §114]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.550 [Repealed by 1993 c.742 §114]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.610 [Repealed by 1953 c.188 §2]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.611 [1957 c.580 §1; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.620 [Repealed by 1953 c.188 §2]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.621 [1957 c.580 §2; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.630 [Repealed by 1953 c.188 §2]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.631 [1957 c.580 §3; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.640 [Repealed by 1953 c.188 §2]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.641 [1957 c.580 §4; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.650 [1957 c.580 §5; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.660 [1957 c.580 §6; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.670 [1957 c.580 §7; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.680 [1957 c.580 §8; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.690 [1957 c.580 §9; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.700 [1957 c.580 §10; repealed by 1987 c.260 §1]
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MINERAL EXPLORATION
ORS 517.702 Legislative findings. (1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that
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(a) Mineral exploration is recognized as an integral part of the mineral industry with inherently less risk to the environment than surface or underground mining operations. (b) Mineral exploration assists in the orderly identification of mineral resources in the state. (c) Miner…
ORS 517.705 Exploration permit; application; information required; fees; confidentiality of production records, mineral assessments or trade secrets. (1) A person may not engage in onshore exploration that disturbs more than one surface acre or involves drilling to greater than 50 feet except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section
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(2) An application for an onshore exploration permit must include: (a) The name and address of the surface owner and mineral owner. (b) The names and addresses of the persons conducting the exploration. (c) The name and address of any designated agent. (d) A brief description of …
ORS 517.710 Fees. (1) If the person conducting an exploration under a permit issued under ORS 517.705 is not in violation of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 or 517.810 or any terms of the permit and has paid an annual renewal fee not to exceed $1,500 prior to the anniversary date of the permit as established by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the department shall renew the permit
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(2) Nothing in this section prevents the department from suspending or revoking a permit for violations of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 or 517.810 or taking any other action authorized under this chapter. [Formerly 517.964; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §2; 2025 c.601 §1]
ORS 517.715 Exemptions from permit requirement. (1) When exploration will result in less than one acre of surface disturbance or drilling to 50 feet or less, any person conducting exploration is exempted from the requirements of the permit procedure described in ORS 517.702 to 517.740. However, nothing in this section exempts a person from the requirements of ORS chapter 273 or the requirements of other departments
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(2) All mineral exploration drill holes shall comply with the abandonment procedures specified in ORS 517.705 (2)(f). [Formerly 517.966; 1999 c.492 §12; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §11]
ORS 517.720 Persons with operating permit exempted. The provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.740 do not apply if the applicant has obtained an operating permit, described in ORS 517.790, for the area described in the exploration permit. [Formerly 517.968; 1999 c.492 §13]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.725 Department inspection of exploration site. (1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may inspect the exploration site prior to initiation of exploration to review the existing environmental conditions, assess impacts of the proposed exploration and establish the amount of financial assurance required
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(2) The department may inspect lands not later than 60 days following notification by the person conducting the exploration that reclamation is complete. If the department determines that the reclamation complies with the approved reclamation plan, including establishment of vege…
ORS 517.730 Drill hole or well abandonment; rules. (1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall consult with the Water Resources Department on the development of rules covering drill hole or monitoring well abandonment procedures, including procedures for the abandonment of holes and wells for which no exploration permit is required in ORS 517.705
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(2) Nothing in ORS 517.702 to 517.740 prohibits the conversion of exploration drill holes or monitoring wells to water wells, provided that the conversion conforms to the standards and rules of the Water Resources Department. [Formerly 517.972; 2020 s.s.2 c.4 §12]
ORS 517.735 Exploration on land administered by Department of State Lands. The Department of State Lands and the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall coordinate the regulation of any exploration project on land administered by the Department of State Lands. [Formerly 517.974]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.740 Rules. In consultation with the Environmental Quality Commission, Water Resources Commission and the State Land Board, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries governing board shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.755, 517.790, 517.810, 517.910 and 517.920. [Formerly 517.976]
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RECLAMATION OF MINING LANDS (Generally)
ORS 517.750 Definitions for ORS 517.702 to 517.989. As used in ORS 517.702 to 517.989, unless the context requires otherwise
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(1) “Board” means the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (2) “Completion” means termination of surface mining activities including reclamation of the surface-mined land in accordance with the approved reclamation plan and operating permit. …
ORS 517.753 Exclusion certificate required for certain small-scale surface mining operations; application; fees. (1) Notwithstanding the yard and acre limitations of ORS 517.750 (16), a person may not engage in surface mining that results in the extraction of 5,000 cubic yards or less of minerals or affects less than one acre of land within a period of 12 consecutive calendar months except in compliance with an exclusion certificate issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. Except as provided in ORS 517.755, a mining operation subject to a valid exclusion certificate is not subject to the operating permit or reclamation requirements set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.989
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(2) A person shall submit an exclusion certificate application on a form provided by the department, accompanied by a fee not to exceed $400. If the department does not approve or disapprove the application within 90 days after the date the application is filed with the departmen…
