An Act To Protect Maine's Clean Water and Taxpayers from Mining Pollution
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §549-B, sub-§7, ¶C-1 is enacted to read:
(1) Designated lands under section 598-A;
(2) Historic sites as defined in section 1801, subsection 5;
(3) Parks as defined in section 1801, subsection 7;
(4) Public reserved lands as defined in section 1801, subsection 8;
(5) Submerged lands as defined in section 1801, subsection 9;
(6) The Allagash Wilderness Waterway as established under chapter 220, subchapter 6; and
(7) State-owned wildlife management areas acquired in accordance with section 10109, subsection 1.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §490-MM, sub-§§5-A, 10-A, 10-B, 10-C and 13-A are enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §490-MM, sub-§17, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §490-MM, sub-§18 is enacted to read:
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §490-NN, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. 38 MRSA §490-NN, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33 and amended by c. 682, §38, is further amended to read:
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission shall adopt rules in accordance with this subsection relating to the certification of mining permit applications under this article. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 7. 38 MRSA §490-OO, sub-§4, ¶¶D and H, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33, are amended to read:
(1) Contamination of groundwater beyond the mining area;
(2) Contamination of groundwater within the mining area that exceeds applicable water quality criteria for pollutants other than pH or metals;
(3) Contamination of groundwater within the mining area due to pH or metals that exceeds limits set forth in the mining permit by the department based on site-specific geologic and hydrologic characteristics;
(4) Any violation of surface water quality standards under section 413 or article 4-A; or
(5) If groundwater or surface water quality within the mining area prior to the commencement of any mining activity exceeds applicable water quality standards, further degradation of such groundwater or surface water quality.
In determining compliance with this standard, the department shall require groundwater monitoring consistent with the standards established pursuant to section 490-QQ, subsection 3.
Notwithstanding section 490-MM, subsection 12, for the purposes of this paragraph, "mining area" means an area of land, approved by the department and set forth in the mining permit, not to exceed 100 feet in any direction from a mine shaft, surface pit or surface excavation, and does not include the following lands, regardless of the distance of such land from a mine shaft, surface pit or surface excavation: the land on which material from mining is stored or deposited, the land on which beneficiating or treatment facilities are located, the land on which groundwater and surface water management systems are located or the land on which water reservoirs used in a mining operation are located.
Sec. 8. 38 MRSA §490-OO, sub-§4, ¶¶K to O are enacted to read:
Sec. 9. 38 MRSA §490-RR, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
(1) The cost to investigate all possible releases of contaminants at the site, monitor all aspects of the mining operation, close the mining operation in accordance with the closure plan, conduct treatment activities of all expected fluids and wastes generated by the mining operation for a minimum of 100 years, implement remedial activities for all possible releases and maintenance of structures and waste units as if these units have released contaminants to the groundwater and surface water, conduct corrective actions for potential environmental impacts to groundwater and surface water resources as identified in the environmental impact assessment and conduct all other necessary activities at the mine site in accordance with the environmental protection, reclamation and closure plan; and
(2) The cost to respond to a worst-case catastrophic mining event or failure, including, but not limited to, the cost of restoring, repairing and remediating any damage to public facilities or services, to private property or to the environment resulting from the event or failure.
(1) A cash account in one or more federally insured accounts;
(2) Negotiable bonds issued by the United States or by a state or a municipality having a Standard and Poor's credit rating of AAA or AA or an equivalent rating from a national securities credit rating service; or
(3) Negotiable certificates of deposit in one or more federally insured depositories.
Sec. 10. 38 MRSA §490-RR, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 653, §23 and affected by §33, is repealed.
Sec. 11. Department of Environmental Protection; approval of final adoption. Final adoption of Chapter 200: Metallic Mineral Exploration, Advanced Exploration and Mining, a provisionally adopted major substantive rule of the Department of Environmental Protection that was submitted to the Legislature for review pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A on January 13, 2017, is authorized only if the following changes are made:
1. The rule must be amended in section 2 to define "dry stack tailings management" consistent with the statutory definition of "dry stack tailings management" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 5-A;
2. The rule must be amended in section 2 to define "mine shaft" consistent with the statutory definition of "mine shaft" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 10-A;
3. The rule must be amended in section 2 to amend the definition of "mine waste" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of "mine waste" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 10-B;
4. The rule must be amended in section 2 to amend the definition of "mine waste unit" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of "mine waste unit" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 10-C;
5. The rule must be amended in section 2 to define "open-pit mining" consistent with the statutory definition of "open-pit mining" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 13-A;
6. The rule must be amended in section 2 to amend the definition of "tailings impoundment" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of "tailings impoundment" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 17;
7. The rule must be amended in section 2 to amend the definition of "wet mine waste unit" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of "wet mine waste unit" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 18;
8. The rule must be amended, as necessary, in section 11(A), section 20(B) and any other affected sections to incorporate the statutory prohibition against the permitting of a mining operation located in, on or under any state land listed in Title 12, section 549-B, subsection 7, paragraph C-1, as provided in Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph K;
9. The rule must be amended, as necessary, in section 11(A), section 20(B) and any other affected sections to incorporate the statutory prohibition against the permitting of a mining operation involving the removal of metallic minerals in, on or from certain natural resources as provided in Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph L;
10. The rule must be amended, as necessary, in section 11(A), section 20(B) and any other affected sections to incorporate the statutory prohibition against the permitting of a mining operation involving the placement of a mine shaft in, on or under certain natural resources as provided in Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph M;
11. The rule must be amended, as necessary, in section 11(A), section 21, section 24 and any other affected sections to incorporate the statutory requirement for the use of dry stack tailings management and the statutory prohibition against the permitting of a mining operation involving the use of wet mine waste units or tailings impoundments as provided in Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph N;
12. The rule must be amended, as necessary, in section 11(A) and any other affected sections to incorporate the statutory prohibition against the permitting of a mining operation that uses open-pit mining as provided in Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph O;
13. The rule must be amended in section 17 and any other affected sections to clarify the coverage and form of required financial assurance pursuant to Title 38, section 490-RR, subsection 2;
14. The rule must be amended in section 22 and any other affected sections to clarify the limited definition of "mining area" pursuant to Title 38, section 490-OO, subsection 4, paragraph D;
15. All necessary grammatical, formatting, punctuation or other technical nonsubstantive editing changes must be made to the rule, including, but not limited to, the addition of subsection headings in section 2 and the removal of strikethrough letters or words remaining from prior drafts and edits; and
16. All other necessary changes must be made to the rule to ensure conformity throughout the rule and consistency with the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 12. Maine Land Use Planning Commission rulemaking; certification of mining permit applications. By July 1, 2018, the Maine Land Use Planning Commission shall adopt rules related to commission certification of metallic mineral mining permit applications in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 490-NN, subsection 2. Rules adopted pursuant to this section must include any additional provisions necessary to ensure consistency with the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act and rules related to the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection.