Title 35, Title 35 — Public Health And Safety

Establishment of standards. (a) The council shall, upon recommendation by the advisory board through the administrator and the director, establish rules and regulations pursuant to the following reclamation standards for the affected areas, including but not limited to: (i) The h…

Powers of the administrator of land quality division. (a) The administrator of the land quality division shall have the following powers: (i) To utilize qualified experts in the field of hydrology, soil science, plant or wildlife ecology, and other related fields to advise on min…

Drill holes to be capped, sealed or plugged. (a) All drill holes sunk in the exploration for locatable or leasable minerals on all lands within the state of Wyoming shall be capped, sealed or plugged in the manner described hereinafter by or on behalf of the discoverer, locator o…

Permit defined; no mining operation without valid permit; when validity terminated. (a) A mining permit is the certification that the tract of land described may be mined by an operator licensed to do so in conformance with an approved mining plan and reclamation plan. No mining …

Application for permit; generally; denial; limitations. (a) Applications for a mining permit shall be made in writing to the administrator and shall contain: (i) The name and address of the applicant, and, if the applicant is a partnership, association, or corporation, the names …

Water impoundments. (a) In any plan for the creation of a permanent water impoundment the applicant must adequately demonstrate that: (i) The size of the impoundment, contouring and revegetation, if any, are suitable for its intended purpose and use; (ii) Final grading will provi…

Permit transfer. A permit holder desiring to transfer his permit shall apply to the administrator. The potential transferee shall file with the administrator a statement of qualifications to hold a permit as though he were the original applicant for the permit and shall further a…

Permit revocation. (a) The director shall revoke a mining permit if at any time he determines that the permit holder intentionally misstated or failed to provide any fact that would have resulted in the denial of a mining permit and which good faith compliance with the policies, …

License to mine for minerals; application. (a) A license to mine is issued for the duration of the mining operation on the permit area unless sooner revoked or suspended as provided herein. No mining operation of any kind may be commenced or conducted without a license to mine. (…

Annual report. (a) An operator shall file an annual report with the administrator on or within thirty (30) days prior to the anniversary date of each permit. The report shall include: (i) The name and address of the operator and the permit number; (ii) A report in such detail as …

License revocation or suspension. (a) The director shall revoke an operator's license: (i) If at any time he becomes aware of the existence of any fact, reason, or condition that would have caused him to deny an application for a mining permit whether or not such condition existe…

Special license to explore for minerals by dozing. A special license to explore for minerals by dozing may be issued by the administrator for a one (1) year period without a permit.

Special license to explore for minerals by dozing; application; standards; fee; bond; denial; appeal. (a) Any person desiring to engage in mineral exploration by dozing shall apply to the administrator for a special license. The application shall be in accordance with rules and r…

Duties of operator. (a) Every operator to whom any permit or license is issued shall comply with all requirements of this act, the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, and reclamation plans and other terms and conditions of any permit or license. (b) The operator, pursuan…

Protection of the surface owner. (a) In those instances in which the surface owner is not the owner of the mineral estate proposed to be mined by mining operations a permit shall not be issued without the execution of a bond or undertaking to the state, whichever is applicable, f…

Bonding provisions. (a) The purpose of any bond required to be filed with the administrator by the operator shall be to assure that the operator shall faithfully perform all requirements of this act and comply with all rules and regulations of the board made in accordance with th…

Cash or securities in lieu of bond. (a) For coal mining operations, in lieu of a bond, the operator or its principal may deposit federally insured certificates of deposit payable to the Wyoming department of environmental quality, or cash, or government securities, or irrevocable…

Bond cancellation. Such bond may be cancelled by the surety only after ninety (90) days notice to the director, and upon receipt of the director's written consent, which may be granted only when the requirements of the bond have been fulfilled.

Cancellation of surety's license; substitution. If the license to do business in Wyoming of any surety upon a bond filed pursuant to this act is suspended or revoked by any state authority then the operator, within thirty (30) days after receiving notice thereof, shall substitute…

Bond forfeiture proceedings. (a) If the director determines that a performance bond should be forfeited because of any violation of this act, he shall, with the approval of the council, make formal request of the attorney general to begin bond forfeiture proceedings. (b) The atto…

Forfeited bond inadequate; suit to recover reclamation costs. If the forfeited bond is inadequate to cover the costs of the final reclamation program, the attorney general shall bring suit to recover the cost of the reclamation where recovery is deemed possible.

