295.48 Mining plan.
SUBCHAPTER I NONMETALLIC MINING RECLAMATION Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 135, Wis. adm. code.
295.11 Definitions. In this subchapter: (1) “Department” means the department of natural resources. (2) “Environmental pollution” means the contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land or waters of the state, or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life. (3) “Nonmetallic mining” means all of the following: (a) Operations or activities for the extraction from the earth for sale or use by the operator of mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals such as stone, sand, gravel, asbestos, beryl, clay, feldspar, peat, talc and topsoil, including such operations or activities as excavation, grading and dredging. (b) On-site processes that are related to the extraction of mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals, such as stockpiling of materials, blending mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals with other mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals, crushing, screening, scalping and dewatering. (4) “Nonmetallic mining reclamation” means the rehabilitation of a nonmetallic mining site to achieve a land use specified in an approved nonmetallic mining reclamation plan, including removal or reuse of nonmetallic mining refuse, grading of the nonmetallic mining site, removal, storage and replacement of topsoil, stabilization of soil conditions, reestablishment of vegetative cover, control of surface water and groundwater, prevention of environmental pollution and, if practical, restoration of plant, fish and wildlife habitat.
295.49 295.51 295.53 295.56 295.57 295.58 295.59 295.60 295.605 295.607 295.61 295.62 295.63 295.635 295.64 295.643 295.645 295.65 295.66 295.67 295.68 295.69 295.695 295.73 295.75 295.77 295.78 295.79
Reclamation plan. Mining waste site location criteria; feasibility study, and plan of operation. Environmental impact statement. Exemptions. Application procedure. Mining; department grant or denial of permit. Bonds and other security. Impacts to wetlands. Impacts to navigable waters. Shoreland and floodplain zoning. Withdrawals of surface waters and groundwater. Mining waste site construction and completion reports. Modifications; reporting. Required mining waste site inspections, record keeping, reporting, and responses. Mining site monitoring; general. Mining waste site monitoring. Groundwater quality, monitoring, and response. Successors. Cessation of mining or reclamation. Determination of abandonment of mining. Certificates of completion and release of security. Termination of proof of financial responsibility for long-term care of mining waste site. Inspections by the department. Fees. Effect of other laws. Review. Mining and reclamation; orders. Enforcement; penalties.
(5) “Nonmetallic mining refuse” means waste soil, rock, mineral and other natural material resulting from nonmetallic mining. This term does not include marketable by-products resulting directly from or displaced by the nonmetallic mining. (6) (a) “Nonmetallic mining site” means all of the following, except as provided in par. (b): 1. The location where nonmetallic mining is proposed or conducted. 2. Storage and processing areas that are in or contiguous to areas excavated for nonmetallic mining. 3. Areas where nonmetallic mining refuse is deposited. 4. Areas disturbed by activities such as the construction or improvement of private roads or haulageways for nonmetallic mining. 5. Areas where grading or regrading is necessary to conduct nonmetallic mining or to achieve a land use specified in an approved nonmetallic mining reclamation plan. (b) “Nonmetallic mining site” does not include any area described in par. (a) 1. to 5. that is not used for nonmetallic mining or for purposes related to nonmetallic mining on or after October 14, 1997. (7) “Operator” means any person who is engaged in, or who has applied for a permit to engage in, nonmetallic mining, whether individually, jointly or through subsidiaries, agents, employees, contractors or subcontractors. (8) “Person” means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency. (9) “Replacement of topsoil” means the replacement of the topsoil that was removed or disturbed by nonmetallic mining, or the provision of material to substitute for the topsoil that was removed or disturbed, for the purposes of providing adequate vege-
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MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
tative cover and stabilization of soil conditions to achieve a land use specified in an approved nonmetallic mining reclamation plan. (10) “Solid waste” means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility and other discarded or salvageable materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under ch. 283, or source material, as defined in s. 254.31 (10), special nuclear material, as defined in s. 254.31 (11), or by-product material, as defined in s. 254.31 (1). History: 1995 a. 227 s. 801, 995; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9. Cross-reference: See also s. NR 135.03, Wis. adm. code.
295.12 Nonmetallic mining reclamation rules. (1) RULES. The department shall establish all of the following by rule: (a) Uniform statewide standards for nonmetallic mining reclamation. (b) Provisions for the administration of this subchapter by the department. (c) Uniform statewide requirements and procedures for the administration of a nonmetallic mining reclamation program by any county, city, village or town. (2) STANDARDS. (a) The department shall establish nonmetallic mining reclamation standards under sub. (1) (a) that are applicable to activities related to nonmetallic mining reclamation both during nonmetallic mining and after the termination of nonmetallic mining. (d) Nonmetallic mining reclamation standards under sub. (1) (a) shall be designed to encourage the development and reclamation of nonmetallic mining sites in existence on October 14, 1997, and shall include requirements necessary to achieve a land use specified in an approved nonmetallic mining reclamation plan, including requirements related to the removal or reuse of nonmetallic mining refuse, removal of roads no longer in use, stabilization of soil conditions, grading the nonmetallic mining site, replacement of topsoil, establishment of vegetative cover, control of surface water flow and groundwater withdrawal, prevention of environmental pollution and, if practical, protection or restoration of plant, fish and wildlife habitat. (3) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. The rules required by sub. (1) (c) shall include all of the following: (c) A requirement for the operator to submit a nonmetallic mining reclamation plan including maps, information about the nonmetallic mining site, a proposed land use for which the nonmetallic mining site will be rehabilitated after the nonmetallic mining is completed, a description of the proposed nonmetallic mining reclamation including methods and procedures to be used and a proposed timetable for completion of various stages of the nonmetallic mining reclamation. The reclamation plan shall be designed to ensure successful nonmetallic mining reclamation consistent with the standards under sub. (1) (a), to minimize the costs of nonmetallic mining reclamation and, to the extent practicable, to minimize the area disturbed by nonmetallic mining at one time and provide for nonmetallic mining reclamation of portions of the nonmetallic mining site while nonmetallic mining continues on other portions of the nonmetallic mining site. (d) A requirement for the operator to obtain a nonmetallic mining reclamation permit in order to engage in nonmetallic mining or in nonmetallic mining reclamation; a requirement for a permit term equal to the period during which nonmetallic mining is
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conducted; procedures for the issuance, modification, suspension or revocation of the reclamation permit; a requirement for public notice and an opportunity for a public informational hearing before issuance or modification of a reclamation permit for a nonmetallic mine that is not in operation before the date specified under par. (dm); notwithstanding ss. 68.001, 68.03 (8) and (9), 68.06 and 68.10 (1) (b), a right for any person who meets the requirements of s. 227.42 (1) to a contested case hearing under s. 68.11 on the issuance, modification or denial of a reclamation permit and for a person holding a reclamation permit to a contested case hearing under s. 68.11 to contest an order issued under s. 295.19 (1); a requirement for cooperative issuance of a single reclamation permit if more than one county or municipality has jurisdiction over the nonmetallic mining site; and a requirement that action approving, denying or conditionally approving a reclamation permit be taken within 90 days after receipt of the reclamation plan or, if a public informational hearing is held, within 60 days after the close of the public hearing. (de) Except as provided in par. (dm), a prohibition on issuance of a reclamation permit before approval of the nonmetallic mining reclamation plan under par. (c) by the county, city, village or town operating the program. (dm) A requirement that, when an operator submits an application for a reclamation permit for a nonmetallic mine that is operating before a date specified by the department in the rule, the county, city, village or town issue the permit on the condition that the operator submit a nonmetallic mining reclamation plan under par. (c) that complies with the rules under par. (c) by a deadline established by the county, city, village or town. The deadline shall be from 1 to 3 years after the date of application. (ds) A requirement that the county, city, village or town issue a reclamation permit on the condition that the operator submit proof of financial responsibility in accordance with par. (c) within a time specified by the rule. (e) 1. A provision imposing annual fees as determined by the department for the administration of s. 295.18 and imposing annual fees as determined by the county, city, village or town that shall, as closely as possible, equal the cost of all of the following: a. The examination and approval of nonmetallic mining reclamation plans. b. The inspection of nonmetallic mining reclamation. 2. A prohibition on basing the fees under subd. 1. on any portion of a nonmetallic mining site that has been reclaimed when the fees are imposed. (f) A requirement for an expedited review process if the applicant pays an additional fee as determined by the county, city, village or town under par. (e) or if the applicant requires a permit under this subchapter to perform services under contract with a city, village, town, county or other governmental unit. (g) A requirement for the operator to provide a bond, deposit of funds, established escrow account, letter of credit, demonstration of financial responsibility by meeting net worth requirements or other form of financial assurance conditioned on the faithful performance of all of the requirements of rules promulgated under this section. The rules shall authorize a county, city, village or town to reduce the amount of financial assurance that an operator is required to provide based on nonmetallic mining reclamation that the operator performs while the nonmetallic mine continues to operate. (h) Provisions to restrict, regulate or require certain activities in connection with nonmetallic mining reclamation in order to ensure compliance with nonmetallic mining reclamation standards, nonmetallic mining reclamation plans, financial assurance requirements and other requirements of the rules promulgated under this section.
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(i) A prohibition on nonmetallic mining if a proposed nonmetallic mining site cannot be reclaimed in compliance with the nonmetallic mining reclamation standards under sub. (1) (a). (k) A provision for orders and penalties consistent with s. 295.19. (L) Criteria and procedures for approving alternatives to the requirements of the nonmetallic mining reclamation standards under sub. (1) (a). History: 1995 a. 227 s. 802; 1997 a. 27. Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 135, Wis. adm. code.
295.13 Mandatory enactment and administration of ordinance by counties. (1) MANDATORY ENACTMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF ORDINANCE. (a) Requirement to enact and administer ordinance. Within 6 months after the effective date of the rules under s. 295.12 (1), each county shall enact and begin to administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that complies with those rules, except as provided in subs. (2) and (2m). This ordinance may be enacted separately from an ordinance enacted under s. 59.69. (2) PREEXISTING COUNTY ORDINANCES. Any county with a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance in effect on June 1, 1993, may maintain and administer that ordinance if the department reviews the existing ordinance and determines that it is at least as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1). If the department determines that any part of the existing ordinance is not as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the county may amend the ordinance and submit the amended ordinance to the department for a determination of whether the amended ordinance is as restrictive as those rules. After obtaining the determination of the department that an ordinance is as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the county may not amend the ordinance to make it more restrictive. A county may not amend a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance to make it less restrictive than the requirements in the rules under s. 295.12 (1). (2m) OPTION FOR CERTAIN COUNTIES. In a county with a population of 700,000 or more, if every city, village and town that contains a nonmetallic mining site has enacted an ordinance under s. 295.14 by the first day of the 4th month beginning after the effective date of the rules promulgated under s. 295.12 (1), the county is not required to enact an ordinance under this section. (3) APPLICABILITY OF COUNTY ORDINANCE. An ordinance under sub. (1) or (2) applies to the entire area of the county, except for cities, villages and towns that enact and administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance under s. 295.14. (4) CREDITING OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE. If a nonmetallic mining site is subject to a county ordinance under sub. (1) or (2) and the city, village, or town in which a nonmetallic mining site is located required the operator of the mining site to provide financial assurance for nonmetallic mining reclamation of the nonmetallic mining site, the county shall credit the value of the financial assurance provided to the city, village, or town against the amount of financial assurance that the operator is required to provide under the county ordinance. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 803; 1997 a. 27, 35; 2003 a. 308.