ORS 517.755 Mining operations affecting more than five acres. Notwithstanding the yard and acre limitations of ORS 517.750 (16), as soon as any mining operation begun after July 1, 1975, affects more than five acres of land the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 apply to the mining operation. [1975 c.724 §1a; 1979 c.435 §3; 1985 c.292 §3; 1985 c.565 §80; 1989 c.347 §13; 1999 c.353 §7; 2007 c.318 §15; 2017 c.736 §13]
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Note: 517.755 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 517 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
ORS 517.760 Policy. (1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that
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(a) It is the policy of the State of Oregon to recognize the important and essential contribution that the extraction of minerals makes to the economic well-being of the state and the nation and to prevent unacceptable adverse impacts to environmental, scenic, recreational, socia…
ORS 517.770 Exemptions from reclamation requirements. (1) The following mining operations are exempt from the reclamation requirements set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.989
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(a) Lands within the surfaces and contours of surface mines in existence on July 1, 1972, or vertical extensions of those surfaces and contours, provided that the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries issued a certificate of exemption to the mining operation on or be…
ORS 517.775 Permit fee for certain landowners and operators; erosion stabilization at mining operations exempt from reclamation. Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 517.770
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(1) Any landowner or operator conducting surface mining on July 1, 1972, shall pay the permit fee as provided in ORS 517.800; and (2) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall require the landowner or operator to complete erosion stabilization upon completion o…
ORS 517.780 Effect on county zoning laws or ordinances; rules; certain operations exempt. (1)(a) The provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and the rules and regulations adopted thereunder do not supersede any county zoning laws or ordinances in effect on July 1, 1972. However, if the county zoning laws or ordinances are repealed on or after July 1, 1972, the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and the rules and regulations adopted thereunder are controlling. The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may adopt rules and regulations with respect to matters covered by county zoning laws and ordinances in effect on July 1, 1972
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(b) If the county zoning laws or ordinances specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection are repealed by a county: (A) The department may allow a surface mining operation that previously operated under a valid county operating permit and reclamation plan to continue to operate f…
ORS 517.785 [1983 c.20 §3; 1985 c.292 §7; 1987 c.361 §8; repealed by 2007 c.318 §28]
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[Repealed or reserved.]
ORS 517.790 Operating permit required for surface mining on certain lands; application for permit; proposed reclamation plans; waiver of requirement for preparation and approval of reclamation plan; refusal to issue operating permit; provisional operating permit. (1) A landowner or operator may not allow or engage in surface mining on land not surface mined on July 1, 1972, without holding a valid operating permit from the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries for the surface mining operation. A separate permit is required for each separate surface mining operation. A person seeking an operating permit from the department shall submit an application on a form provided by the department that contains the following information
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(a) The name and address of the landowner and the operator and the names and addresses of any persons designated by them as their agents for the service of process. (b) The materials for which the operation is to be conducted. (c) The type of surface mining to be employed in the …
ORS 517.795 Department to consult with and cooperate with other agencies. (1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall consult with other state agencies as necessary to ensure that rules developed by the department and those agencies regarding exploration or monitoring well requirements for sites described under ORS 517.790 do not conflict
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(2) The department and any other state agencies imposing requirements for exploration or monitoring wells for sites described under ORS 517.790 may enter into agreements for the department to act on behalf of the agencies in informing the landowner or operator of the requirements…
ORS 517.797 Memorandum of agreement with Department of State Lands regarding permitting. (1) As used in this section, “surface mining” has the meaning given that term in ORS 517.750 and “waters of this state” has the meaning given that term in ORS 196.800
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(2) The Department of State Lands and the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may enter into a memorandum of agreement concerning surface mining as described in subsection (3) of this section. (3) The memorandum described in subsection (2) of this section may assig…
ORS 517.800 Fees; rules; annual report. (1)(a) Except for an application for a mining operation submitted under ORS 517.910 to 517.989, each applicant for an operating permit under ORS 517.702 to 517.989 shall pay to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a fee established by the State Geologist in an amount not to exceed $6,500
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(b) If an application for a new permit or an amendment to an existing permit requires extraordinary department resources because of concerns about slope stability or proximity to waters of the state or other environmentally sensitive areas, the applicant shall pay to the departme…
ORS 517.810 Requirement for bond or security; rules; other security in lieu of bond. (1) Before issuing or reissuing an operating permit for any surface mining operation or issuing or reissuing an exploration permit for any exploration activity, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall require that the applicant for the permit file with it a bond or security acceptable to the department in a sum to be determined by the department but in an amount not to exceed the total cost for reclamation if the department were to perform the reclamation. The decision of the department may be appealed to the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries as provided in ORS chapter 183. The bond or security shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the reclamation plan and of the other requirements of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and the rules adopted thereunder
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(2) Nothing in this section shall apply to any public body, as defined in ORS 174.109. (3) In lieu of the bond or other security required of the applicant in subsection (1) of this section, the department may accept a similar security from the landowner, equal to the estimated co…
ORS 517.813 Reclamation Guarantee Fund. (1) The Reclamation Guarantee Fund is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund. The Reclamation Guarantee Fund shall consist of deposits of moneys received under ORS 517.810
