F78E94EDE5B8C16B8725824A00736698 Hearing Summary

Senator Coram, prime sponsor, discussed the provisions of SB18-184 concerning permits for short-term extraction of construction materials. Under current law, excavation projects that extract construction materials must obtain a permit issued by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This bill allows an operator of a one-time excavation project that generates small quantities of construction materials that are incidental to the intent of the excavation project to obtain a special use permit from the DNR. An operation that qualifies for a special use permit must be clearly defined, of short duration and scope, affect no more than 30 acres, and not employ material processing activities typically associated with mining operations. All affected lands subject to the new permit must be reclaimed within 12 months following the issuance of the permit. Project operators must convert to the appropriate regular construction materials permit if extraction and export of materials from the site are not completed within 12 months. The bill specifies that the cost for the original permit is $400, and the annual fee for each subsequent year of operation is $200.

Tony Waldren, Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety, spoke in support of the bill and identified fees assessed by the division on various types of mining operations. He also responded to questions from the committee about exemptions for permit requirements for persons who extract mine materials for use on their own property and expenses related to the permit review process.