17.24.116    OPERATING PERMIT: APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

(1) Applicant must obtain an operating permit for each mine complex on a form prescribed by the department.

(2) To obtain an operating permit the applicant shall pay a $500 fee.

(3) In addition to the information required by 82-4-335(4), MCA, an application for an operating permit must describe the following:

(a) the existing environment;

(b) soil salvage and stockpiling activities and measures to protect soil from erosion and contamination;

(c) provisions for the prevention of wind erosion of all disturbed areas;

(d) the design, construction, and operation of the mine, mill, tailings, and waste rock disposal facilities;

(e) the facilities, buildings, and capacity of mill or processing;

(f) the proposed date for commencement of mining, the minerals to be mined, and a proposed conceptual life of mine operations;

(g) the designs of diversions, impoundments, and sediment control structures to be constructed reflecting their safety, utility, and stability;

(h) the location of access, haul, and other support roads and provisions for their construction and maintenance that control and minimize channeling and other erosion;

(i) the source and volume of incoming ore, tailings, or waste rock;

(j) the equipment and chemicals to be used in the operation by location and task;

(k) the general chemical processes and the purpose, amount, and source of water used in the operation and the disposition of any process waste water or solutions;

(l) the ground and surface water monitoring programs to be implemented including a schedule for reporting results to the department; 

(m) a contingency plan addressing accidental discharges to ground or surface water; 

(n) a fire protection plan;

(o) a toxic spill contingency plan with certification that notice of the filing of the plan has been provided to the state fire marshal;

(p) the sewage treatment facilities and solid waste disposal sites;

(q) the power needs and source(s) , including fuel storage sites;

(r) the anticipated employment including direct and onsite contract employees;

(s) the transportation network to be used during the construction and operation phases, including a list of the type and amount of traffic at mine or mill capacity;

(t) the predicted noise levels by activities during construction and operations;

(u) the protective measures for archaeological and historical values in the areas to be mined;

(v) the protective measures designed to avoid foreseeable situations of unnecessary damage to flora and fauna in or adjacent to the area.

(4) The application must include a map or maps to scale of:

(a) the proposed permit area and area to be disturbed, including anticipated phases or increments of disturbance, if applicable;

(b) the location of the proposed mine and facilities;

(c) the location and identity of streams within one mile of the permit boundary and three miles down gradient unless a lesser distance is justified and agreed to by the department;

(d) existing and proposed roads;

(e) other constructed features like railroad, oil and gas wells, pipelines and other utility lines in the immediate area;

(f) residences and water wells within one mile of the permit area; and

(g) a uniform base, a scale, and a north directional arrow.

(5) The application must include a reclamation plan that meets the requirements of 82-4-336, MCA, and this subchapter. 

 

History: 82-4-321, MCA; IMP, 82-4-335, 82-4-336, MCA; Eff. 12/31/72; TRANS, from DSL, 1996 MAR p. 2852; AMD, 1999 MAR p. 640, Eff. 4/9/99; AMD, 2002 MAR p. 3590, Eff. 12/27/02; AMD, 2024 MAR p. 1060, Eff. 5/11/24.