SB 2567

Present law prohibits an operator from engaging in surface mining without obtaining a permit for such mining from the commissioner of environment and conservation. In order to obtain a permit, the operator must submit all of the following:  The name and permanent address of the operator, as well as any temporary address to be used by the operator in connection with the operation covered by the permit.  A map showing the general location of the affected area with relation to property lines, nearby towns, county lines, public roads, and streams.  Identification of any surface mining or permits which the operator holds or has previously held in this state, together with a statement of whether or not any surface mining permit previously held was suspended, revoked, or terminated for failure to comply with revegetation or reclamation requirements and a statement of whether or not any surface mime permit in any other state was suspended, revoked, or terminated for failure to comply with such requirements.  Identification of the owner or owners or designated representative of the surface of the area affected by the permit, and the identification of the owner or owners of all surface area within 500 feet of any part of the area .  Identification of the owner or owners of the minerals to be mined .  Identification of the source of the operator's legal right to enter and mine the minerals on the land affected by the permit .  A copy of the operator's discharge permit from the division of water quality control, or a letter from the division of water management stating that no discharge will take place and, therefore, no permit is required. This bill requires an operator to also submit, in addition to all of the above information, documentation from the county or counties in which the proposed project is located certifying that the project is in compliance with all relevant zoning laws. WATER QUALITY Present law makes it unlawful for a person, other than a person who discharges into a publicly owned treatment works or a person who is a domestic discharger into a privately owned treatment works, to carry out any of the following activities without a v alid permit:  The alteration of the physical, chemical, radiological, biological, or bacteriological properties of any waters of the state .  The construction, installation, modification, or operation of any treatment works, or part thereof, or any extension or addition thereto .  The increase in volume or strength of any wastes in excess of the permissive discharges specified under any existing permit .  The development of a natural resource or the construction, installation, or operation of any establishment or any extension or modification thereof or addition thereto, the operation of which will or is likely to cause an increase in the discharge of wastes into the waters of the state or would otherwise alter the physical, chemical, radiological, biological or bacteriological properties of any waters of the state in any manner not already lawfully authorized .  The construction or use of any new outlet for the discharge of any wastes into the waters of the state .  The discharge of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes into waters, or a location from which it is likely that the discharged substance will move into waters .  The construction, installation, or operation of a liquid waste management system supporting an animal feeding operation that stables or confines as many as, or more than, the numbers of animals specified by federal law defining a large concentrated animal feeding operatio n.  The discharge of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes into a well or a location where it is likely that the discharged substance will move into a well, or the underground placement of fluids and other substances that do or may affect the waters of the state .  The diversion of water through a flume for the purpose of generation of electric power by a utility .  Animal feeding operations that are required under the federal Clean Water Act to have a permit for concentrated animal feeding operations. Such operations must be conducted in accordance with the conditions of a valid national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit . This bill requires such permits to include documentation from the county or counties in which the proposed project is located, certifying that the project is in compliance with all relevant zoning laws .