CHAPTER 9. Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 [2710. - 2796.5.]

Chapter 9 added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1131.

§§ 2710–2796.5 · 76 sections

1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 2710–2719 · 12 sections

   • § 2710 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.
   • § 2711 (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the state and to the needs…
   • § 2712 It is the intent of the Legislature to create and maintain an effective and comprehensive surface mining and reclamation policy with regulation of surface…
   • § 2713 It is not the intent of the Legislature by the enactment of this chapter to take private property for public use without payment of just compensation in…
   • § 2714 This chapter does not apply to any of the following activities: (a) Excavations or grading of lands conducted for farming. (b) Onsite excavation and onsite…
   • § 2715 No provision of this chapter or any ruling, requirement, or policy of the board is a limitation on any of the following: (a) On the police power of any city or…
   • § 2715.5 (a) The Cache Creek Resource Management Plan, in conjunction with a site specific plan deemed consistent by the lead agency with the Cache Creek Resource…
   • § 2715.6 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Metropolitan Water District” means the Metropolitan Water District of Southern…
   • § 2716 (a) Any interested person may commence an action on his or her own behalf against the board, the lead agency, the State Geologist, the supervisor, or the…
   • § 2717 (a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the board shall submit to the Legislature on December 1 of each year a report on the actions taken…
   • § 2718 If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or…
   • § 2719 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the state nor any county, city, district, or other political subdivision shall be exempt from any fee…
2. ARTICLE 2. Definitions §§ 2725–2736 · 14 sections

   • § 2725 Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this article shall govern the construction of this chapter.
   • § 2726 “Area of regional significance” means an area designated by the board pursuant to Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction…
   • § 2727 “Area of statewide significance” means an area designated by the board pursuant to Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction…
   • § 2727.1 “Idle” means that an operator of a surface mining operation has curtailed production at the surface mining operation, with the intent to resume the surface…
   • § 2728 “Lead agency” means the city, county, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or the board which has the principal responsibility for…
   • § 2729 “Mined lands” includes the surface, subsurface, and ground water of an area in which surface mining operations will be, are being, or have been conducted,…
   • § 2730 “Mining waste” includes the residual of soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials or property directly resulting…
   • § 2731 “Operator” means any person who is engaged in surface mining operations, himself, or who contracts with others to conduct operations on his behalf, except a…
   • § 2732 “Overburden” means soil, rock, or other materials that lie above a natural mineral deposit or in between mineral deposits, before or after their removal by…
   • § 2732.5 “Permit” means any authorization from, or approval by, a lead agency, the absence of which would preclude surface mining operations.
   • § 2733 “Reclamation” means the combined process of land treatment that minimizes water degradation, air pollution, damage to aquatic or wildlife habitat, flooding,…
   • § 2734 “State policy” means the regulations adopted by the board pursuant to Section 2755.
   • § 2735 “Surface mining operations” means all, or any part of, the process involved in the mining of minerals on mined lands by removing overburden and mining directly…
   • § 2736 “Financial assurances” means a current approved financial assurance cost estimate and a financial assurance mechanism that is at least equal to the current…
3. ARTICLE 3. District Committees §§ 2740–2741 · 2 sections

   • § 2740 In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the board may establish districts and appoint one or more district technical advisory committees to advise the…
   • § 2741 The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the…
4. ARTICLE 4. State Policy for the Reclamation of Mined Lands §§ 2755–2764 · 10 sections

   • § 2755 The board shall adopt regulations that establish state policy for the reclamation of mined lands in accordance with Article 1 (commencing with Section 2710) of…
   • § 2756 State policy shall apply to the conduct of surface mining operations and shall include, but shall not be limited to, measures to be employed by lead agencies…
   • § 2757 The state policy adopted by the board shall be based upon a study of the factors that significantly affect the present and future condition of mined lands, and…
   • § 2758 Such policy shall include objectives and criteria for all of the following: (a) Determining the lead agency pursuant to the provisions of Section 2771. (b) The…
   • § 2759 The state policy shall be continuously reviewed and may be revised. During the formulation or revision of the policy, the board shall consult with, and…
   • § 2760 The board shall not adopt or revise the state policy, unless a public hearing is first held respecting its adoption or revision. At least 30 days prior to the…
   • § 2761 (a) On or before January 1, 1977, and, at a minimum, after the completion of each decennial census, the Office of Planning and Research shall identify portions…
   • § 2762 (a) Within 12 months of receiving the mineral information described in Section 2761, and also within 12 months of the designation of an area of statewide or…
   • § 2763 (a) If an area is designated by the board as an area of regional significance, and the lead agency either has designated that area in its general plan as…
   • § 2764 (a) Upon the request of an operator or other interested person and payment by the requesting person of the estimated cost of processing the request, the lead…
5. ARTICLE 5. Reclamation Plans and the Conduct of Surface Mining Operations §§ 2770–2779 · 32 sections

