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H0575.....................................................by APPROPRIATIONS
SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION FUND - Amends existing law to delete language
that provided any unencumbered and unexpended balances in the Surface
Mining Reclamation Fund and the Cyanidation Facility Closure Fund remaining
at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward
until expended or modified by subsequent statute; and to delete language
that provided any unencumbered and unexpended balance of the Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Fund remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse but
shall be carried forward for the purposes of the statute on abandoned mines
until expended or until modified by subsequent statute.
02/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/09 Rpt prt - to Approp
02/17 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/20 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/23 3rd rdg - PASSED - 61-2-7
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer,
Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Cannon, Chadderdon,
Clark, Collins, Crow, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge,
Field(18), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Kemp,
Lake, LeFavour, Martinez, Mathews, McGeachin, McKague, Miller,
Mitchell, Moyle, Nielsen, Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Raybould, Ringo,
Roberts, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2),
Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smylie(Luker), Snodgrass, Stevenson,
Trail, Wills, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Loertscher, Shepherd(8)
Absent and excused -- Black, Brackett, Field(23), Nonini, Ring,
Smith(24), Wood
Floor Sponsor - Bolz
Title apvd - to Senate
02/24 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Fin
02/27 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/28 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/02 3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Brandt, Broadsword, Bunderson, Burkett,
Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis,
Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough,
Langhorst, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McGee, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Sweet, Werk, Williams
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Pearce
Title apvd - to House
03/03 To enrol
03/06 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/07 Pres signed
03/08 To Governor
03/11 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 37
Effective: 07/01/06
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 575
BY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO MINES AND MINING BONDS; AMENDING SECTION 47-1513, IDAHO CODE, TO
3 DELETE LANGUAGE THAT PROVIDED ANY UNENCUMBERED AND UNEXPENDED BALANCES IN
4 THE SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION FUND AND THE CYANIDATION FACILITY CLOSURE
5 FUND REMAINING AT THE END OF A FISCAL YEAR SHALL NOT LAPSE BUT SHALL BE
6 CARRIED FORWARD UNTIL EXPENDED OR MODIFIED BY SUBSEQUENT STATUTE; AND
7 AMENDING SECTION 47-1703, IDAHO CODE, TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION AND
8 TO DELETE LANGUAGE THAT PROVIDED ANY UNENCUMBERED AND UNEXPENDED BALANCE
9 OF THE ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND REMAINING AT THE END OF A FISCAL
10 YEAR SHALL NOT LAPSE BUT SHALL BE CARRIED FORWARD FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE
11 STATUTE ON ABANDONED MINES UNTIL EXPENDED OR UNTIL MODIFIED BY SUBSEQUENT
12 STATUTE.
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
14 SECTION 1. That Section 47-1513, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
15 amended to read as follows:
16 47-1513. OPERATOR'S FAILURE TO COMPLY -- FORFEITURE OF BOND -- PENALTIES
17 -- RECLAMATION FUND -- CYANIDATION CLOSURE FUND. (a) Whenever the board deter-
18 mines that an operator has not complied with the provisions of this chapter,
19 the board may notify the operator of such noncompliance, and may by private
20 conference, conciliation, and persuasion, endeavor to remedy such violation.
21 In the event of a violation referred to in subsections (d) and (e) of this
22 section, the board may proceed without an administrative action, hearing or
23 decision to exercise the remedies set forth in said subsections. Additionally,
24 no administrative action, hearing or decision shall be required from the Idaho
25 board of environmental quality prior to the board proceeding under subsections
26 (d) and (e) of this section. In the event of the failure of any conference,
27 conciliation and persuasion to remedy any alleged violation, the board may
28 cause to have issued and served upon the operator alleged to be committing
29 such violation, a formal complaint which shall specify the provisions of this
30 chapter which the operator allegedly is violating, and a statement of the man-
31 ner in and the extent to which said operator is alleged to be violating the
32 provisions of this chapter. Such complaint may be served by certified mail,
33 and return receipt signed by the operator, an officer of a corporate operator,
34 or the designated agent of the operator shall constitute service. The operator
35 shall answer the complaint and request a hearing before a designated hearing
36 officer within thirty (30) days from receipt of the complaint if matters
37 asserted in the complaint are disputed. If the operator fails to answer the
38 complaint and request a hearing, the matters asserted in the complaint shall
39 be deemed admitted by the operator, and the board may proceed to cancel the
40 reclamation or permanent closure plan and forfeit the bond in the amount nec-
41 essary to reclaim affected lands or complete the permanent closure activities.