295.14 Authority to enact and administer ordinance. (1) AUTHORITY TO ENACT AND ADMINISTER ORDINANCE. A city, village or town may enact and administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance, that complies with the rules under s. 295.12 (1). Except as provided in sub. (2), a city, village or town may not administer a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that does not comply with the rules under s. 295.12 (1). (2) PREEXISTING MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES. A city, village or town with a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance in effect on June 1, 1993, may maintain and administer that ordinance if
295.16
the department reviews the existing ordinance and determines that it is at least as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1). If the department determines that any part of the existing ordinance is not as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the city, village or town may amend the ordinance and submit the amended ordinance to the department for a determination of whether the amended ordinance is as restrictive as those rules. After obtaining the determination of the department that an ordinance is as restrictive as the rules under s. 295.12 (1), the city, village or town may not amend the ordinance to make it more restrictive. A city, village or town may not amend a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance to make it less restrictive than the rules under s. 295.12 (1). History: 1995 a. 227 s. 804; 1997 a. 27.
295.15 Fees. A county or a city, village or town with a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance shall collect the fee established under s. 295.12 (3) (e) and shall forward the state’s portion of the fee to the department within 90 days after collecting the fee. A county or a city, village or town with a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance shall use the revenues from its portion of the fees only for the administration of the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 805.
295.16 Applicability of nonmetallic mining reclamation requirements. (1) NONMETALLIC MINING FOR TRANSPORTATION PURPOSES. (a) Notwithstanding par. (b), any requirements of the department of transportation concerning the restoration of a nonmetallic mining site shall be consistent with the nonmetallic mining reclamation standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a). (b) A nonmetallic mining ordinance and the rules promulgated under s. 295.12 (1) do not apply to nonmetallic mining to obtain stone, soil, sand or gravel for the construction, maintenance or repair of a highway, railroad, airport facility or any other transportation facility, if the nonmetallic mining is subject to the requirements of the department of transportation concerning the restoration of the nonmetallic mining site. (c) The requirements for a nonmetallic mining reclamation plan under s. 295.12 (3) (c), for public notice and an opportunity for a public informational hearing under s. 295.12 (3) (d) and for proof of financial responsibility under s. 295.12 (3) (ds) do not apply to nonmetallic mining to obtain stone, soil, sand or gravel for the construction, maintenance or repair of a highway, railroad, airport facility, or any other transportation facility, conducted under contract with a municipality, as defined in s. 299.01 (8), if the contract requires the nonmetallic mining site to be reclaimed in accordance with the requirements of the department of transportation concerning the restoration of nonmetallic mining sites. (2) NONMETALLIC MINING IN OR NEAR NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS. A nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance, and requirements of this subchapter other than the standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a), do not apply to any nonmetallic mining site or portion of a nonmetallic mining site that is subject to permit and reclamation requirements of the department under ss. 30.19, 30.195, 30.20, 30.30 and 30.31. The nonmetallic mining standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a) do apply to a nonmetallic mining site that is subject to permit and reclamation requirements of the department under ss. 30.19, 30.195, 30.20, 30.30 and 30.31. (3) PUBLIC NONMETALLIC MINING. (a) The standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a) and, except as provided in par. (b), a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance apply to nonmetallic mining conducted by or on behalf of the state or a municipality. Notwithstanding s. 13.48 (13), nonmetallic mining operated for the benefit or use of the state or any state agency, board, commis-
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MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
sion or department shall comply with the permit requirements and nonmetallic mining reclamation standards of any applicable nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance. (b) The financial assurance requirements of a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance do not apply to nonmetallic mining conducted by the state or a municipality. (4) EXEMPT ACTIVITIES. A nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance and the standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a) do not apply to the following activities: (a) Excavations or grading by a person solely for domestic or farm use at his or her residence or farm. (b) Excavations or grading conducted for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance or repair of a highway, railroad, airport facility or any other transportation facility if the excavation or grading is within the property boundaries of the transportation facility. (c) Grading conducted for preparing a construction site or restoring land following a flood or natural disaster. (d) Excavations for building construction purposes. (e) Nonmetallic mining sites of less than one acre. (f) Any mining operation, the reclamation of which is required in a permit obtained under ch. 293 or subch. III of ch. 295. (g) Any activities required to prepare, operate or close a solid waste disposal facility under subchs. II to IV of ch. 289 or a hazardous waste disposal facility under ch. 291 that are conducted on the property on which the facility is located, but a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance and the standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a) apply to activities related to solid waste or hazardous waste disposal that are conducted at a nonmetallic mining site that is not on the property on which the solid waste or hazardous waste disposal facility is located such as activities to obtain nonmetallic minerals to be used for lining, capping, covering or constructing berms, dikes or roads. (i) Dredging for navigational purposes, to construct or maintain farm drainage ditches and for the remediation of environmental contamination and the disposal of spoils from that dredging. (j) Removal of material from the bed of Lake Michigan or Lake Superior by a public utility pursuant to a permit under s. 30.21. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 806; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2013 a. 1.
295.17 Inspection. (1) An agent of a county, city, village or town that has a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that complies with s. 295.13 or 295.14 may enter a nonmetallic mining site in the performance of his or her official duties at any reasonable time in order to inspect those premises and to ascertain compliance with this subchapter. No person may refuse entry or access to an agent of the county, city, village or town who requests entry for purposes of inspection, and who presents appropriate credentials. No person may obstruct, hamper or interfere with the inspection. The county, city, village or town shall furnish to the operator any report prepared by the county, city, village or town regarding the inspection. (2) Any duly authorized officer, employee or representative of the department may enter and inspect any property, premises or place on or at which any nonmetallic mining operation is located or is being constructed or installed at any reasonable time for the purpose of ascertaining the state of compliance with this chapter and chs. 281, 285, 289 to 293 and 299 and rules adopted pursuant thereto. No person may refuse entry or access to any such authorized representative of the department who requests entry for purposes of inspection, and who presents appropriate credentials, nor may any person obstruct, hamper or interfere with any such inspection. The department shall furnish to the
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nonmetallic mining site operator a written report setting forth all observations, relevant information and data which relate to compliance status. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 808, 995; 1997 a. 27.
295.18 Department review. (1) REVIEW. The department shall periodically review the nonmetallic mining reclamation program under this subchapter of each county and each city, village or town that exercises jurisdiction under this subchapter to ascertain compliance with this subchapter and the rules promulgated under this subchapter. This review shall include all of the following: (a) A performance audit of the nonmetallic mining reclamation program of the county, city, village or town. (b) Verification, by on-site inspections, of county, city, village or town compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (c) A written determination by the department, issued at least once every 10 years, of whether the county, city, village or town is in compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (2) NONCOMPLIANCE; HEARING. If the department determines under sub. (1) that a county, city, village or town is not in compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter, the department shall notify the county, city, village or town of that determination. If the department decides to pursue the matter, it shall conduct a hearing, after 30 days’ notice, in the county, city, village or town. As soon as practicable after the hearing, the department shall issue a written decision regarding compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (3) MUNICIPAL NONCOMPLIANCE; CONSEQUENCES. If the department determines under sub. (2) that a city, village or town is not in compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter, the city, village or town may not administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program. The county nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance applies to that city, village or town and the county shall administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program in that city, village or town. The city, village or town may apply to the department to resume its authority to administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program, but not sooner than 3 years after the department issues a decision under sub. (2). The department, after a hearing, may approve the city, village or town request to administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program if the city, village or town demonstrates the capacity to comply with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (4) COUNTY NONCOMPLIANCE; CONSEQUENCES. If the department issues a written decision under sub. (2) that a county is not in compliance with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter, the department shall administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program in that county, including the collection of fees, review and approval of plans, inspection of nonmetallic mining sites and enforcement, except that the department may not administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program in a city, village or town that enacted an ordinance that complies with s. 295.14 before the department made its determination under sub. (2) and is administering that ordinance. The county may apply to the department at any time to resume administration of the nonmetallic mining reclamation program. The department, after a hearing, may approve the county request to administer the nonmetallic mining reclamation program if the county demonstrates the capacity to comply with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. No city, village or town may enact an ordinance for and begin to implement a nonmetallic mining reclamation program during the time that the de-
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partment administers the nonmetallic mining reclamation program in the county in which the city, village or town is located. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 809; 1997 a. 27.
295.19 Enforcement; remedies; penalties. (1) ORDERS; ENFORCEMENT. The governing body of a county, city, village or town that has a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that complies with s. 295.13 or 295.14, or an agent designated by that governing body, may do any of the following: (a) Issue an order requiring an operator to comply with, or to cease violating, this subchapter, rules promulgated under this subchapter, the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance, a nonmetallic mining reclamation permit or an approved nonmetallic mining reclamation plan. (b) Issue an order suspending or revoking a nonmetallic mining reclamation permit as authorized in the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance. (c) Issue an order directing an operator to immediately cease an activity regulated under this subchapter, under rules promulgated under this subchapter or under the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance until the necessary nonmetallic mining reclamation plan approval is obtained. (d) Submit orders to abate violations of the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance to the district attorney, the corporation counsel, the municipal attorney or the attorney general for enforcement. The district attorney, the corporation counsel, the municipal attorney or the attorney general may enforce those orders. (2) DEPARTMENT ORDERS. The department may issue an order directing the immediate cessation of an activity regulated under this subchapter until the nonmetallic mining site complies with the nonmetallic mining reclamation standards established under s. 295.12 (1) (a). (3) PENALTIES. (a) Any person who violates the rules promulgated under s. 295.12 (1) (a) or an order issued under sub. (2) may be required to forfeit not less than $25 nor more than $1,000 for each violation. Each day of continued violation is a separate offense. While an order issued under this subchapter is suspended, stayed or enjoined, this penalty does not accrue. (b) 1. Except for the violations enumerated in par. (a), any person who violates this subchapter or any rule promulgated or any plan approval order issued under this subchapter shall forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $5,000 for each violation. Each day of continued violation is a separate offense. While an order is suspended, stayed or enjoined, this penalty does not accrue. 2. In addition to the penalties provided under subd. 1., the court may award the department of justice the reasonable and necessary expenses of the investigation and prosecution of the violation, including attorney fees. The department of justice shall deposit in the state treasury for deposit into the general fund all moneys that the court awards to the department or the state under this subdivision. The costs of investigation and the expenses of prosecution, including attorney fees, shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.455 (1) (gh). History: 1995 a. 227 s. 810, 995; 1997 a. 27; 2001 a. 109; 2003 a. 309.
