Title 43, Mineral Resources

If prior to the issuing of the certificate there has been filed with the county clerk an affidavit by the delinquent co-owner that the payment has been made, the clerk shall not issue a certificate, but the parties shall be left to establish such fact by suit to quiet the title t…

All fees collected under ORS 517.290 and 517.310 are the property of the county in which they are collected, and shall be accounted for by the officer collecting them as other recording fees are accounted for.

(1) The lessee of the Department of State Lands under ORS 273.551 may use down timber found on the premises for fuel, and may cut and use green timber in the construction of buildings required in the operation of a mine on the premises, or for lining test pits or shafts, or for t…

Any lessee, licensee, or person other than the owner, who operates or works a mine, lode, mining claim, or deposit yielding metal or mineral of any kind, has custody and control of whatever metal or mineral may be produced in such operation or work, as bailee only and not as owne…

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

(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. (2) An application for …

(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 establish…

(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 …

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]

(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. (2)…

(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 explora…

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]

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, 517.91…

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…