42 Upon request for a hearing by an operator, the board shall schedule a hearing
43 before a hearing officer appointed by the board at a time not less than thirty
2
1 (30) days after the date the operator requests a hearing. The board shall
2 issue subpoenas at the request of the director of the department of lands and
3 at the request of the charged operator, and the matter shall be otherwise han-
4 dled and conducted in accordance with chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code. The
5 hearing officer shall, pursuant to said hearing, enter an order in accordance
6 with chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, which, if adverse to the operator,
7 shall designate a time period within which corrective action should be taken.
8 The time period designated shall be long enough to allow the operator, in the
9 exercise of reasonable diligence, to rectify any failure to comply designated
10 in said order. In the event that the operator takes such action as is neces-
11 sary to comply with the order within the time period designated in said order,
12 no further action shall be taken by the board to compel performance under the
13 chapter.
14 (b) Upon request of the board, the attorney general shall institute pro-
15 ceedings to have the bond of an operator forfeited for the violation by the
16 operator of an order entered pursuant to this section.
17 (c) The forfeiture of such bond shall fully satisfy all obligations of
18 the operator to reclaim the affected land or complete permanent closure activ-
19 ities under the provisions of this chapter. If the violation involves an oper-
20 ator that has not furnished a bond required by this chapter, or an operator
21 that is not required to furnish a bond pursuant to this chapter, or an opera-
22 tor who violates this chapter by performing an act not included in the origi-
23 nal approved reclamation plan or the original approved permanent closure plan,
24 and such departure from the plan is not subsequently approved, such operator
25 shall be subject to a civil penalty for his failure to comply with such order
26 in the amount determined by the board to be the anticipated cost of reasonable
27 reclamation of affected lands or permanent closure of the cyanidation facil-
28 ity. Nothing in this subsection shall relieve the operator of any obligation,
29 including the obligation to complete closure requirements, pursuant to a per-
30 mit issued by the department of environmental quality under section 39-118A,
31 Idaho Code, or limit that department's authority to require compliance with
32 such permit requirements.
33 (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the board may
34 commence an action without bond or undertaking, in the name of the state of
35 Idaho to enjoin any operator who is conducting operations without an approved
36 plan required by section 47-1506, Idaho Code, or without the bond required by
37 this chapter. The court, or a judge thereof at chambers, if satisfied from the
38 complaint or by affidavits that such acts have been or are being committed,
39 shall issue a temporary restraining order without notice or bond, enjoining
40 the defendant, his agents, and employees from conducting such operations with-
41 out said plan or bond. Upon a showing of good cause therefor, the temporary
42 restraining order may require the defendant to perform reclamation of the
43 mined area in conformity with sections 47-1509 and 47-1510, Idaho Code, or to
44 complete permanent closure activities, pending final disposition of the
45 action. The action shall then proceed as in other cases for injunctions. If it
46 is established at trial that the defendant has operated without an approved
47 plan or bond, the court shall enter, in addition to any other order, a decree
48 enjoining the defendant, his agents and employees from thereafter conducting
49 such activities or similar actions in violation of this chapter. The board
50 may, in conjunction with its injunctive procedures, proceed in the same or in
51 a separate action to recover from an operator who is conducting surface mining
52 or exploration operations or operating a cyanidation facility without the
53 required plan or bond, the cost of performing the reclamation activities
54 required by sections 47-1509 and 47-1510, Idaho Code, or the cost of permanent
55 closure activities from any such operator who has not filed a bond to cover
3
1 the cost of the required activities.
2 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the board may,
3 without bond or undertaking and without any administrative action, hearing or
4 decision, commence an action in the name of the state of Idaho (1) to enjoin a
5 permitted surface mining operation or cyanidation facility when, under an
6 existing approved plan, an operator violates the terms of the plan and where
7 immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage may result to the state and
8 (2) to recover the penalties and to collect civil damages provided for by law.
9 (f) In addition to the procedures set forth in subsections (a), (d) and
10 (e) of this section, and in addition to the civil penalty provided in subsec-
11 tion (c) of this section, any operator who violates any of the provisions of
12 this chapter or rules adopted pursuant thereto, or who fails to perform the
13 duties imposed by these provisions, or who violates any determination or order
14 promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall be liable to a
15 civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than two
16 thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each day during which such viola-
17 tion continues, and in addition may be enjoined from continuing such viola-
18 tion. Such penalties shall be recoverable in an action brought in the name of
19 the state of Idaho by the attorney general in the district court for the
20 county where the violation, or some part thereof, occurs, or in the district
21 court for the county wherein the defendant resides.
22 (1) All sums recovered related to the reclamation provisions of this
23 chapter shall be placed in the state treasury and credited to the surface
24 mining reclamation fund, which is hereby created, to be used to reclaim
25 affected lands and to administer the reclamation provisions of this chap-
26 ter.
