Utah Code 40-8-13. Notice of intention required prior to mining operations — Assurance of reclamation required in notice of intention — When contents confidential — Approval of notice of intention not required for small mining operations — Proced…
a division or board action or proceeding determining the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other legal interests of one or more identifiable persons, including actions to grant, deny, revoke, suspend, modify, annul, withdraw, or amend an authority, right, permit, or license; or
(b)
judicial review of a division or board action or proceeding specified in Subsection (1)(a). See Utah Code 40-8-4
Board: means the Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining. See Utah Code 40-8-4
City: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Division: means the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Exploration: includes :
(i)
sinking shafts;
(ii)
tunneling;
(iii)
drilling holes and digging pits or cuts;
(iv)
building of roads, and other access ways; and
(v)
constructing and operating other facilities related to the activities described in this Subsection (12)(b). See Utah Code 40-8-4
Land affected: means the surface and subsurface of an area within the state where mining operations are being or will be conducted, including:
(i)
on-site private ways, roads, and railroads;
(ii)
land excavations;
(iii)
exploration sites;
(iv)
drill sites or workings;
(v)
refuse banks or spoil piles;
(vi)
evaporation or settling ponds;
(vii)
stockpiles;
(viii)
leaching dumps;
(ix)
placer areas;
(x)
tailings ponds or dumps; and
(xi)
work, parking, storage, or waste discharge areas, structures, and facilities. See Utah Code 40-8-4
mineral deposit: means an accumulation of mineral matter in the form of consolidated rock, unconsolidated material, solutions, or occurring on the surface, beneath the surface, or in the waters of the land from which any product useful to man may be produced, extracted, or obtained or which is extracted by underground mining methods for underground storage. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Mining operation: means activities conducted on the surface of the land for the exploration for, development of, or extraction of a mineral deposit, including surface mining and the surface effects of underground and in situ mining, on-site transportation, concentrating, milling, evaporation, and other primary processing. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Notice: means :
(a)
notice of intention, as defined in this chapter; or
(b)
written information given to an operator by the division describing compliance conditions at a mining operation. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Notice of intention: means a notice to commence mining operations, including revisions to the notice. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Operator: means a natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary, agent, or other organization or representative, either public or private, owning, controlling, or managing a mining operation or proposed mining operation. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Owner: means a natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary, agent, or other organization or representative, either public or private, owning, controlling, or managing a mineral deposit or the surface of lands employed in mining operations. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Person: means an individual, partnership, association, society, joint stock company, firm, company, corporation, or other governmental or business organization. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Reclamation: means actions performed during or after mining operations to shape, stabilize, revegetate, or treat the land affected in order to achieve a safe, stable ecological condition and use that is consistent with local environmental conditions. See Utah Code 40-8-4
Small mining operations: means mining operations that disturb or will disturb 20 or less surface acres at any given time in an unincorporated area of a county or 10 or less surface acres at any given time in an incorporated area of a county. See Utah Code 40-8-4
(a)
Before any operator begins mining operations, or continues mining operations pursuant to Section 40-8-23, the operator shall file a notice of intention for each individual mining operation with the division.
(b)
The notice of intention referred to in Subsection (1)(a) shall include:
(i)
identification of all owners of any interest in a mineral deposit, including any ownership interest in surface land affected by the notice;
(ii)
copies of underground and surface mine maps;
(iii)
locations of drill holes;
(iv)
accurate area maps of existing and proposed operations; and
(v)
information regarding the amount of material extracted, moved, or proposed to be moved, relating to the mining operation.
(c)
The notice of intention for small mining operations shall include a statement that the operator shall conduct reclamation as required by rules promulgated by the board.
(d)
The notice of intention for mining operations, other than small mining operations, shall include a plan for reclamation of the lands affected as required by rules promulgated by the board.
(2)
The division may require that the operator rehabilitate, close, or mitigate the impacts of each drill hole, shaft, or tunnel when no longer needed as part of the mining operation.
(3)
Information provided in the notice of intention, and its attachments relating to the location, size, or nature of the deposit that is marked confidential by the operator shall be protected as confidential information by the board and the division and is not a matter of public record unless the board or division obtains a written release from the operator, or until the mining operation has been terminated as provided in Subsection 40-8-21(2).
(4)
(a)
Within 30 days from the receipt of a notice of intention, the division shall complete its review of the notice and shall make further inquiries, inspections, or examinations that are necessary to properly evaluate the notice.
(b)
The division shall notify the operator of any objections to the notice and shall grant the operator a reasonable opportunity to take action that may be required to remove the objections or obtain a ruling relative to the objections from the board.
(5)
Except for the form and amount of surety, an approval of a notice of intention for small mining operations is not required.
(6)
The notice of intention for mining operations other than small mining operations, shall be reviewed as provided in this Subsection (6).
(a)
Within 30 days after receipt of a notice of intention or within 30 days following the last action of the operator or the division on the notice of intention, the division shall make a tentative decision to approve or disapprove the notice of intention.
(b)
The division shall:
(i)
mail the information relating to the land affected and the tentative decision to the operator; and
(ii)
publish the information and the decision, in abbreviated form:
(A)
one time only, in all newspapers of general circulation published in the county where the land affected is situated;
(B)
in a daily newspaper of general circulation in Salt Lake City, Utah; and
The division shall also mail a copy of the abbreviated information and tentative decision to the zoning authority of the county in which the land affected is situated and to the owner of record of the land affected.
(d)
(i)
Any person or agency aggrieved by the tentative decision may file a request for agency action with the division.
(ii)
If no requests for agency action are received by the division within 30 days after the last date of publication, the tentative decision on the notice of intention is final and the division shall notify the operator.
(iii)
If written objections of substance are received, the division shall hold an informal adjudicative proceeding.
(e)
This Subsection (6) does not apply to exploration.
(7)
Within 30 days after receipt of a notice of intention concerning exploration operations other than small mining operations, the division will review the notice of intention and approve or disapprove it.