295.20 Preservation of marketable nonmetallic mineral deposits. (1) REGISTRATION. (a) Beginning on October 14, 1997, a landowner may register land owned by that person under this section if all of the following apply: 1. The land has a marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit, as evidenced by the certification of a professional geologist licensed under ch. 470 or a professional engineer registered under s. 443.04 and by any other information required under sub. (4). 2. The landowner notifies each county, city, village and town that has authority to zone the land of his or her intent to register
295.20
the marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit. The notification shall include the evidence required under subd. 1. 3. Nonmetallic mining is a permitted or conditional use for the land that is proposed to be registered under any zoning that is in effect on the day on which the landowner makes the notification under subd. 2. (b) A governmental unit that receives notification under par. (a) 2. may contest registration under this subsection, in the circuit court for a county in which the land is located, on the grounds that there is not a marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit on the land or that par. (a) 3. is not satisfied. The governmental unit has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one of those grounds exists. (c) The registration shall delineate the nonmetallic mineral deposit and is valid only if recorded in the office of the register of deeds in each county in which the nonmetallic mineral deposit is located. (d) Except as provided under sub. (4) (d), a registration under this subsection lasts for 10 years and may be renewed as provided in the rules under sub. (4) (e). (1m) PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED DEPOSITS. Land registered under sub. (1) before October 14, 1997, shall remain registered for 10 years after the initial date of registration. The registration may be renewed as provided under sub. (4) (f). (2) LIMITATION ON ZONING. (a) A county, city, village or town may not by zoning, rezoning, granting a variance, or other official action or inaction, permit the erection of permanent structures upon, or otherwise permit the use of, any land, while a registration under this section is in effect for that land, in a manner that would permanently interfere with the present or future extraction of the nonmetallic mineral deposit that is located on the land. (b) 1. A county, city, village or town may enact an ordinance changing the zoning of land that is registered under this section if mining has not begun on any portion of the registered land and the ordinance is necessary to implement a master plan, comprehensive plan or land use plan that was adopted at least one year before the rezoning. 2. A zoning change authorized by subd. 1. does not apply to the registered land during the registration period in effect when the zoning ordinance takes effect or during the 10-year renewal period under sub. (4) (e) or (f) if the land is eligible for that renewal. 3. A zoning change authorized by subd. 1. prevents the registration of the land after the period under subd. 2. (3) EXCEPTIONS. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the following: (a) A use of land permissible under a zoning ordinance in effect on the day before a mineral deposit is registered under sub. (1). (b) Acquisition of a registered nonmetallic mineral deposit or registered buffer area by a county, city, village or town or other governmental unit for a public purpose. (4) RULES. The department shall promulgate rules that contain all of the following: (a) A definition of “marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit”. (b) Procedures and requirements for registering land containing a marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit under sub. (1). (c) Procedures and criteria for objecting to the proposed registration of land containing a nonmetallic mineral deposit. (d) Procedures for terminating the registration of land under this section when there is no longer a marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit on the land. (e) Procedures and criteria for renewing the registration of
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land under sub. (1). The rules shall allow renewal for one 10-year period without review of the marketability of the deposit or the zoning of the land, except that, if mining has begun on any portion of the registered land, the rules shall allow the person to renew the registration for an unlimited number of 10-year periods as long as active mining continues. (f) Procedures and criteria for renewing the registration of land under sub. (1m). (g) Criteria under which contiguous parcels of land owned by the same person and containing the same marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit may be included in one registration. History: 1995 a. 227 s. 811; 1997 a. 27, 300.
SUBCHAPTER II OIL AND GAS 295.31 Definitions; oil and gas. In this subchapter: (1) “Department” means the department of natural resources. (2) “Exploration” means the on-site geologic examination from the surface of an area by core, rotary, percussion or other drilling for the purpose of searching for oil or gas or establishing the nature and extent of a known oil or gas deposit and includes associated activities such as clearing and preparing sites or constructing roads for drilling. For the purposes of the definition of exploration, geologic examination does not include drill holes constructed for the purpose of collecting soil samples or for determining geologic information by seismic methods. (3) “Gas” means naturally occurring gaseous hydrocarbons. (4) “Oil” means naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbons. (6) “Principal shareholder” means any person that owns at least 10 percent of the beneficial interest of another person. (7) “Production” means the process involved in the extraction of oil or gas for commercial purposes, and the construction of roads, construction, testing and completion of wells and installation and operation of pipelines, tanks and other necessary equipment for that extraction. (7m) “Other waste” includes all other substances, except industrial wastes, as defined in s. 281.01 (5), and sewage, as defined in s. 281.01 (13), which pollute any of the surface waters of the state. The term also includes unnecessary siltation resulting from operations such as the washing of vegetables or raw food products, gravel washing, stripping of lands for development of subdivisions, highways, quarries and gravel pits, mine drainage, cleaning of vehicles or barges or gross neglect of land erosion. (8) “Person” means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency. (8m) “Related person” means any person that owns or operates an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States and that is one of the following when an application for an oil or gas exploration or production license is submitted to the department: (a) The parent corporation of the applicant. (b) A person that holds more than a 30 percent ownership interest in the applicant. (c) A subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant in which the applicant holds more than a 30 percent ownership interest. (9) “Waters of the state” includes those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the boundaries of this state, and all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, wells, impounding reservoirs, marshes, watercourses, drainage systems
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and other surface water or groundwater, natural or artificial, public or private, within this state or its jurisdiction. History: 1991 a. 262; 1995 a. 227 s. 813, 995; Stats. 1995 s. 295.31.
295.33 Oil and gas exploration and production. (1) No person may engage in the exploration for oil or gas without a license from the department. (2) No person may engage in the production of oil or gas without a license from the department. (3) No person may commit waste in the exploration for or in the production of oil or gas. (4) No person may conduct drilling operations for the exploration for or production of oil or gas if the drilling extends beneath the beds of the Great Lakes or bays or harbors that are adjacent to the Great Lakes, notwithstanding s. 30.20 (2) (b). (5) No person holding an oil or gas exploration or production license may engage a general contractor or affiliate to operate an oil or gas exploration or production site if the general contractor or affiliate has 2 or more felony convictions for violation of a law for the protection of the natural environment arising out of the operation of an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States within 10 years before the issuance of the person’s license, unless the general contractor or affiliate receives the department’s approval of a plan to prevent the occurrence in this state of events similar to the events that directly resulted in the convictions. History: 1991 a. 262; 1995 a. 227 s. 814; Stats. 1995 s. 295.33; 2001 a. 16.
295.35 Departmental powers and duties; oil and gas. (1) The department shall establish a licensing procedure for oil and gas exploration and production in this state. The procedure shall require the applicant to do all of the following: (a) Submit any information that the department considers necessary to determine whether the applicant is competent to conduct oil and gas exploration, production and site reclamation and to determine whether the requirements of sub. (5) are satisfied. (b) Submit any information necessary for the department to determine whether the proposed exploration, production and site reclamation will comply with this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (c) Pay fees to cover the costs of plan review and licensing. (d) File with the department a bond conditioned on the faithful performance of all of the requirements of this subchapter and rules promulgated under this subchapter. (2) The department shall promulgate rules to protect the waters of the state, air, soil, plants, fish and wildlife from the adverse effects of oil and gas exploration and production, including rules relating to all of the following: (a) Location, construction, operation and maintenance of wells and ancillary facilities to provide the greatest practicable protection to the environment. (b) Disposal of waste liquids encountered or produced in oil and gas exploration and production. (c) Plugging of wells and abandonment and reclamation of well sites and mud pits and all other ancillary facilities to provide long-term environmental protection. (d) Reclamation of affected land when exploration and production are completed. (e) Competence of an applicant to conduct oil and gas exploration, production and site reclamation. (3) The department shall promulgate rules to prevent waste in the exploration for or the production of oil and gas, including rules related to all of the following:
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(a) Prevention of the escape of oil or gas from one stratum to another, and water or brine into oil and gas strata. (b) Prevention of the premature or irregular encroachment of water that reduces the total recovery of oil and gas. (c) Prevention of fires, explosions, blowouts, seepage or caving. (d) Secondary recovery methods of oil or gas. (e) Spacing of wells. (f) Regulation of well production, including the allocation of allowable production in any field or pool. (g) Operation of wells with efficient ratios of gas to oil. (5) The department may not issue a license for oil or gas exploration or production if it finds any of the following: (a) That the applicant has violated and continues to fail to comply with this subchapter or any rule promulgated under this subchapter. (b) That the applicant, a principal shareholder of the applicant or a related person has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, forfeited a reclamation bond for oil or gas exploration or production that was posted in accordance with a permit, license or other approval for an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States, unless the forfeiture was by agreement with the entity for whose benefit the bond was posted and the amount of the bond was sufficient to cover all costs of reclamation. (c) That the applicant, a related person or an officer or director of the applicant has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, 2 or more felony convictions for violations of laws for the protection of the natural environment arising out of the operation of an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States, unless one of the following applies: 1. The court ordered the person convicted, as part of the sentence or as a condition of probation, to engage in activities to remedy the violation and the person has complied with that order. 2. The person convicted is a related person or an officer or director of the applicant with whom the applicant terminates its relationship. 3. The applicant included in its license application under sub. (1) a plan to prevent the occurrence in this state of events similar to the events that directly resulted in the convictions. (cm) That the applicant, a related person or an officer or director of the applicant or a related person has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, been required to forfeit more than $10,000 for a violation of a law for the protection of the natural environment arising out of the operation of an oil and gas exploration or production site in the United States, unless one of the following applies: 1. The court ordered the person who was required to forfeit more than $10,000 to engage in activities to remedy the violation and the person has complied with that order. 2. The person who was required to forfeit more than $10,000 is a related person with whom the applicant has terminated its relationship. 3. The applicant included in the license application a plan to prevent the occurrence in this state of events similar to the events that directly resulted in the forfeiture. (d) That the applicant or a related person has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, declared bankruptcy or undergone dissolution that resulted in the failure to reclaim an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States in violation of a state or federal law and that failure has not been remedied and is not being remedied. (e) That, within 10 years before the application is submitted,
295.40
a license or other approval for oil or gas exploration or production issued to the applicant or a related person was permanently revoked because of a failure to reclaim an oil or gas exploration or production site in the United States in violation of state or federal law and that failure has not been and is not being remedied. (6) The department may not deny a license for oil or gas exploration or production under sub. (5) if the person subject to the convictions, forfeiture, permanent revocation, bankruptcy or dissolution is a related person but the applicant shows that the person was not the parent corporation of the applicant, a person that holds more than a 30 percent ownership in the applicant, or a subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant in which the applicant holds more than a 30 percent interest at the time of the convictions, forfeiture, permanent revocation, bankruptcy or dissolution. History: 1991 a. 262; 1995 a. 227 s. 815; Stats. 1995 s. 295.35.