27 (2) All sums recovered related to the cyanidation facility closure provi-
28 sions of this chapter shall be placed in the state treasury and credited
29 to the cyanidation facility closure fund, which is hereby created. Moneys
30 in the fund may be expended pursuant to appropriation and used to complete
31 permanent closure activities and to administer the permanent closure pro-
32 visions of this chapter.
33 (3) Any unencumbered and unexpended balances in the surface mining recla-
34 mation fund and the cyanidation facility closure fund remaining at the end
35 of a fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward until
36 expended or modified by subsequent statute.
37 (g) Any person who willfully and knowingly falsifies any records, infor-
38 mation, plans, specifications, or other data required by the board or will-
39 fully fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of this
40 chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of
41 not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not more than five thousand
42 dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year or both.
43 (h) Reclamation plans approved by the board as of January 1, 1997, shall
44 be deemed to be in full compliance with the requirements of this chapter. How-
45 ever, the board may periodically review, and revise if necessary to meet the
46 requirements of sections 47-1506, 47-1509, 47-1510 and 47-1511, Idaho Code,
47 the amount, terms and conditions of any bond when there is a material change
48 in the reclamation plan or a material change in the estimated reasonable costs
49 of reclamation determined pursuant to section 47-1512, Idaho Code. Any revi-
50 sion to the amount, terms and conditions of a bond due to a material change in
51 the reclamation plan shall apply only to the affected lands covered by the
52 material change in the reclamation plan.
53 (i) A cyanidation facility with an existing permit approved by the
54 department of environmental quality under section 39-118A, Idaho Code, as of
55 July 1, 2005, shall be deemed to be in full compliance with the requirements
4
1 of this chapter. If there is a material modification or a material expansion
2 of a cyanidation facility after July 1, 2005, the provisions of this chapter
3 shall apply to the modification or expansion. Provided however, that reclama-
4 tion or closure related activities at a facility with an existing cyanidation
5 permit that did not actively add cyanide after January 1, 2005, shall not be
6 considered to be material modifications or a material expansion of the facil-
7 ity.
8 (j) For a permanent closure plan approved by the board after July 1,
9 2005, the board shall periodically review, and revise if necessary to meet the
10 requirements of this chapter, the amount, terms and conditions of any bond
11 when there is a material change in the permanent closure plan or a material
12 change in the estimated reasonable costs of permanent closure determined pur-
13 suant to section 47-1512, Idaho Code. The board may require a fee sufficient
14 to employ a qualified independent party, acceptable to the operator and the
15 board, to verify any revised estimate of the reasonable costs of permanent
16 closure.
17 SECTION 2. That Section 47-1703, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
18 amended to read as follows:
19 47-1703. FUNDING. This chapter shall govern the use of state and federal
20 moneys specifically appropriated for abandoned mine reclamation. This chapter
21 shall not require the state to expend or appropriate state moneys. The board
22 may receive federal funds, state funds, and any other funds, and, within the
23 limits imposed by a specific grant, expend them as directed by this chapter.
24 All grants, funds, fees, fines, penalties and other uncleared money which has
25 been or will be paid to the state for abandoned mine reclamation shall be
26 placed in the state treasury and credited to the abandoned mine reclamation
27 account fund, which is hereby created. This account fund shall be available to
28 the board, by legislative appropriation, and shall be expended for the recla-
29 mation of lands affected by eligible mining operations. Any unencumbered and
30 unexpended balance of this account remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall
31 not lapse but shall be carried forward for the purposes of this chapter until
32 expended or until modified by subsequent statute.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15730
This legislation removes language that has provided perpetual
carryover for three mining funds and returns those funds to a
traditional budgeting approach. The impacted funds are the
Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund which was added in 1994, the
Cyanidation Closure Fund which was new in 2005, and the Surface
Mining Reclamation Fund which was amended to add the language in
2005.
The traditional Idaho State budgeting approach is to revert all
unused spending authority at fiscal year-end, then begin the new
fiscal year with a fresh appropriation. Unless otherwise
directed, unspent cash remains in each fund. The perpetual
carryover language undermines the annual legislative
appropriation process by eliminating the need to craft a budget
based on the projected workload for the fiscal year. For
example, the original FY 2006 appropriation for the Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Fund was $251,500; however, carryover of
$651,500 (rolling from previous years) increased this year's
spending authority to $903,000.
FISCAL NOTE
This legislation does not increase or decrease revenues or
authorize the expenditure of monies from the general fund or any
other fund. It does change the way that three mining funds are
budgeted to limit the expenditure of those funds to the annual
appropriation. Should the Department of Lands anticipate the
expenditure of reclamation funds that exceed the base
appropriation, then the Department would need to request an
additional appropriation from the legislature to expend
additional cash from the funds.
Contact
Name: Representatives Darrell Bolz
Phone: 208 332-1000
Name: Ray Houston, Legislative Services
Phone: 208 334-4741
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 575