   • § 2770 (a) Except as provided in this section, a person shall not conduct surface mining operations unless a permit is obtained from, a reclamation plan has been…
   • § 2770.1 For the purposes of a borrow pit surface mining operation that is owned or operated by a lead agency solely for use by that lead agency, all of the following…
   • § 2770.5 Whenever surface mining operations are proposed in the 100-year flood plain for any stream, as shown in Zone A of Flood Insurance Rate Maps issued by the…
   • § 2770.6 (a) Whenever surface mining operations are proposed within the boundaries of the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority that may penetrate the groundwater,…
   • § 2771 Whenever a proposed or existing surface mining operation is within the jurisdiction of two or more public agencies, is a permitted use within the agencies, and…
   • § 2772 (a) The reclamation plan shall be filed with the lead agency, on a form provided by the lead agency, by any person who owns, leases, or otherwise controls or…
   • § 2772.1 (a) (1) Prior to approving a surface mining operation’s reclamation plan or plan amendment, the lead agency shall submit the reclamation plan or plan amendment…
   • § 2772.5 (a) A reclamation plan by any person who owns, leases, or otherwise controls or operates on all, or any portion of any, mined lands within the boundaries of…
   • § 2772.6 (a) In addition to meeting the requirements of Section 2773.1, the financial assurance cost estimate required of a surface mining operation within the…
   • § 2772.7 (a) A lead agency, upon approval of a reclamation plan or an amendment to a reclamation plan, shall record a “Notice of Reclamation Plan Approval” with the…
   • § 2773 (a) The reclamation plan shall be applicable to a specific piece of property or properties, shall be based upon the character of the surrounding area and such…
   • § 2773.1 (a) Lead agencies shall require financial assurances of each surface mining operation to ensure reclamation is performed in accordance with the surface mining…
   • § 2773.1.5 (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 2773.1, a financial assurance mechanism may include corporate financial tests combined with surety bonds,…
   • § 2773.15 Notwithstanding Section 2773.1, a surety bond that was executed by any personal surety that was approved by the lead agency prior to February 13, 1998, to…
   • § 2773.2 The mineral owner and owner of the surface estate, if legally entitled to do so, shall allow access to the property on which the mining operation is located to…
   • § 2773.3 (a) In addition to other reclamation plan requirements of this chapter and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter, a lead agency may not…
   • § 2773.4 (a) (1) Prior to approving the financial assurance cost estimate for a new reclamation plan or adjustments to the financial assurance cost estimate based on an…
   • § 2773.5 Section 2773.3 does not apply to either of the following: (a) Any surface mining operation in existence on January 1, 2003, for which the lead agency has…
   • § 2774 (a) Every lead agency shall adopt ordinances in accordance with state policy that establish procedures for the review and approval of reclamation plans and…
   • § 2774.1 (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (i) of Section 2770, if the lead agency or the supervisor determines, based upon an annual inspection pursuant to…
   • § 2774.2 (a) Within 30 days of the issuance of an order setting administrative penalties under subdivision (c) of Section 2774.1, the operator may petition the…
   • § 2774.2.5 (a) A lead agency shall submit to the supervisor, in an electronic format determined by the Division of Mine Reclamation, official copies of all of the…
   • § 2774.3 The board shall review lead agency ordinances which establish permit and reclamation procedures to determine whether each ordinance is in accordance with state…
   • § 2774.4 (a) The board shall exercise some or all of a lead agency’s powers under this chapter pursuant to subdivision (c), except for permitting authority and vested…
   • § 2774.5 (a) If, upon review of an ordinance, the board finds that it is not in accordance with state policy, the board shall communicate the ordinance’s deficiencies…
   • § 2775 (a) An applicant whose request for a permit to conduct surface mining operations in an area of statewide or regional significance has been denied by a lead…
   • § 2776 (a) No person who has obtained a vested right to conduct surface mining operations prior to January 1, 1976, shall be required to secure a permit pursuant to…
   • § 2777 Amendments to an approved reclamation plan may be submitted detailing proposed changes from the original plan. Substantial deviations from the original plan…
   • § 2777.3 (a) The construction and operation of a renewable energy generation facility on disturbed mined lands, including all foundations and other installations,…
   • § 2777.5 (a) An operator who has failed to properly report a mine’s mineral production or mine status in any previous year, pursuant to the annual reporting requirement…
   • § 2778 (a) Reclamation plans, reports, applications, and other documents submitted pursuant to this chapter are public records, unless it can be demonstrated to the…
   • § 2779 Whenever one operator succeeds to the interest of another in any incompleted surface mining operation by sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance, exchange, or…
6. ARTICLE 6. Areas of Statewide or Regional Significance §§ 2790–2793 · 4 sections

   • § 2790 After receipt of mineral information from the State Geologist pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2761, the board may, by regulation adopted after a public…
   • § 2791 The board shall seek the recommendations of concerned federal, state, and local agencies, educational institutions, civic and public interest organizations,…
   • § 2792 Neither the designation of an area of regional or statewide significance nor the adoption of any regulations for such an area shall in any way limit or modify…
   • § 2793 The board may, by regulation adopted after a public hearing, terminate, partially or wholly, the designation of any area of statewide or regional significance…
7. ARTICLE 7. Fiscal Provisions §§ 2795–2796.5 · 2 sections

   • § 2795 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, moneys from mining activities on federal lands disbursed by the United States each fiscal year to this state pursuant to…
   • § 2796.5 (a) The supervisor, with the consultation of appropriate state and local agencies, may remediate or complete reclamation of abandoned mined lands that meet all…