295.37 Penalties; oil and gas. (1) Any person who makes or causes to be made in an application or report required under this subchapter a statement known to the person to be false or misleading in any material respect or who refuses to submit information required by the department under this subchapter may be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000. (2) Any person who violates this subchapter or any order issued or rule promulgated under this subchapter may be required to forfeit not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for each violation. Each day of violation is a separate offense. (3) (a) If a person makes or causes to be made in an application or report required under this subchapter a statement known to the person to be false or misleading and that statement is material to the issuance of an exploration or production license, the department may revoke the license. If a person holding an exploration or production license repeatedly makes or causes to be made in an application or report required under this subchapter a statement known to the person to be false or misleading in any material respect or refuses to submit information required by the department under this subchapter, the department may revoke the license. (b) If a person holding an exploration or production license continues to violate this subchapter after the department has issued an order to cease those violations, the department shall revoke the license. (4) Any oil or gas produced in violation of this subchapter or any order issued or rule promulgated under this subchapter, or any product manufactured from that oil or gas, is subject to confiscation. The department may seize that oil, gas or products and request the department of justice to commence an action to confiscate the oil, gas or products. History: 1991 a. 262; 1995 a, 227 s. 816; Stats. 1995 s. 295.37.
SUBCHAPTER III FERROUS METALLIC MINING 295.40 Legislative findings. The legislature finds all of the following: (1) That attracting and aiding new mining enterprises and expanding the mining industry in Wisconsin is part of Wisconsin public policy. (2) That mining for nonferrous metallic minerals is different from mining for ferrous minerals because in mining for nonferrous metallic minerals, sulfide minerals react, when exposed to air and water, to form acid drainage. (3) That if the mineral products and waste materials associated with nonferrous metallic sulfide mining operations are not properly managed and controlled, they can cause significant dam-
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age to the environment, affect human health, and degrade the quality of life of the affected community. (4) That the special concerns surrounding nonferrous metallic mining warrant more stringent regulatory measures than those warranted for ferrous mineral mining operations. (5) That the provisions in ch. 293, 2011 stats., are a deterrent to ferrous mineral mining in this state and are not necessary to ensure that ferrous mineral mining will be conducted in an environmentally sound manner. (6) That simplifying and shortening the permitting process for ferrous mineral mining when compared to nonferrous metallic mineral mining, as Minnesota and Michigan have done, will encourage ferrous mineral mining in Wisconsin and create jobs and generate resources for the state. (7) That because of the fixed location of ferrous mineral deposits in the state, it is probable that mining those deposits will result in adverse impacts to wetlands and that, therefore, the use of wetlands for bulk sampling and mining activities, including the disposal or storage of mining wastes or materials, or the use of other lands for mining activities that would have a significant adverse impact on wetlands, is presumed to be necessary. History: 2013 a. 1.
295.41 Definitions. In this subchapter: (1) “Air pollution” means the presence in the atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in such quantities and of such duration as is injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property. (2) “Applicant” means a person who applies for, or is preparing to apply for, an exploration license or a mining permit or who files a bulk sampling plan. (3) (a) “Approval” means, except as provided in par. (b), any permit, license, certification, contract, or other authorization that the department issues, or any other action by the department, that is required for exploration, to engage in bulk sampling at a bulk sampling site, or to construct or operate a mining site, including any action required for any of the following: 1. The withdrawal of land entered as county forest land under s. 28.11 and any modification of, or amendment to, a county forest land use plan necessitated by the withdrawal of the land. 2. The withdrawal of land entered as forest cropland under s. 77.10. 3. The withdrawal of land designated as managed forest land under subch. VI of ch. 77 and any modification of, or amendment to, a managed forest land management plan necessitated by the withdrawal of the land. (b) “Approval” does not include a permit, license, certification, contract, or other authorization related to the construction of any new plant, equipment, property, or facility for the production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of power. (4) “Background water quality” means the concentration of a substance in groundwater as determined by monitoring at locations that will not be affected by a mining site. (5) “Baseline water quality” means the concentration of a substance in groundwater or surface water as determined by monitoring before mining operations begin. (6) “Borrow materials” means soil or rock used in construction or reclamation activities. (7) “Bulk sampling” means excavating in a potential mining site by removing less than 10,000 tons of material for the purposes of obtaining site-specific data to assess the quality and quantity of the ferrous mineral deposits and of collecting data from and analyzing the excavated materials in order to prepare the application for a mining permit or for any other approval.
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(8) “Closing” means the time at which a mining waste site ceases to accept mining wastes. (9) “Closure” means the actions taken by an operator to prepare a mining waste site for long-term care and to make it suitable for other uses. (10) “Construct” means to engage in a program of on-site construction, including site clearing, grading, dredging, or filling of land. (11) “Department” means the department of natural resources. (12) “Disposal” means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, or placing of a substance into or on any land or water. (14) “Environmental impact report” means a document submitted by a person seeking a mining permit that discloses environmental impacts of the proposed mining. (15) “Environmental impact statement” means a detailed statement under s. 1.11 (2) (c). (16) “Environmental pollution” means contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land, or waters of the state, or making the air, land, or waters of the state injurious to public health or animal or plant life. (17) “Exploration license” means a license under s. 295.44. (18) “Ferrous mineral” means an ore or earthen material in natural deposits in or on the earth that primarily exists in the form of an iron oxide, including taconite and hematite. (19) “Fill area” means an area proposed to receive or that is receiving direct application of mining waste. (20) “Freeboard” means the height of the top of a dam above the adjacent liquid surface within the impoundment. (21) “Groundwater” means any of the waters of the state occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of rock or soil. (22) “Groundwater quality” means the chemical, physical, biological, thermal, or radiological quality of groundwater at a site or within an underground aquifer. (23) “Groundwater quality standards” means numerical values consisting of enforcement standards and preventive action limits contained in Table 1 of s. NR 140.10, and Table 2 of s. NR 140.12, Wis. Adm. Code, and any preventive action limits for indicator parameters identified under s. NR 140.20 (2), Wis. Adm. Code. (24) “Leachate” means water or other liquid that has been contaminated by dissolved or suspended materials due to contact with refuse disposed of on the mining site. (25) “Merchantable by-product” means all waste soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation, and other material directly resulting from or displaced by the mining, cleaning, or preparation of minerals, during mining operations, that are determined by the department to be marketable upon a showing of marketability made by the operator, accompanied by a verified statement by the operator of his or her intent to sell the material within 3 years from the time it results from or is displaced by mining. (26) “Mining” means all or part of the process involved in the mining of a ferrous mineral, other than for exploration, including commercial extraction, agglomeration, beneficiation, construction of roads, removal of overburden, and the production of refuse, involving the removal of more than 15,000 tons of earth material a year in the regular operation of a business for the purpose of extracting a ferrous mineral. (27) “Mining permit” means the permit under s. 295.58. (28) “Mining plan” means a proposal for mining on a mining site, including a description of the systematic activities to be used for the purpose of extracting ferrous minerals.
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(29) “Mining site” means the surface area disturbed by mining, including the surface area from which the ferrous minerals or refuse or both have been removed, the surface area covered by refuse, all lands disturbed by the construction or improvement of haulageways, and any surface areas in which structures, equipment, materials, and any other things used in the mining are situated. (30) “Mining waste” means tailings, waste rock, mine overburden, waste treatment sludges, or other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from mining or from the cleaning or preparation of ferrous minerals during mining operations, except that “mining waste” does not include topsoil and mine overburden intended to be returned to the mining site or used in the reclamation process and that is placed on the mining site for those purposes, as provided for in the approved mining plan, and does not include merchantable by-products. (31) “Mining waste site” means any land or appurtenances thereto used for the storage or disposal of mining waste or for the storage of merchantable by-products, but does not include land or appurtenances used in the production or transportation of mining waste, such as the concentrator, haul roads, or tailings pipelines, that are part of the mining site. (32) “Nonferrous metallic mineral” means an ore or other earthen material to be excavated from natural deposits on or in the earth for its metallic content but not primarily for its iron oxide content. (33) “Operator” means any person who is engaged in mining, or who holds a mining permit, whether individually, jointly, or through subsidiaries, agents, employees, or contractors. (34) “Overburden” means any unconsolidated material that overlies bedrock. (35) “Person” means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, local governmental agency, interstate agency, state agency, or federal agency. (36) “Piping” means the progressive erosion of materials from an embankment or foundation caused by the seepage of water. (37) “Principal shareholder” means any person who owns at least 10 percent of the beneficial ownership of an applicant or operator. (38) “Reagent” means a substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction or is added to see if a reaction occurs to confirm the presence of another substance. (39) “Reclamation” means the process by which an area physically or environmentally affected by exploration or mining is rehabilitated to either its original state or to a state that provides long-term environmental stability. (40) “Reclamation plan” means the proposal for the reclamation of an exploration site under s. 295.44 (2) (b) or a mining site under s. 295.49. (41) “Refuse” means all mining waste and all waste materials deposited on or in the mining site from other sources, except merchantable by-products. (42) “Related person” means any person that owns or operates a mining site in the United States and that is one of the following when an application for a mining permit is submitted to the department: (a) The parent corporation of the applicant. (b) A person that holds more than a 30 percent ownership interest in the applicant. (c) A subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant in which the applicant holds more than a 30 percent ownership interest.
295.44
(44) “Subsidence” means lateral or vertical ground movement caused by a failure, initiated at the mine, of a man-made underground mine, that directly damages residences or commercial buildings, except that “subsidence” does not include lateral or vertical ground movement caused by earthquake, landslide, soil conditions, soil erosion, soil freezing and thawing, or roots of trees and shrubs. (45) “Tailings” means waste material resulting from beneficiation of crushed ferrous minerals at a concentrator or from washing, concentration, or treatment of crushed ferrous minerals. (46) “Unsuitable” means that the land proposed for mining is not suitable for mining because the mining activity will more probably than not destroy or irreparably damage any of the following: (a) Habitat required for survival of species of vegetation or wildlife designated as endangered through prior inclusion in rules adopted by the department, if the endangered species cannot be reestablished elsewhere. (b) Unique features of the land, as determined by state or federal designation and incorporated in rules adopted by the department, as any of the following, which cannot have their unique characteristic preserved by relocation or replacement elsewhere: 1. Wilderness areas. 2. Wild and scenic rivers. 3. National or state parks. 4. Wildlife refuges and areas. 5. Listed properties, as defined in s. 44.31 (4). (46m) “Wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoon” means a man-made containment structure that is constructed primarily of earthen materials, that is for the treatment or storage of wastewater, storm water, or sludge, and that is not a land disposal system, as defined in s. NR 140.05 (11), Wis. Adm. Code. (47) “Waters of the state” has the meaning given in s. 281.01 (18). (48) “Water supply” means the sources and their surroundings from which water is supplied for drinking or domestic purposes. (49) “Wetland” has the meaning given in s. 23.32 (1). History: 2013 a. 1.
