Overview of Permitting Process: Applicant Submittal
The following flow chart can be used to learn more about the metallic mining permit review process as it pertains to information submitted by an applicant:
Notice of Intent/Scope of Study
To begin with, a company must determine if a metallic mineral deposit is present in an area and whether or not the deposit contains economic amounts of recoverable minerals. This is evaluated through an active exploration and/or prospecting program, activities that are regulated by the Department. If an economically recoverable ore body is discovered and the company wishes to develop a mine, the applicant must issue a Notice of Intent to collect data that could be used to support the mining permit application. The Notice of Intent must include information on the ore body, project facilities, ore processing techniques, waste types generated and a project schedule. In addition, the applicant may submit a Scope of Study for public and Department comment. The Scope of Study details the proposed environmental studies that will be conducted as part of the permitting process.
At this point, the Department would hold public informational hearings (typically in the county where the proposed project is located) in order to solicit comments on the anticipated environmental impacts and desired baseline studies to be conducted by the applicant or the Department. These hearings enable the public with an opportunity to comment on issues that could potentially be addressed in the required Environmental Impact Report to be prepared and submitted by the applicant.
Mining Permit Application
Mining facilities have minimum design and operation requirements, in addition to location criteria and environmental standards, which must be met as a means to achieve a high-level of environmental protection. It is important to note that the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of mining facilities must result in a minimization of disturbance to wetlands. As required by rule, an applicant must submit a Mining Plan, Reclamation Plan, Monitoring Plan and Contingency Plan and an irrevocable trust agreement proposal for Department review.
The Mining Plan describes the mine layout, mining process and operation as well as groundwater and surface water collection and treatment techniques. It is necessary for the applicant to explain in detail the final configuration of the mine after cessation of mining activities. A risk assessment of possible health and environmental hazards associated with the mine operation must be performed. Contingency measures with respect to these risks and hazards must be explicitly stated.
The purpose of the Reclamation Plan is to provide detailed information describing the sequence and anticipated duration of reclamation activities. This may vary according to the process in which a site is disturbed. For example, if a tailings or mining waste disposal facility is constructed and closed in stages, the facility will be under different phases of reclamation at any given time. In principal, the permit holder is required to promptly reclaim disturbed land that is no longer in use.
The Reclamation Plan specifies a target post-mining land use and its relationship to the surrounding environment. The applicant must determine a projected cost estimate for fulfilling the reclamation plan by an outside contractor. Prior to site construction and initiation of mining, the applicant must post a bond or other financial assurance mechanism in order to cover the costs of reclamation as a means to ensure that reclamation will be performed without cost to tax payers. The Department retains a portion of the bond for at least 20 years after issuing a certificate of completion of reclamation for the site. However, a company’s liability for the project does not ever end.
Prior to initiation of mining, the applicant must obtain representative background data characteristic of the natural environment surrounding the project site, including surface water and groundwater chemistry, geology, and information on terrestrial ecology (soil, vegetation, etc.). For enforcement actions, the Department assesses background data and monitoring data collected during operation. This data plays an integral role in determining baseline concentrations of many constituents naturally present. From this, an objective determination of the potential impact from mining activities may be made by analyzing data collected throughout the life of a mining project. This evaluation is fundamentally dependent on an effective Monitoring Plan, which is a required component of the mining permit application that must be submitted prior to the decision on issuance of the mining permit.
In February 2000, the Department established rules that require a mining permit applicant or holder to create an irrevocable trust agreement prior to commencing mining. The trust agreement must be maintained for an indefinite time after operations cease, that is to say, in perpetuity. The trust fund is intended to assure that funds are available to cover certain costs associated with reasonably anticipated preventive measures, remedial actions related to unanticipated spills, releases from mining and mining waste facilities and replacement of damaged drinking water supplies should the responsible party not be available. The trust fund does not affect a company’s liability or responsibility under other provisions of law and also does not replace any other requirements for posting financial guarantees, such as the reclamation bond and financial responsibility for long-term care of mine waste facilities.
The amount of the trust fund will be determined through the mine permitting process and will be finalized as part of the decision on issuance of the mining permit. The fund will be structured such that, after the period of scheduled deposits by the permittee, it will be self-sustaining and adequate to finance necessary preventive and remedial actions well into the future. The permittee is also required to post a performance bond or insurance in the full amount of the trust fund prior to the start of construction at the mining site. This secondary form of financial guarantee must remain in place until all mandatory payments into the trust fund have been made. The adequacy of the fund would be periodically reviewed and adjusted, if necessary.
Feasibility Report(s) for any Mining Waste Facilities
Metallic mining projects typically generate large volumes of waste, including tailings and waste rock during the mining, milling and concentrating processes. Tailings are fine-grained rock particles that have been crushed (finely ground) in order to separate the desirable minerals from the ore. Metallic mining tailings and waste rock from sulfide mineral deposits, once exposed to air or water, have the potential to oxidize and release contaminants (metals) into the environment. As a result, tailings are required to be stored in a facility designed to protect the environment -- generally an engineered disposal facility.
The Department has written rules that regulate the location, design, construction, operation, maintenance, closure and long-term care of a facility used for the storage and disposal of metallic mining wastes. Initially, a Feasibility Report is submitted to the Department for review. Site-specific data that is submitted with the report is used to determine whether the site may be approved for the purpose intended, if the initial design is appropriate and to identify any conditions which must be included in the follow-up plan of operation, which must be submitted and approved prior to construction. Overall, Department rules focus on performance standards rather than very specified, non-site-specific design standards.
Accordingly, the following information must be submitted to the Department: general facility overview, waste characterization and analysis, regional data (physical and chemical), site-specific data, proposed facility design, water budget calculations, aesthetic impact, dam safety factors, contingency plan, closure and long-term care plans, and alternative design, location and operation submittals. The applicant must also describe the site selection process for the proposed waste disposal and storage facilities. The encompassing nature of the state’s regulations, in addition to the magnitude of data that must be collected and submitted, greatly augments the level of environmental protection.
The Feasibility Report for a waste disposal facility must provide for groundwater protection. In fact, as part of the permitting process, the applicant is required to demonstrate through numerical modeling that any contaminants which may leave the tailings management area will not result in noncompliance with groundwater quality standards indefinitely. A solute transport model -- in concert with a groundwater flow model and data generated during the waste characterization tests -- is generally used to predict concentrations of certain parameters at the specified design management zone (DMZ), 1,200 feet from the outside edge of the proposed waste facility. The prediction of contaminant migration and concentrations values at the DMZ must also be performed for the mine after mining has ceased, as a means to assess possible groundwater contamination.
Environmental Impact Report
The Environmental Impact Report is a disclosure document submitted by a company seeking a metallic mining permit. The applicant needs to present detailed information on the natural environment in the vicinity of the proposed project, disclose potentially significant impacts associated with the proposed project and identify possible alternatives or mitigation actions considered by the company. The report focuses on, but is not limited to an analysis of the cultural resources, air quality, geology and soils, groundwater, surface water and bottom sediments, aquatic biology, terrestrial biology, threatened and endangered species, wetlands, aesthetics and socioeconomic issues. The Department may hold public informational meetings on the applicant’s Environmental Impact Report.
Additional Permit Applications
The total number of permits and approvals required will depend on site-specific variables and project design but may include the following: dredging or filling of wetlands, air quality, solid waste facility construction, mine dewatering, high capacity wells, wastewater treatment system and sewage treatment plant, treated wastewater discharge, culvert installation, bridge construction, installation of erosion control measures, and storm water discharge. In addition, the applicant must also obtain all necessary permits and approvals from local units of government in order for the DNR to issue the mining permit.
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