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(2) Interest earned on the Reclamation Guarantee Fund shall be paid to the State Treasury and deposited in the General Fund to the credit of the Geology and Mineral Industries Account. (3) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall annually prepare and submit to…
ORS 517.815 Reclamation bond pooling program; requirements; rules. (1) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may establish and administer a program that provides for the pooling of reclamation bonds to assist
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(a) An operator in complying with the reclamation bond requirements of ORS 517.810; (b) A person engaging in small mining operations or small exploration projects on federally managed lands to comply with financial guarantee requirements imposed by the Federal Land Policy and Man…
ORS 517.820 Extensions of time for submission of proposed reclamation plans; time limit for reclamation completion; consultation with cooperating agencies. (1) Upon good cause shown, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may grant reasonable extensions of time for the completion by the landowner or operator and the submission to the department of a proposed reclamation plan required by ORS 517.790. Each reclamation plan submitted to the department must provide that all reclamation activities shall be completed within three years after the termination of mineral extraction from the surface mining operation conducted within each separate area for which an operating permit is requested. Each such reclamation plan shall be approved by the department if it adequately provides for the reclamation of surface-mined lands
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(2) Prior to approving a proposed reclamation plan, the department shall consult with all other cooperating agencies and appropriate local planning authorities. [1971 c.719 §5; 1977 c.59 §2; 2007 c.318 §17; 2017 c.736 §4]
ORS 517.825 Mining aggregate on high-value farmland; requirements; rules. (1) As used in this section, “significant aggregate resource” means the average minimum depth of aggregate, determined by rule of the Land Conservation and Development Commission, that is required for a local government to find that the aggregate resource is significant pursuant to a statewide land use planning goal that protects natural resources and conserves scenic, historic and open space resources
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(2) When the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries issues an operating permit under ORS 517.790 for mining aggregate on high-value farmland composed predominantly of Class I and Class II soils in the Willamette Valley, the department shall require: (a) An operator or…
ORS 517.830 Operating permit approval process; appeal from denial of plan; consolidated application process. (1) Upon receipt of an application for an operating permit, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall
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(a) Inspect the operating site described in the application; (b) Provide notice to the local jurisdiction and an opportunity for the local jurisdiction to, within 30 days after the date of the notice, request that the department delay a decision on an operating permit and reclama…
ORS 517.831 Modification of operating permit or reclamation plan; opportunity for alternative dispute resolution. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not modify an operating permit or reclamation plan without the consent of the operator
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(2) The department may modify an operating permit or reclamation plan without the consent of the operator if, because of changed conditions at the permitted site or because of information otherwise not available to the department at the time of permit issuance or reclamation plan…
ORS 517.832 Emergency operating permit; rules. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 517.810 and 517.830, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may issue an emergency operating permit if
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(a) A natural disaster, including but not limited to a flood or an earthquake, or the effects of a natural disaster threaten significant damage to property or to natural resources; and (b) A surface mining operation is necessary to abate the threat. (2) The governing board of the…
ORS 517.833 Transfer of operating permit; rules. (1) A person who by sale, assignment, lease or other means has succeeded in interest to an uncompleted surface mining operation may request that the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries release the existing operator from any reclamation obligations and transfer the operating permit to the successor. The department shall transfer the operating permit, unless
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(a) The successor does not agree to full assumption of the reclamation requirements in the operating permit and reclamation plan; (b) The successor fails to provide a bond or security as required by ORS 517.810; (c) More than one person has a claim to the property or operating pe…
ORS 517.834 Temporary operating permit; rules. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 517.810 and 517.830, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may issue a temporary operating permit to a person if
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(a) After consultation, the local jurisdiction with land use authority over the permitted site does not raise substantive objections to the issuance of the permit; (b) All cooperating agencies approve of the permit issuance; and (c) There is no objection from persons owning prope…
ORS 517.835 Conditions on operating permit or reclamation plan to prevent impact on ground water. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 517.831, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may require conditions on any new or existing surface mining operating permit or reclamation plan sufficient to prevent or mitigate off-site impacts to ground water resources from the removal of water from surface mining operations. The department may include ground water monitoring as one of the conditions
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(2) The department shall consult with the operator and the Water Resources Department in assessing off-site impacts and in developing prevention or mitigation measures prior to imposing any conditions on an operating permit or reclamation plan pursuant to this section. (3) As use…
ORS 517.836 Surveying or marking surface mining operations; rules. (1)(a) The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may adopt rules requiring the surveying or marking of surface mining operations
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(b) The rules may include, but are not limited to, requirements for maps or diagrams showing areas excavated or approved for excavation, setbacks or buffers established by the operating permit and the location of buildings, wells, ponds, haul roads, stockpiles, bodies of water an…
ORS 517.837 Annual report by permittee; rules. A person holding an operating permit issued pursuant to ORS 517.830 shall, no later than March 31 of each year, file an annual report with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. The governing board of the department shall adopt rules describing the information relating to the permit and operations under the permit that must be included in the annual report. [2005 c.34 §2]
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[Repealed or reserved.]