Release of bonds. (a) No bond shall be finally released until the reclamation program has been completed and approved by the administrator. The director may retain a portion of the bond for at least five (5) years as provided in W.S. 35-11-417, or for so long thereafter as necess…

Deposit of fees and forfeitures. (a) All forfeitures collected under the provisions of this act shall be deposited with the state treasurer in a separate account for reclamation purposes. (b) All fees shall be deposited with the state treasurer in the general fund. (c) All fines …

Designation of areas unsuitable for surface coal mining. (a) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected may petition the council to have an area designated as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations, or to have a designation terminated. The petition…

In situ mineral mining permits and testing licenses. (a) Any person desiring to engage in situ mineral mining or research and development testing is governed by this act. (b) All provisions of this act applicable to a surface coal mining operation, as defined in W.S. 35-11-103(e)…

In situ mining permit; permit required; authority of land quality division exclusive. Application for an in situ mining permit shall be made to the director. The director shall designate the land quality administrator as his representative on all matters concerning the applicatio…

In situ mining permit; requirements for application; contents of application. (a) Application for an in situ mining permit shall meet the requirements of W.S. 35-11-406(a)(i) through (vi) and (viii) through (xiv), and shall contain a description of the proposed permit area includ…

In situ mining permit; contents of permit. (a) Every permit shall: (i) Require the operator to give verbal notice of an excursion to the administrator as soon as practical after the excursion is confirmed, followed by reasonable written notice; (ii) Authorize the administrator to…

Duties of in situ mining operator; records; annual report. (a) The operator shall submit an annual report containing the general categories of environmental protection and reclamation information pursuant to W.S. 35-11-411. (b) The operator shall maintain records at the mine site…

Research and development license; renewal; application. (a) A special license to conduct research and development testing may be issued by the administrator for a one (1) year period without a permit and may be renewed annually. An application for a research and development testi…

Research and development license; grounds for denial; appeal. The administrator may deny the special license to conduct research and development testing if he believes the application violates the purpose of this act. The decision of the administrator may be appealed through the …

Research and development license; bond required; release or forfeiture; review of license. (a) If a special license to conduct research and development testing is granted, the administrator shall require the licensee to provide a bond in an amount necessary to insure complete rec…

Research and development license; notice of incomplete application; when application deemed complete. The administrator shall notify an applicant within ninety (90) days of submission of the application whether or not it is complete. If an application is incomplete, the administr…

Records to be filed on completion; abandoned drill holes. (a) Upon completion of reclamation and abandonment by the operator, the operator shall record with the state engineer's office the location and nature of aquifers that have been affected by the in situ operation. (b) Any a…

Existing in situ mining permits. Any operator who possesses an in situ mining permit and license to mine shall have a period of one (1) year within which to show compliance with the requirements of W.S. 35-11-426 through

Enforcement for surface coal mining operations. (a) The director or his designated authorized representative shall issue a cessation order covering that portion of the operation relevant to the violation or hazard and impose any necessary affirmative obligations if: (i) On the ba…

Duties of the administrator of the solid and hazardous waste management division. (a) In addition to the other powers and duties enumerated in this act, the director of the department through the administrator of the solid and hazardous waste management division shall coordinate …

Solid waste management facilities permits; term; renewals. (a) No person, except when authorized under the permit system established pursuant to this act, shall: (i) Locate, construct, operate or close a solid waste management facility; or (ii) Modify the design, construction or …

Authority to promulgate rules and regulations for solid waste management facilities and for the management of hazardous wastes. (a) The director, upon recommendation from the administrator after consultation with the water advisory board, is authorized to recommend that the counc…

Bonding for solid waste management facilities. (a) The council, by rules and regulations, shall establish bonding or financial assurance requirements for solid waste management facilities to assure there are adequate sources of funds to provide for cost effective: (i) Closure cos…

Existing regulations remain in effect. The Wyoming solid waste management rules and regulations, promulgated by the council in 1975 and amended in 1980, shall remain in effect until amended, repealed or otherwise revised by the council.

Applications subject to penalty of perjury. All applications submitted pursuant to this chapter shall be signed under oath subject to penalty of perjury by the applicant if an individual, by at least one (1) principal if the application is for a partnership or joint venture, or b…

Recycling and processing requirements for commercial solid waste management facilities. (a) In recognition of the need to minimize unnecessary uses of the land for solid waste management, to allow for an effective ability for state oversight, regulation and inspection of solid wa…

Lead acid batteries; land disposal prohibited. (a) No person shall place a used lead acid battery in mixed municipal solid waste, discard or otherwise dispose of a lead acid battery except by delivery to an automotive battery retailer or wholesaler, to a collection or recycling f…

Lead acid batteries; collection for recycling. (a) A person selling lead acid batteries at retail or offering lead acid batteries for retail sale in the state shall: (i) Accept, at the point of transfer, in a quantity at least equal to the number of new batteries purchased per ye…

Automotive battery retailers required to post notice; penalty. The department shall produce, print and distribute the notices required by W.S. 35-11-510 to all places where lead acid batteries are offered for sale at retail. Failure to post the required notice shall subject the e…