Title 43, Mineral Resources

As used in ORS 517.702 to 517.989, unless the context requires otherwise: (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 la…

(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 …

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;…

(1) The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that: (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…

(1) The following mining operations are exempt from the reclamation requirements set forth in ORS 517.702 to 517.989: (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…

Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 517.770: (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 c…

(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 However, if the county zoning laws or ordinances are repealed on or after July 1, 1972, the provisions…

(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 fo…

(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 c…

(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. (2) The Department of State Lands and the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may enter into a me…

(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 a…

(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 b…

(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. (2) Interest earned on the Reclamation Guarantee Fund shall be paid…

(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: (a) An operator in complying with the reclamation bond requirements of ORS 517.810; (b) A person engaging in small minin…

(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 …

(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 …

(1) Upon receipt of an application for an operating permit, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall: (a) Inspect the operating site described in the application; (b) Provide notice to the local jurisdiction and an opportunity for the local jurisdiction to, wi…

(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. (2) The department may modify an operating permit or reclamation plan witho…

(1) Notwithstanding ORS 517.810 and 517.830, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may issue an emergency operating permit if: (a) A natural disaster, including but not limited to a flood or an earthquake, or the effects of a natural disaster threaten significant…

(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 …

(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: (a) After consultation, the local jurisdiction with land use authority over the permitted site does not raise substantive obj…

(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 …

(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. (b) The rules may include, but are not limited to, requirements for maps or diagrams showing areas excavated or ap…

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 re…

The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall administer and enforce the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and: (1) May conduct or cause to be conducted investigations, research, experiments and demonstrations and may collect and dissemina…

At such reasonable times as the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may elect, the department, after reasonable advance notice has been given to the operator, may cause the permitted site to be inspected to determine if the operator has complied with the operating …

(1) Any portion of a mining property that is preserved from mining, including, but not limited to, a setback, buffer zone or no-impact area, may be excavated, reduced, added to, elevated, reshaped, contoured, graded or otherwise disrupted for the purpose of facilitating the recla…

(1) If, from inspections conducted pursuant to ORS 517.850 or from any other source, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries determines that the operator has not complied with or is not complying with the operating permit, the reclamation plan, the provisions of th…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not revoke, terminate or refuse to renew an operating permit if marketable reserves exist at the permitted site and if there is a significant potential for continu…

(1) If an operator fails to faithfully perform the reclamation required by the reclamation plan and if the bond or security required by ORS 517.810 is not sufficient to compensate the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries for all reasonably necessary costs and expens…

Upon request of the operator, and when in the judgment of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries the reclamation has been completed in accordance with the reclamation plan, the operator shall be notified that the work has been found to be satisfactorily performed …

(1) When the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries finds that an operator is conducting a surface mining operation for which an operating permit is required by ORS 517.702 to 517.989 or by rules adopted by the department, but has not been issued by the department, th…

Any final determinations made by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries in carrying out the provisions of ORS 517.702 to 517.989 and the rules and regulations adopted thereunder may be reviewed in the manner provided by the applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183…

Any production records, mineral assessments and trade secrets submitted by a mine operator or landowner to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall be confidential. [1999 c.492 §10 (enacted in lieu of 517.900)] (Nonaggregate Mineral Surface Mines)

(1) ORS 517.910 to 517.989 only apply to surface mines for nonaggregate minerals. (2) ORS 517.910 to 517.951 do not apply to surface mines for nonaggregate minerals that are subject to the provisions for consolidated operating permits set forth in ORS 517.952 to 517.989. [1981 c.…

For the purposes of ORS 517.910 to 517.989: (1) “Impact area” has the meaning given that term in ORS 215.298 (1). (2) “Nonaggregate minerals” means coal and metal-bearing ores, including but not limited to ores that contain nickel, cobalt, lead, zinc, gold, molybdenum, uranium, s…

(1) In addition to any other provision of law, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall not issue an operating permit until: (a) The department has received a reclamation plan that contains but is not limited to: (A) A description of the proposed mining operat…

Upon receipt of an application for an operating permit subject to ORS 517.915 to mine a significant mineral resource site, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall activate a project coordinating committee as defined in ORS 517.952. The project coordinating co…

Each application for an operating permit under ORS 517.910 to 517.989 shall be accompanied by a fee sufficient to cover the costs of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries in processing the application as determined by the department. [1981 c.622 §8; 1989 c.347 §1…

The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall have 120 days to act upon a completed permit application. [1981 c.622 §6]

Notwithstanding ORS 517.850, if the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries has reason to believe that the provisions of an operating permit are being violated or that a surface mining operation is being conducted without a valid operating permit, it may inspect such s…

The Legislative Assembly declares that ORS 517.910 to 517.989 are not intended to provide the legal basis for assumption by the State of Oregon of exclusive jurisdiction over the environmental regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations described in section 503 o…

As used in ORS 517.952 to 517.989: (1) “Affected agency” includes permitting agencies, cooperating agencies and commenting agencies. (2) “Baseline data” means information gathered to characterize the natural and cultural environments of a mining operation site before a mining ope…

Notwithstanding the policy set forth in ORS 517.760, the Legislative Assembly finds and declares that it is the policy of the State of Oregon to protect the environmental, scenic, recreational, social, archaeological and historic resources of this state from unacceptable adverse …

ORS 517.952 to 517.989 apply only to mining operations as defined in ORS 517.952. ORS 517.952 to 517.989 do not apply to placer mining. [1991 c.735 §3a; 2013 c.371 §8]

Mining operations in Oregon shall comply with the following: (1) Mining operations shall be undertaken in a manner that minimizes environmental damage through the use of the best available, practicable and necessary technology to ensure compliance with environmental standards. (2…

The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall coordinate the activities of the affected agencies related to the consolidated application process established under ORS 517.952 to 517.989. [1991 c.735 §5]

Any person proposing to conduct a mining operation shall comply with the requirements for the preapplication process set forth in ORS 517.961 to 517.969. The purpose of such process shall be to identify significant issues to be addressed in the consolidated application process se…

(1) Whenever required in ORS 517.952 to 517.989, public notice shall include information sufficient to inform the public of the proposed activity or event and shall include: (a) Notification to all permitting and cooperating agencies. (b) Notice by mail to each owner of property …

A prospective applicant for a mining operation permit shall file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a notice of intent to submit an application and post copies of the notice along the perimeter of the location of the proposed operation. The posting shall …