295.43 Responsibilities related to mining. The department shall serve as the central unit of state government to ensure that the impact from mining and reclamation on the air, lands, waters, plants, fish, and wildlife in this state will be minimized and offset to the extent practicable. The administration of occupational health and safety laws and rules that apply to mining remain exclusively the responsibility of the department of safety and professional services. The powers and duties of the geological and natural history survey under s. 36.25 (6) remain exclusively the responsibility of the geological and natural history survey. Nothing in this section prevents the department of safety and professional services and the geological and natural history survey from cooperating with the department in the exercise of their respective powers and duties. History: 2013 a. 1.
295.44 Exploration. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this section: (a) “Abandonment” means the filling or sealing of a drillhole. (b) “Clay slurry” means a fluid mixture of native clay formation or commercial clay or clay mineral products and water prepared with only the amount of water necessary to produce fluidity. (c) “Concrete grout” means a mixture consisting of type A portland cement and an equal or lesser volume of dry sand combined with water.
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(d) “Driller” means a person who performs core, rotary, percussion, or other drilling involved in exploration for ferrous minerals. (e) “Drilling site” means the area disturbed by exploration, including the drillhole. (f) “Dump bailer” means a cylindrical container with a valve that empties the contents of the container at the bottom of a drillhole. (g) “Explorer” means any person who engages in exploration or who contracts for the services of drillers for the purpose of exploration. (h) “Exploration” means the on-site geologic examination from the surface of an area by core, rotary, percussion, or other drilling, where the diameter of the hole does not exceed 18 inches, for the purpose of searching for ferrous minerals or establishing the nature of a known ferrous mineral deposit, including associated activities such as clearing and preparing sites or constructing roads for drilling. “Exploration” does not include drilling for the purpose of collecting soil samples or for determining radioactivity by means of placement of devices that are sensitive to radiation. (i) “License year” means the period beginning on July 1 of any year and ending on the following June 30. (j) “Neat cement grout” means a mixture consisting of type A portland cement and water. (k) “Termination” means the filling of drillholes and the reclamation of a drilling site. (2) LICENSE. No person may engage in exploration, or contract for the services of drillers for purposes of exploration, without an annual license from the department. The department shall provide copies of the application for an exploration license to the state geologist upon issuance of the exploration license. A person seeking an exploration license shall file an application that includes all of the following: (a) An exploration plan that includes all of the following: 1. A description of the site where the exploration will take place and a map of that area showing the locations of the exploration. 2. A description of the means and method that will be used for the exploration. 3. A description of the grading and stabilization of the excavation, sides, and benches that will be conducted. 4. A description of how the grading and stabilization of any deposits of refuse will be conducted. 5. A description of how any diversion and drainage of water from the exploration site will be conducted. 6. A description of how any backfilling will be conducted. 7. A description of how any pollutant-bearing minerals or materials will be covered. 8. A description of how the topsoils will be removed and stockpiled or how other measures will be taken to protect topsoils before exploration. 9. A description of how vegetative cover will be provided. 10. A description of how any water impoundment will be accomplished. 11. Identification of the means and method that will be used to prevent significant environmental pollution to the extent practicable. (b) A reclamation plan, designed to minimize adverse effects to the environment to the extent practicable, that includes all of the following: 1. A description of how all toxic and hazardous wastes and other solid waste will be disposed of in solid or hazardous waste
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disposal facilities licensed under ch. 289 or 291 or otherwise in an environmentally sound manner. 2. A description of how topsoil will be preserved for purposes of future use in reclamation. 3. A description of how revegetation will be conducted to stabilize disturbed soils and prevent air and water pollution to the extent practicable. 4. A description of how disturbance to wetlands will be minimized to the extent practicable. 5. A statement that all drillholes will be abandoned in compliance with sub. (5). (c) An exploration license fee of $300. (d) A bond, as provided in sub. (3) (a). (e) A certificate of insurance showing that the applicant has in force a liability insurance policy issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in this state covering all exploration conducted or contracted for by the explorer in this state and affording personal injury and property damage protection in a total amount determined to be adequate by the department, but not more than $1,000,000 and not less than $50,000. (f) A copy of the applicant’s most recent annual report to the federal securities and exchange commission on form 10-K, or, if this is not available, a report of the applicant’s current assets and liabilities or other data necessary to establish that the applicant is competent to conduct exploration in this state. (2m) CONFIDENTIALITY. The department and the state geologist shall protect as confidential any information, other than effluent data, contained in an application for an exploration license, upon a showing that the information is entitled to protection as a trade secret, as defined in s. 134.90 (1) (c), and any information relating to the location, quality, or quantity of a ferrous mineral deposit, to production or sales figures, or to processes or production unique to the applicant or that would tend to adversely affect the competitive position of the applicant if made public. (3) BOND. (a) An applicant shall submit, as part of the application for an exploration license, a bond in the amount of $5,000 that is conditioned on faithful performance of the requirements of this section, that is issued by a surety company licensed to do business in this state, and that provides that the bond may not be canceled by the surety, except after not less than 90 days’ notice to the department in writing by registered or certified mail. (b) If the surety for a bond submitted under par. (a) issues a cancellation notice, the explorer shall deliver a replacement bond at least 30 days before the expiration of the 90 day notice period. If the explorer fails to submit a replacement bond, the explorer may not engage in exploration until the explorer submits a replacement bond. (c) If the license of the surety company for a bond submitted under par. (a) is revoked or suspended, the explorer, within 30 days after receiving written notice from the department, shall deliver a replacement bond. If the explorer fails to submit a replacement bond, the explorer may not engage in exploration until the explorer submits a replacement bond. (d) The department may require that the amount of the bond submitted under this subsection be increased at any time, if the department determines that the level of activity by the explorer makes it likely that the bond would be inadequate to fund the termination of all drillholes for which the explorer is responsible. (e) The department shall release a bond submitted under this subsection one year after the issuance of the last certificate of completion of exploration under sub. (9) (c) 3. if the explorer no longer holds an exploration license and the department determines that the explorer has complied with this section. (4) ISSUANCE OR DENIAL OF EXPLORATION LICENSE. (a) Ex-
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cept as provided in par. (c), within 10 business days of receiving an administratively complete application for an exploration license, the department shall issue the exploration license or provide the notice required under par. (f) of intent not to issue the exploration license, unless the application is for an upcoming license year. If an application is for an upcoming license year, the department shall issue the exploration license or provide the notice required under par. (f) of intent not to issue the exploration license within 10 business days of receiving an administratively complete application or on the next July 1, whichever is later. (b) An application for an exploration license is considered to be administratively complete on the day that it is submitted, unless, before the 10th business day after receiving the application, the department provides the applicant with written notification that the application is not administratively complete. The department may determine that an application is not administratively complete only if the application does not include an exploration plan; a reclamation plan; an exploration license fee; a bond; a certificate of insurance; or a copy of the applicant’s most recent annual report to the federal securities and exchange commission on form 10-K, or, if this is not available, a report of the applicant’s current assets and liabilities or other data necessary to establish that the applicant is competent to conduct exploration in this state. The department may not consider the quality of the information provided. In a notice provided under this paragraph, the department shall identify what is missing from the application. (c) If the department provides notification, in compliance with par. (b), that an application is not administratively complete, the department shall issue the exploration license or provide the notice required under par. (f) of intent not to issue the license within 7 business days of receipt of the missing item, unless the application is for an upcoming license year. If the application is for an upcoming license year, the department shall issue the exploration license or provide the notice required under par. (f) of intent not to issue the exploration license within 7 business days of receipt of the missing item or on the next July 1, whichever is later. (d) If the department does not comply with par. (a) or (c), the application is automatically approved and the department shall issue an exploration license that includes the requirements in sub. (5). The explorer may engage in exploration based on the automatic approval, notwithstanding any delay by the department in issuing the license. (e) Subject to par. (f), the department shall deny an application for an exploration license if the department finds that, after the activities in the exploration plan and the reclamation plan have been completed, the exploration will have a substantial and irreparable adverse impact on the environment or present a substantial risk of injury to public health and welfare. (f) Before denying an application, the department shall provide the applicant with written notification of its intent not to issue the exploration license, setting forth all of the reasons for its intent not to issue the exploration license, including reference to competent evidence supporting its position. The department shall provide the person with an opportunity to correct any deficiencies in the exploration plan or reclamation plan within 10 business days. If the person amends the exploration plan or reclamation plan and corrects the deficiencies, the department shall issue the exploration license within 10 business days of receipt of the amended exploration plan or reclamation plan, unless the application is for an upcoming license year. If an application is for an upcoming license year, the department shall issue the exploration license within 10 business days of receipt of the amended exploration plan or reclamation plan or on the next July 1, whichever is later. If the department determines that the deficiencies have not been corrected, it shall deny the application, in writing,
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setting forth all of the reasons for its determination, including reference to competent evidence supporting the determination. (5) REQUIREMENTS IN EXPLORATION LICENSE. The department shall include all of the following in an exploration license: (a) A requirement that if the explorer wishes to temporarily abandon a drillhole so that the explorer may use the drillhole for future exploration, the explorer leave the well casing in place and seal the upper end of the casing with a watertight threaded or welded cap. (b) A requirement to permanently abandon a drillhole 4 inches in diameter or smaller by filling the drillhole from the bottom upward to the surface of the ground with concrete grout or neat cement grout. (c) A requirement to permanently abandon a drillhole larger than 4 inches in diameter by filling the drillhole from the bottom upward to the surface of the ground with concrete grout or neat cement grout or in one of the following ways: 1. If the drillhole is constructed in limestone, dolomite, shale, or Precambrian formations, such as granite, gabbro, gneiss, schist, slate, greenstone, or quartzite, by filling the drillhole with gravel or crushed rock or, if it is physically impracticable to use gravel or crushed rock and if the department approves, with clay slurry, from the bottom upward to a point 20 feet below the top of the first rock formation encountered below the surface of the ground or to at least 40 feet below the surface of the ground, whichever is the greater depth, and filling the remainder of the drillhole with concrete grout or neat cement grout. 2. If the drillhole is constructed in sandstone formation, by filling the drillhole with disinfected sand or pea gravel or, if it is physically impracticable to use sand or pea gravel and if the department approves, with clay slurry, from the bottom upward to a point 20 feet below the top of the first rock formation encountered below the surface of the ground or to at least 40 feet below the surface of the ground, whichever is the greater depth, and filling the remainder of the drillhole with concrete grout or neat cement grout. 3. If the drillhole is constructed in glacial drift or other unconsolidated formation, by filling the hole with clean clay slurry to a point 20 feet below the surface of the ground and filling the remainder of the drillhole with concrete grout or neat cement grout. 4. If the drillhole is constructed in mixed rock types, by filling the drillhole as provided in subds. 1., 2., and 3., and providing a concrete grout or neat cement grout plug that extends at least 20 feet above and below the point of surface contact between each recognized geologic rock type. (d) 1. A requirement to use a conductor pipe or, when practical, a dump bailer when filling a drillhole. 2. A requirement to keep the bottom end of the conductor pipe submerged in concrete grout or neat cement grout at all times when concrete grout or neat cement grout is placed under water using a conductor pipe. 3. A requirement to fill the drillhole at the same time that all or part of the drillhole casing is removed from an unconsolidated formation, such as sand or gravel, that will not remain open upon abandonment of a drillhole and to keep the end of the casing below the surface of the fill material throughout the operation. (e) A requirement to obtain approval from the department of the method of containing the flow from, and the method of eventual abandonment of, a drillhole that penetrates an aquifer under artesian pressure so that the groundwater flows at the surface of the ground. (6) RENEWALS. (a) An explorer wishing to renew an exploration license shall file with the department a renewal application that includes all of the following:
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
1. A renewal fee of $150. 2. A bond that satisfies sub. (3) (a). 3. A certificate of insurance that satisfies sub. (2) (e). 4. A copy of the applicant’s most recent annual report to the federal securities and exchange commission on form 10-K, or, if this is not available, a report of the applicant’s current assets and liabilities or other data necessary to establish that the applicant is competent to conduct exploration in this state. 5. Either a statement that no changes are being proposed to the exploration plan and reclamation plan previously approved by the department or a new exploration plan or reclamation plan if the applicant proposes to make changes. (b) Except as provided in par. (d), within 10 business days of receiving an administratively complete application for renewal of an exploration license, the department shall renew the exploration license or provide the notice, required under par. (g), of intent not to renew the exploration license. (c) An application for renewal of an exploration license is considered to be administratively complete on the day that it is submitted, unless, before the 10th business day after receiving the application, the department provides the explorer with written notification that the application is not administratively complete. The department may determine that an application is not administratively complete only if the application does not include a renewal fee; a bond; a certificate of insurance; a copy of the applicant’s most recent annual report to the federal securities and exchange commission on form 10-K, or, if this is not available, a report of the applicant’s current assets and liabilities or other data necessary to establish that the applicant is competent to conduct exploration in this state; or either a statement that no changes are being proposed to the exploration plan and reclamation plan previously approved by the department or a new exploration plan or reclamation plan if the applicant proposes to make changes. The department may not consider the quality of any information provided. In a notice provided under this paragraph, the department shall identify what is missing from the application. (d) If the department provides notification, in compliance with par. (c), that an application is not administratively complete, the department shall renew the exploration license or provide the notice, required under par. (g), of intent not to renew the exploration license within 7 business days of receipt of the missing item. (e) If the department does not comply with par. (b) or (d), the application for renewal is automatically approved. (f) Subject to par. (g), the department shall deny an application for renewal of an exploration license only if the applicant has filed a new exploration plan or reclamation plan and the department finds that the exploration, after the activities in the new exploration plan and the new reclamation plan have been completed, will have a substantial and irreparable adverse impact on the environment or present a substantial risk of injury to public health and welfare. (g) Before denying an application, the department shall provide the person who submitted the application with written notification of its intent not to renew the exploration license, setting forth all of the reasons for its intent not to renew the exploration license, including reference to competent evidence supporting its position. The department shall provide the person with an opportunity to correct any deficiencies in the exploration plan or restoration plan within 10 business days. If the person amends the exploration plan or reclamation plan and corrects the deficiencies, the department shall renew the exploration license within 10 business days of receipt of the amended exploration plan or reclamation plan. If the department determines that the deficiencies have not been corrected, it shall deny the application,
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in writing, setting forth all of the reasons for it’s determination, including reference to competent evidence supporting the determination. (h) The renewal of an exploration license takes effect on the date of issuance and expires on the following June 30. (7) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF EXPLORATION LICENSE. After a hearing, the department may revoke or suspend an exploration license if it determines that any of the following apply: (a) The explorer has not complied with a statute, a rule promulgated by the department, or a condition in the exploration license. (b) The explorer has failed to increase bond amounts to adequate levels as provided under sub. (3) (d). (8) NOTICE PROCEDURE. (a) An explorer shall notify the department of the explorer’s intent to drill on a parcel by registered mail at least 5 days prior to the beginning of drilling. Notice is considered to be given on the date that the department receives the notice. In the notice, the explorer shall specify which drillholes identified in the exploration plan the explorer intends to drill. The explorer shall send the notice to the subunit of the department with authority over mine reclamation. (b) A notice of intent to drill provided under par. (a) remains in effect for one year beginning on the date that the department receives the notice. If the explorer wishes to continue drilling on the parcel after the notice is no longer in effect, the explorer shall resubmit a notice of intent to drill on the parcel. (9) REPORTS. (a) Within 10 days after completing the temporary or permanent abandonment of a drillhole, an explorer shall file with the department an abandonment report that describes the means and method used in the abandonment and is signed by an authorized representative of the explorer attesting to the accuracy of the information contained in the report. The explorer shall submit the abandonment report to the department’s district office for the district in which the drilling site is located. (b) After permanent abandonment of a drillhole and regrading and revegetation of the drilling site, an explorer shall notify the department of completion of termination of the drilling site. The explorer shall submit the notice, in writing, to the department’s district office for the district in which the drilling site is located. (c) 1. After receipt of a notice under par. (b), the department shall notify the explorer in writing whether the termination is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If the termination is unsatisfactory, the department shall inform the explorer of the necessary corrective measures. Following the completion of corrective measures, the explorer shall file written notice with the department’s district office for the district in which the drilling site is located specifying the means and method used and stating that termination is complete. 2. If an explorer fails to comply with corrective measures identified under subd. 1., the department may suspend the explorer’s exploration license in accordance with sub. (7). 3. Upon satisfactory completion of termination of a drilling site, the department shall issue a certificate of completion. The department may not issue a certificate of completion for a drilling site that has only been temporarily abandoned. (10) DRILLING FEES. Upon the submission of a report under sub. (9) (a) of temporary abandonment of a drillhole, if the drillhole is temporarily abandoned, or upon submission of a report under sub. (9) (a) of permanent abandonment of a drillhole, if the drillhole is not temporarily abandoned, the explorer shall pay a fee to the department. The fee is $100 per drillhole for the first 20 drillholes for which a report is filed in a license year and $50 for each subsequent drillhole for which a report is filed in that license year.
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
(11) INSPECTIONS. (a) Any duly authorized officer, employee, or representative of the department may enter and inspect any property, premises, or place on or at which exploration is being performed at any reasonable time for the purpose of ascertaining the state of compliance with this section. No explorer may refuse entry or access to any authorized representative of the department who requests entry for the purposes of inspection and who presents appropriate credentials. (b) No person may obstruct, hamper, or interfere with any inspection authorized in par. (a). (c) No inspector may obstruct, hamper, or interfere with exploration activities. (12) EXEMPTION. This section does not apply to an operator with a mining permit who is engaged in exploration activities on lands included in a mining plan and reclamation plan, if the mining plan or reclamation plan contains provisions relating to termination of the exploration activities. (13) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS NOT REQUIRED. The department is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment for an application for an exploration license. History: 2013 a. 1; 2013 a. 168 s. 21.
295.443 Local impact committee; local agreement. (1) A county, town, village, city, or tribal government likely to be substantially affected by potential or proposed mining may designate an existing committee, or establish a committee, for purposes of: (a) Facilitating communications between operators and itself. (b) Analyzing implications of mining. (c) Reviewing and commenting on reclamation plans. (d) Developing solutions to mining-induced growth problems. (e) Recommending priorities for local action. (f) Formulating recommendations to the investment and local impact fund board regarding distribution of funds under s. 70.395 (2) (g) related to mining for ferrous minerals. (g) Negotiating a local agreement under sub. (1m). (1m) A county, town, village, city, or tribal government that requires an operator to obtain an approval or permit under a zoning or land use ordinance and a county, town, village, or city in which any portion of a proposed mining site is located may, individually or in conjunction with other counties, towns, villages, cities, or tribal governments, enter into one or more agreements with an operator for the development of a mining operation. The local agreement may include any of the following: (a) A legal description of the land subject to the agreement and the names of its legal and equitable owners. (b) The duration of the agreement. (c) The uses permitted on the land. (d) A description of any conditions, terms, restrictions, or other requirements determined to be necessary by the county, town, village, city, or tribal government for the public health, safety, or welfare of its residents. (e) A description of any obligation undertaken by the county, town, village, city, or tribal government to enable the development to proceed. (f) The applicability or nonapplicability of county, town, village, city, or tribal ordinances, approvals, or resolutions. (g) A provision for the amendment of the agreement. (h) Other provisions determined to be reasonable and necessary by the parties to the agreement. (2) A county, town, village, city, or tribal government affected in common with another county, town, village, city, or
295.45
tribal government by a proposed or existing mine may cooperatively designate or establish a joint committee, but may also maintain a separate committee under sub. (1). Committees under this section may include representatives of affected units of government, business, and industry, manpower, health, protective or service agencies, school districts, or environmental and other interest groups or other interested parties. (3) Persons applying for an exploration license under s. 295.44 shall thereafter appoint a liaison person to any committee established under sub. (1) or (2), and shall provide such reasonable information as is requested by the committee. Operators and persons applying for an exploration license under s. 295.44 shall thereafter make reasonable efforts to design and operate mining operations in harmony with community development objectives. (4) Committees established under sub. (1) or (2) may be funded by their appointing authority, and may, through their appointing authority, submit a request for operating funds to the investment and local impact fund board under s. 70.395. Committees established under sub. (1) shall be eligible for funds only if the county, town, village, or city is also a participant in a joint committee, if any, established under sub. (2). The investment and local impact fund board may not grant funds for the use of more than one committee established under sub. (1) in relation to a particular mining proposal unless a joint committee has been established under sub. (2). The investment and local impact fund board shall grant operating funds to any committee that submits a request and is eligible under this subsection and s. 70.395 (2) (fm). Committees may hire staff, enter into contracts with private firms or consultants or contract with a regional planning commission or other agency for staff services for mining-related purposes or the purposes under s. 70.395 (2) (fm). History: 2013 a. 1; 2013 a. 168 s. 21.
