GENERAL38654

• Permit No: M1988112
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Name: SAN LUIS PROJECT NEWS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

MINED LAND RECLAMATION ACT: Protecting the Future
of the Land and the People
When the General Assembly passed
the Mined Land Reclamation Act
(MLRA), their aim was to protect
Colorado's future. They did this by
requiring that industry make land that is
no longer being mined ready again for
other productive uses.
The General Assembly believed that
mining and reclamation "should be and
are compatible." They wrote the Act so
that it conserves natural resources,
fisheries and wildlife without stopping
mining development.
Enforcing the reclamation act is the
job of the Mined Land Reclamation
Division of the Colorado Department of
Natural Resources. The division consists
of the appointed Mined Land Reclamation
Board and a skilled staff of specialists.
Backed by the staff, the board first
decides whether a proposed mine will
achieve the Act's goals. Then they
monitor the mine to see drat it stays in
compliance with the law.
BASELINE TO RECLAMATION
One strength of the reclamation act is
its ability [o require extensive planning
and information before mining is allowed.
In order to receive a permit, companies
large and small must describe all aspects
of development, operation and reclamation
in detail.
Larger projects, such as the San Luis
Project, must make especially thorough
"baseline" surveys of pre-mining condi-
tions. The surveys are conducted by
technical staff or by consultants and may
require special field work and research.
For example, a ground water study
calls for drilling test wells, while surface
water requires measuring sveam flows.
Records are searched to descnbe weather
patterns, land uses, existing structures,
adjacent land owners, roads, creeks and
the present contours of the land to be
mined.
While studying the site, the mine
company consults the Colorado Division
of Wildlife, the U.S. Soil Conservation
Service, and any local officials who may
have useful information and ideas.
Division staff members often consul[ with
other agencies, too.
Next, the mine company must
thoroughly describe its plans for all
mining and processing. This includes
methods to be used, structures to be built,
and the nature and timing of all work to be
done at each stage of the project.
Finally, the company must show a
detailed reclamation plan. The plan
describes what the final land use will be
after reclamation and how it will be
achieved through grading, topsoiling and
planting.
The division staff and the board
review information about the site, the
project, and the reclamation plan and
compare it to a list of performance
standards before deciding whether a
proposal may go ahead.
Reclamation specialists on the
division staff conduct the review. Recla-
mation specialists aze scientists and
environmental experts, among them
hydrologists, geologists, botanists,
foresters, soil scientists and engineers.
STANDARDS,ENFORCEMENT,
BOND RELEASE
Performance standards are [he cutting
edge of the Mined Land Reclamation Act.
A reclamation plan must meet standards in
five major areas:
• Grading and backfilling. It must
suit the features of [he land and the
proposed final land use.
• Waler. 't'he project must minimize
disturbance to he current ground and
surface water talance.
• Wildlife. They must be protected
during mining. When appropriate,
reclamation plt.ns should create or
conserve habitat.
• Topsoil. [t must be stored and
protected during operations and replaced
during reclamation.
• Revegetation. Whatever is planted
must be appropriate and result in a good,
long-lasting gnnnd cover.
A mine company has to post a
performance bond to make sure that the
land is reclaimed. The size of the bond is
set by the divis on, based on a worst-case
estimate of cos s. The estimate assumes
that the state, n x the mining operator,
would have to reclaim the land. The slate
has required a 3.3.2 million bond for the
San Luis Projer [.
Once a mining project is permitted
and under way, the division continues to
watch it closely. The mine files annual
reports on reclamation work, and the
board and the s off may inspect the site at
any time. The power to impose civil
penalties or even to shut a mine down by
revoking its permit gives the Mined Land
Reclamation Division teeth.
It may take a year or two after mining
(even three to f ve years on large sites) to
prove to the division that reclamation is
succeeding. Only then can the operator
ask for release of the bond. For large
projects, bond release may come in stages.
Some of [he bond may be released for
parts of the site which have been re-
claimed and wi I not be disturbed again.
San Luis Project
Battle Mountain Gold Company
P.O. Box 3l0
San Luis, Colorado 81152
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