295.45 Bulk sampling plan. (1) A person who intends to engage in bulk sampling may file a bulk sampling plan with the department. The collection of data under a bulk sampling plan may include sampling and analysis related to geophysical, geochemical, groundwater, and surface water conditions, as well as any other data or studies necessary to prepare an application for a mining permit, including the mining plan, reclamation plan, mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation, or any other approval required for the proposed mining. (2) A person shall include all of the following in a bulk sampling plan: (a) A description and map of the bulk sampling site, including the number of acres in the site, the number of acres of land that will be disturbed, if any, associated with each bulk sampling location, and the locations and types of sampling or studies to be conducted at each bulk sampling location. (b) A description of the methods to be used for the bulk sampling. (c) A site-specific plan for controlling surface erosion that conforms to requirements under ss. 281.33 (3) and 283.33 and that identifies how impacts to plant and wildlife habitats will be avoided or minimized to the extent practicable. (d) A revegetation plan for each area where bulk sampling will be performed that describes how adverse impacts to the environment will be avoided or minimized to the extent practicable and how the site will be revegetated and stabilized and that identifies how adverse impacts to plant and wildlife habitats will be avoided or minimized to the extent practicable. (e) The estimated time for completing the bulk sampling and revegetation of the bulk sampling locations. (f) A description of any known adverse environmental impacts that are likely to be caused by the bulk sampling and how
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
those impacts will be avoided or minimized to the extent practicable. (g) A description of any adverse effects, as defined in s. 44.31 (1), that the bulk sampling might have on any historic property, as defined in s. 44.31 (3), that is a listed property, as defined in s. 44.31 (4), that is on the Wisconsin inventory of historic places, as defined in s. 44.31 (12), or that is on the list of locally designated historic places under s. 44.45; or any scenic or recreational areas; and plans to avoid or minimize those adverse effects to the extent practicable. (2m) The department shall protect as confidential any information, other than effluent data, contained in a bulk sampling plan and in any application for an approval that is required before the bulk sampling may be implemented, upon a showing that the information is entitled to protection as a trade secret, as defined in s. 134.90 (1) (c), and any information relating to the location, quality, or quantity of a ferrous mineral deposit, to production or sales figures, or to processes or production unique to the applicant or that would tend to adversely affect the competitive position of the applicant if made public. (3) Within 14 days of receipt of a bulk sampling plan, the department shall identify for the applicant, in writing, all approvals that are required before the bulk sampling may be implemented, any waivers, exemptions, or exceptions to those approvals that are potentially available, and any information that the department needs to issue the approvals or to issue a decision on any waiver, exemption, or exception. If no approvals are required, the department shall notify the applicant that no approvals are required and that the applicant may proceed with the bulk sampling. (3e) If a storm water discharge permit under s. 283.33 (1) (a) or a water quality certification under rules promulgated under subch. II of ch. 281 to implement 33 USC 1341 (a) is required before bulk sampling may be implemented, the person filing the bulk sampling plan may apply for and be issued the permit or certification. (3m) The department shall act on any required construction site erosion control and storm water management approval, notwithstanding any authorization by the department of a local program to administer construction site erosion control and storm water management requirements. (3s) An applicant shall submit all of the following at the same time: (a) Applications for individual approvals identified under sub. (3). (b) Applications for coverage under general permits or registration permits identified under sub. (3). (c) Applications for waivers, exemptions, or exceptions identified under sub. (3). (d) A bond, as provided in sub. (5). (4) (a) Notwithstanding any provision in ch. 23, 29, 30, 31, 169, 281, 283, 285, 289, or 291 or in a rule promulgated under those chapters that is applicable to an approval identified under sub. (3), the application for any approval, for a waiver, exemption, or exception to an approval, or for a determination that the proposed bulk sampling activity is below the threshold that requires an approval, is considered to be complete on the 30th day after the department receives the application, unless, before that day, the department provides the applicant with written notification that the application is not complete, stating the reason for the determination and describing the specific information necessary to make the application complete. (b) If the department provides a notice under par. (a), the applicant shall supplement the application by providing the specified information. The application is complete when the applicant provides the information.
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(c) If the department determines that the issuance of an approval is contingent upon the issuance of a permit under s. 29.604 (6m), and if the application for the permit under s. 29.604 (6m) is filed with the approval application, the department may not determine that the approval application is incomplete on the basis that the department has not yet issued the permit under s. 29.604 (6m). (5) (a) A person who intends to engage in bulk sampling shall submit with the bulk sampling plan a bond in the amount of $5,000 that is conditioned on faithful performance of the requirements of this section, that is issued by a surety company licensed to do business in this state, and that provides that the bond may not be canceled by the surety, except after not less than 90 days’ notice to the department in writing by registered or certified mail. (b) If the surety for a bond submitted under par. (a) issues a cancellation notice, the person who filed the bulk sampling plan shall deliver a replacement bond at least 30 days before the expiration of the 90-day notice period. If the person fails to submit a replacement bond, the person may not engage in bulk sampling until the person submits a replacement bond. (c) If the license of the surety company for a bond submitted under par. (a) is revoked or suspended, the person who filed the bulk sampling plan, within 30 days after receiving written notice from the department, shall deliver a replacement bond. If the person fails to submit a replacement bond, the person may not engage in bulk sampling until the person submits a replacement bond. (d) The department may require that the amount of the bond submitted under this subsection be increased at any time, if the department determines that it is unlikely that the bond would be adequate to fund the cost to this state of completing the revegetation plan. (e) The department shall release a bond submitted under this subsection one year after the time for completing the bulk sampling and the revegetation set forth in the bulk sampling plan if the department determines that the person who engaged in bulk sampling has complied with this section. (7) Notwithstanding any provision in ch. 23, 29, 30, 31, 169, 281, 283, 285, 289, or 291 or a rule promulgated under those chapters applicable to an approval identified under sub. (3), the department shall require the bulk sampling activity for which the approval is issued to be conducted at locations that result in the fewest overall adverse environmental impacts. (8) (a) In determining whether to approve or deny an application for an approval identified under sub. (3), the department shall consider the site-specific erosion control plan, the revegetation plan, and any mitigation program under s. 295.60 (8), any measures under s. 295.605, or any conservation measures under s. 295.61 that the applicant proposes to take. (b) The department may modify the application for an approval identified under sub. (3) in order to meet the requirements applicable to the approval, and, as modified, approve the application. (9) Notwithstanding any inconsistent period in ch. 23, 29, 30, 31, 169, 281, 283, 285, 289, or 291 or in a rule promulgated under those chapters that is applicable to an approval identified under sub. (3), the department shall approve or deny an application within 30 days after the day on which the application is considered to be complete under sub. (4) if any of the following apply: (a) The application is for a waiver, exemption, or exception to an approval for a bulk sampling activity or for a determination that the proposed bulk sampling activity is below the threshold that requires an approval. (b) The application is for a determination of eligibility for
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Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
coverage or authorization to proceed under a general permit or a registration permit. (10) (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent period in ch. 23, 29, 30, 31, 169, 281, 283, 285, 289, or 291 or in a rule promulgated under those chapters that is applicable to an approval identified under sub. (3), the department shall approve or deny any application for an approval identified under sub. (3) to which sub. (9) does not apply within 60 days after the date on which the application is considered to be complete under sub. (4), unless the application is for an individual permit for which federal law requires the opportunity for public comment or the ability to request a public hearing prior to issuance of the approval. (b) The department shall publish a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, and shall publish notice on the department’s Internet site, that describes the availability of information concerning the activity for which an approval described in par. (a) is required, its proposed decision, its draft approval, information or summaries related to the approval, the department’s analyses and preliminary determinations relating to the approval, the preapplication description under s. 295.46, any additional information that a law concerning the approval requires to be made available, and the opportunity to submit written comments within 30 days after the date of the publication of the notice. The date on which the department first publishes the notice on its Internet site shall be considered the date of the publication of the notice required to be published under this paragraph. (c) In the notice under par. (b), the department shall also specify the date, time, and location of the public informational hearing under par. (e). The department shall send the notice to any person to whom the department is required to give notice of any proposed determination, application, or hearing concerning an approval described in par. (a) under the laws relating to the issuance of the approval and to any person who has requested notice. The department’s notice to interested persons under this paragraph may be given through an electronic notification system established by the department. (d) If there is more than one approval described in par. (a), the department shall issue one notice and coordinate the public comment period for all of the approvals. If possible, the department shall coordinate the notice and the public comment period for an approval that is an individual permit for which federal law requires the opportunity for public comment or the ability to request a public hearing prior to issuance of the approval with notice and the public comment period for the approvals described in par. (a). (e) The department shall hold a public informational hearing within 30 days after the date of the publication of the notice under par. (b). The department shall hold the public informational hearing in the county where the majority of the proposed bulk sampling site is located. If there is more than one approval described in par. (a), the department shall hold a single public informational hearing covering all of the approvals and the preapplication description under s. 295.46. If possible, the department shall include consideration of an approval that is an individual permit for which federal law requires the opportunity for public comment or the ability to request a public hearing prior to issuance of the approval in the public informational hearing under this paragraph. The public informational hearing under this paragraph is not a contested case hearing under ch. 227. (10g) (a) If it is not possible to coordinate the public comment period and public informational hearing for an approval that is an individual permit for which federal law requires the opportunity for public comment or the ability to request a public hearing prior to issuance of the approval with the public comment period and public informational hearing under sub. (10), the department shall issue a separate public notice and hold a separate pub-
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lic informational hearing for the approval in accordance with the law governing the approval. (b) The department shall approve or deny the application for an approval that is an individual permit for which federal law requires the opportunity for public comment or the ability to request a public hearing prior to issuance of the approval within 180 days after the date on which the application is considered to be complete under sub. (4). (10r) An approval identified under sub. (3) is issued upon mailing and is final and effective upon issuance. (11) The department is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment for an approval required for bulk sampling. History: 2013 a. 1.
295.46 Preapplication description. (1) A person who files a bulk sampling plan under s. 295.45 with regard to a proposed mining project shall file, together with the bulk sampling plan, a general description of the proposed mining project. A person who proposes to engage in a mining project, but who does not file a bulk sampling plan, shall file a general description of the proposed mining project with the department at the time that the person provides the notice of intent to file an application for a mining permit under s. 295.465. The general description shall include all of the following: (a) A description of the proposed mining site. (b) A map that shows all of the following: 1. The boundaries of the area of land that will be affected by the proposed mining project. 2. The location and names of all streams, roads, railroads, pipelines, and utility lines on or within 1,000 feet of the proposed mining site. 3. The name or names of the owner or owners of the proposed mining site. 4. The name of each city, village, or town in which the proposed mining site is located and the name of any other city, village, or town that is located within 3 miles of the proposed mining site. 5. The federal natural resources conservation service land capabilities classifications of the area affected by the proposed mining project. 6. The elevation of the water table. (c) A general description of the nature, extent, and final configuration of the proposed excavation and mining site, including an estimate of the production of tailings, waste rock, and other refuse and the location of their disposal. (d) A general conceptual description of the likely operating procedures of the proposed mining project. (e) The likely location, and a general description, of the excavation, waste site, and processing facilities relating to the proposed mining project. (2) (a) If the department provides notice to an applicant under s. 295.45 (3) that no approvals are required for bulk sampling or if a person who proposes to engage in a mining project files a preapplication description of the proposed mining project at the time that the person provides the notice of intent to file an application for a mining permit under s. 295.465 because the person did not file a bulk sampling plan, the department shall publish a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, and shall publish notice on the department’s Internet site, of a public informational hearing on the proposed mining project. The date on which the department first publishes the notice on its Internet site shall be considered the date of the publication of the notice required to be published under this paragraph. The department shall publish the notice when
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
it notifies the applicant that no approvals are required or after it receives the notice of intent. (b) In a notice under par. (a), the department shall do all of the following: 1. Describe the availability of the preapplication description. 2. Describe the opportunity to submit written comments within 30 days after the date of the publication of the notice. 3. Specify the date, time, and location of the public informational hearing. (c) The department shall send a notice under par. (a) to all of the following: 1. The clerk of any city, village, town, or county within which any part the proposed mining site lies. 2. The clerk of any city, village, or town, contiguous to any city, village, or town within which any portion of the proposed mining site is located. 3. Any regional planning commission for the area within which the affected area lies. 4. Any state agency that the department knows may be required to grant a permit or other authorization necessary for the proposed mining project. 5. Any interested person who has requested notification. The department’s notice under this subdivision may be given through an electronic notification system established by the department. (d) The department shall hold a public informational hearing within 30 days after the date of the publication of the notice under par. (a). The department shall hold the public informational hearing in the county in which the majority of the proposed mining site is located. History: 2013 a. 1.
295.465 Preapplication notification. (1) Except as provided in sub. (3), at least 12 months before filing an application for a mining permit under s. 295.47, a person proposing to engage in a mining project shall notify the department and the U.S. army corps of engineers in writing of the intention to file an application for a mining permit. After receiving the notification, the department shall hold at least one meeting with the person to make a preliminary assessment of the project’s scope, to make an analysis of alternatives, to identify potential interested persons, and to ensure that the person making the proposal is aware of all of the following: (a) The approvals, including the filing requirements for the approvals, that the person may be required to obtain for the mining project. (b) The requirements for submission of an environmental impact report and for submission of any other information required by the department to prepare an environmental impact statement under s. 295.53. (c) The information the department will require to enable the department to process the application for the mining permit in a timely manner. (2) Within 60 days of a meeting under sub. (1), the department shall provide all of the following to the person: (a) A detailed written summary of the requirements under sub. (1) (a) to (c). (b) Any available information relevant to the potential impacts of the mining project on rare, threatened, or endangered species and historic or cultural resources and any other information relevant to potential impacts that may occur from the project that are required to be considered under s. 1.11. (c) Available information to evaluate the environmental impact of the project and to expedite the preparation of the environ-
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mental impact report and the environmental impact statement, including information concerning preliminary environmental reviews, field studies, and investigations; monitoring programs to establish baseline water quality; laboratory studies and investigations; advisory services; and the timing and the processes associated with any necessary consultations with other state or federal agencies and within the department, such as those required for endangered resources and cultural resource consultations and approvals. (3) A person who files an application under s. 295.47 for a mining proposal is not required to provide notice under sub. (1) if the person files the application no more than one year after the department denied the person’s application for the same mining proposal. (4) After providing notice to the U.S. army corps of engineers under sub. (1), a person shall make a good faith effort to meet with the U.S. army corps of engineers to discuss the mining project, the environmental impact report, and information related to federal requirements that may be applicable to the mining project. (5) After receiving notice under sub. (1), the department shall seek to enter into a memorandum of understanding with any federal regulatory agency with responsibilities related to the potential mining operation covering timelines, sampling metrology, and any other issue of mutual concern related to processing an application for a mining permit. History: 2013 a. 1; 2015 a. 196.
295.47 Application for mining permit. (1) (a) No person may engage in mining or reclamation at any mining site unless the mining site is covered by a mining permit and by written authorization to mine under s. 295.59 (3). An applicant shall submit an application for a mining permit to the department in writing and in reproducible form and shall provide the number of copies that are requested by the department. An application and a mining permit are required for each separate mining site. The applicant shall distribute copies of the application to the clerk of any city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed site, to the clerk of any city, village, town, or county within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed mining site is located, to the elected governing body of any federally recognized American Indian tribe or band with a reservation the boundaries of which are within 20 miles of the proposed site, and to the main public library of each city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed site or within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed site is located. (am) For the purposes of s. 295.57 (7) (a), as part of the application for a mining permit, an applicant may specify a deadline for the department to act on the mining permit that is more than 420 days after the day on which the application is administratively complete under s. 295.57 (2). (b) If a person proposes to conduct mining at a mining site that includes an abandoned mining site, the person shall include plans for reclamation of the abandoned mining site, or the portion of the abandoned mining site that is included in the mining site, in its mining plan and reclamation plan. (2) As a part of each application for a mining permit, the applicant shall furnish all of the following: (a) A mining plan under s. 295.48. (b) A reclamation plan under s. 295.49. (c) A mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation under s. 295.51. (e) The name and address of each owner of land within the mining site and each person known by the applicant to hold any option or lease on land within the mining site.
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
(f) A list of all mining permits in this state held by the applicant. (g) Evidence the applicant has applied or will apply for necessary permits or other permissions under all applicable zoning ordinances and that the applicant has applied or will apply to the department for any approval and has applied or will apply for any other license or permit required under state law. (h) 1. The information specified in subd. 2. concerning the occurrence of any of the following within 10 years before the application is submitted: a. A forfeiture by the applicant, principal shareholder of the applicant, or a related person of a mining reclamation bond that was sufficient to cover all costs of reclamation and was posted in accordance with a permit or other approval for a mining operation in the United States, unless the forfeiture was by agreement with the entity for whose benefit the bond was posted. b. A felony conviction of the applicant, a related person, or an officer or director of the applicant for a violation of a law for the protection of the natural environment arising out of the operation of a mining site in the United States. c. The bankruptcy or dissolution of the applicant or a related person that resulted in the failure to reclaim a mining site in the United States in violation of a state or federal law. d. The permanent revocation of a mining permit or other mining approval issued to the applicant or a related person if the permit or other mining approval was revoked because of a failure to reclaim a mining site in the United States in violation of state or federal law. 2. The applicant shall specify the name and address of the person involved in and the date and location of each occurrence described in subd. 1. (i) A description of any land contiguous to the proposed mining site that the applicant owns or leases or has an option to purchase or lease. (j) Any other pertinent information that the applicant believes may be useful to the department. History: 2013 a. 1.
295.48 Mining plan. (1) GENERAL. An applicant for a mining permit shall submit as part of the application a mining plan that includes a description of the proposed mining site and either a detailed map drawn to a scale approved by the department or aerial photographs, if the photographs show the details to the satisfaction of the department, prepared and certified by a competent engineer, licensed professional surveyor, or other person approved by the department that show all of the following: (a) The boundaries of the area of land that will be affected. (b) The drainage area above and below the area that will be affected. (c) The location and names of all streams, roads, railroads, pipelines, and utility lines on or within 1,000 feet of the mining site. (d) The name or names of the owner or owners of the mining site. (e) The name of the city, village, or town in which the mining site is located and the name of any other city, village, or town that is within 3 miles of the mining site. (2) DESCRIPTIVE DATA. The applicant shall provide descriptive data to accompany the map or photographs under sub. (1), including all of the following: (a) The federal natural resources conservation service land capabilities classifications of the affected area. (b) The elevation of the water table. (c) Details of the nature, extent, and final configuration of the
295.48
proposed excavation and mining site, including the total estimated production of tailings, waste rock, and other refuse and the location of their disposal. (d) The nature and depth of the overburden. (3) OPERATING PROCEDURES. The applicant shall also include in the mining plan the details of the proposed operating procedures, including descriptions of all of the following: (a) The sequence of mining operations. (b) The handling of overburden materials. (c) The production, handling, and final disposition of tailings. (d) The milling, concentrating, refining, and other processing of ferrous minerals. (e) The storage, loading, and transportation of the final product. (f) Groundwater and surface water management techniques, including provisions for erosion protection and drainage control, and a water management plan showing water sources, flow paths and rates, storage volumes, and release points. (g) Plans for collection, treatment, and discharge of any water resulting from the mining. (h) Plans for protecting air quality under ch. 285. (hm) A plan for monitoring environmental changes at the mining site. (hr) An assessment of the risk of the occurrence of an accidental health or environmental hazard in connection with the operation of the mine. The assessment shall include, with specificity, a description of the assumptions that the applicant used in making the risk assessment and the contingency measures that the applicant proposes to take in the event that an accidental health or environmental hazard occurs. (i) Measures for notifying the public and responsible governmental agencies of potentially hazardous conditions, including the movement or accumulation of toxic wastes in groundwater and surface water, soils, and vegetation, and other consequences of the operation of importance to public health, safety, and welfare. (j) All surface facilities associated with the mining site and any use of mining waste in reclamation or the construction of any facility or structure. (k) All geological and geotechnical investigations and drilling programs. (L) A plan for completing and submitting a preblasting survey to the department before any blasting is conducted. (4) REQUIRED DEMONSTRATIONS. The applicant shall demonstrate in the mining plan that the proposed mining will be consistent with the reclamation plan under s. 295.49 and that all of the following will apply, at a minimum: (a) Handling and storage of all materials on the mining site will be done in an environmentally sound manner. (b) Buildings and other structures will be painted and maintained in a manner that is visually compatible with the surrounding vegetational and earth conditions, except that if a building or other structure cannot be painted and maintained in a manner that is visually compatible or if painting and maintaining a building or other structure in a manner that is visually compatible would cause safety concerns, the building or structure will be made as visually inconspicuous as is practicable. (c) Effective means will be taken to limit access to the mining site to minimize exposure of the public to hazards. (d) The use of mine mill chemicals and processing reagent wastes will be governed by all of the following: 1. Reagents and mine mill chemicals will not be used in a
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
295.48
MINING—NONMETALLIC RECLAMATION; OIL & GAS; FERROUS
manner that will result in substantial harm to public safety or health or to the environment. 2. Reagents and mine mill chemicals that consist of or contain water soluble salts or metals will be used in accordance with any applicable approval. 3. Reagents will not be used or stored at the mining site if they are not included in the mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation or in the mining plan, except for reagents for laboratory, testing, research, or experimental purposes. (e) Provisions will be made for back-up equipment in the event of the breakdown of critical operation equipment. (f) The design and operation specifications for mining site facilities include features, which may include emergency power supplies, redundant equipment, or temporary holding facilities, to deal with emergency conditions. (g) Mining site facilities are designed to minimize disturbance to surface areas, to the extent practicable. (h) Where practicable, elevation differences in water-based transport systems will be used for gravity flows to minimize pumping facilities and pressures. (i) The following apply: 1. Systems for transporting tailings in slurry through pipelines that are not buried are designed to provide for emergency tailings conveyance or storage in case a pipeline breaks, plugs, freezes, or needs repairs and will be accessible for inspection, emergency repair, and maintenance. 2. The location of emergency spill containment areas is consistent with the prevention of substantial environmental pollution of surface waters. 3. In the event of a power failure, tailings pipelines will be self draining to a tailings area or an emergency spill containment area or standby pumps and pipelines or standby power is provided. 4. More than one emergency spill containment area is provided if necessary. (j) If practicable, all liquid effluents from the mining site will be directed to a common point, for treatment if necessary, before discharge to a natural watercourse. (L) If sanitary wastes will be directed to a tailings area they will be appropriately treated. History: 2013 a. 1, 358.