Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 6108
     November 14, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Snyder and Farhat and referred to the Committee on
       Regulatory Reform.
          A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
    "Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
    by amending section 9115 (MCL 324.9115), as amended by 2017 PA 40,
    and by adding part 639.
                     THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
       Sec. 9115. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person engaged in
 the logging industry, the mining industry, or the plowing or
 tilling of land for the purpose of crop production or the
 harvesting of crops is not required to obtain a permit under this
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 part. However, all earth changes associated with the activities
 listed in this section shall conform to the same standards as if
 they required a permit under this part. The exemption from
 obtaining a permit under this subsection does not include either of
 the following:
       (a) Access roads to and from the site where active mining or
 logging is taking place.
       (b) Ancillary activities associated with logging and mining.
       (2) This part does not apply to a metallic mineral mining
 activity that is regulated under a mining and reclamation plan
 under part 631, or 634, or 639 or a mining, reclamation, and
 environmental protection plan under part 632, if the plan contains
 soil erosion and sedimentation control provisions and is approved
 by the department under part 631, 632, 634, or 639, respectively.
       (3) A person is not required to obtain a permit from a county
 enforcing agency or a municipal enforcing agency for earth changes
 associated with well locations, surface facilities, flowlines, or
 access roads relating to oil or gas exploration and development
 activities regulated under part 615 or mineral well exploration and
 development activities regulated under part 625, if the application
 for a permit to drill and operate contains a soil erosion and
 sedimentation control plan that is approved by the department under
 part 615 or 625, respectively. However, those earth changes shall
 conform to the same standards as required for a permit under this
 part. This subsection does not apply to a multisource commercial
 hazardous waste disposal well as defined in section 62506a.
       (4) As used in this section, "mining" does not include the
 removal of clay, gravel, sand, peat, or topsoil unless authorized
 by a permit under part 639.
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                     PART 639. SAND AND GRAVEL MINING
       Sec. 63901. As used in this part:
       (a) "Administratively complete" describes an application for a
 mining permit that contains all of the documents and information
 required under this part.
       (b) "Contested case hearing" means a hearing under chapter 4
 of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL
 24.271 to 24.288.
       (c) "De minimis extraction" means extraction of sand and
 gravel that meets either of the following requirements:
       (i) Is conducted by or for a property owner for end use by that
 property owner on the same property, and not for resale or
 inclusion in any other commercial product.
       (ii) Does not exceed 5,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel
 during the life of the mine.
       (d) "Department" means the department of environment, Great
 Lakes, and energy.
       (e) "Fencing" means 4-foot-high woven wire farm fence or its
 equivalent.
       (f) "Historical or archaeological resource" means a structure
 or site that is any of the following:
       (i) A historic landmark included on the National Register of
 Historic Places under 54 USC 300101 to 307108.
       (ii) Listed on the state register of historic sites pursuant to
 the Governor John B. Swainson Michigan historical markers act, 1955
 PA 10, MCL 399.151 to 399.160.
       (iii) Located in a historic district established by a local unit
 pursuant to the local historic districts act, 1970 PA 169, MCL
 399.201 to 399.215, and recognized as a historic resource by the
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 local unit of government pursuant to that act.
       (g) "In existence" or "existing" describes active or
 previously active mining areas that have not yet been fully
 reclaimed.
       (h) "Life of the mine" means the period of time from issuance
 of a mining permit through the completion of reclamation of the
 mine as required by this part.
       (i) "Mine" means a sand and gravel mine.
       (j) "Mining" means the extraction of sand and gravel and
 associated activities and operations within the mining area that
 are involved in bringing sand and gravel products to market,
 including, but not limited to, onsite loading, transport, and
 processing of material.
       (k) "Mining area" means an area comprising all of the
 following, whether or not below the water table:
       (i) Land from which material is removed in connection with the
 production or extraction, other than de minimis extraction, of sand
 and gravel by surface or open pit mining methods.
       (ii) Land where material from that mining is stored on the
 surface.
       (iii) Land on which processing plants and auxiliary facilities
 are located.
       (iv) Land on which water reservoirs used in mining are located.
       (v) Auxiliary land used in conjunction with mining.
       (l) "Mining permit" means a sand and gravel mining permit
 issued under section 63906.
       (m) "Operator" means a person engaged in or preparing to
 engage in mining or reclamation.
       (n) "Primary road" means a county primary road as described in
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 section 5 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.655, or a state trunk line highway
 as described in section 1 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.651.
        (o) "Property line" means the exterior property line of all
 contiguous parcels owned or controlled by the operator, including
 easements, leasehold interests, options to lease, options to
 purchase, and rights of first offer or refusal.
        (p) "Sand and gravel" means sand or gravel, or both, that is
 excavated from natural deposits on or in the earth for commercial,
 industrial, or construction purposes. However, sand and gravel does
 not include clay; limestone or limestone products; sand mined for
 commercial or industrial purposes from sand dune areas regulated
 under part 637; or earth materials associated with extraction of
 coal regulated under part 635, nonferrous metallic minerals
 regulated under part 632, or ferrous minerals regulated under part
 631.
        (q) "Sand and gravel products" means those products produced
 from the processing of sand and gravel and other materials,
 including, but not limited to, recycled materials and other
 materials obtained from off-site.
        (r) "Sand and gravel surveillance fund" means the sand and
 gravel surveillance fund created in section 63920.
        (s) "Sequence of mining" means the order in which the property
 will be mined and reclaimed.
        (t) "Stockpile" means material, including surface overburden,
 that in the process of mining has been removed from the earth and
 stored on the surface.
        (u) "Supervisor of reclamation" means the state geologist.
        (v) "Supervisor of reclamation hearing" means an evidentiary
 hearing scheduled by the supervisor of reclamation to hear matters
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 pertaining to this part and conducted pursuant to the
 administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to
 24.328, unless a different procedure is authorized by this part.
       Sec. 63902. (1) Subject to subsection (2) and notwithstanding
 section 63903, this part does not apply to either of the following
 unless the owner or operator elects to be subject to this part by
 submitting an application to the department under section 63904:
       (a) Mining authorized on or before the effective date of the
 amendatory act that added this section. The owner or operator of a
 mine existing on that date as a result of mining authorized on or
 before that date is not eligible to submit an application to the
 department under section 63904 during the 3-year period beginning
 on that date.
       (b) Mining of a mine that has a total sand and gravel deposit
 of 1,000,000 tons or less.
       (2) For purposes of this section, mining is considered
 authorized if either of the following applies:
       (a) It has received each required local permit for mining,
 zoning approval, or other governmental authorization.
       (b) It is not required to have obtained an authorization,
 described in subdivision (a), because of nonregulation or because
 the mining is a legal nonconforming use.
       Sec. 63903. (1) This part preempts an ordinance, regulation,
 resolution, policy, practice, or master plan of a governmental
 authority created by the state constitution or statute or of a
 county, township, village, or, subject to subsection (2), city that
 prohibits or regulates mining, including, but not limited to, its
 location and development, or trucking activities of or relating to
 a mine, or that duplicates, modifies, extends, revises,
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 contradicts, or conflicts with this part. A governmental authority
 created by the state constitution or statute or a county, township,
 village, or, subject to subsection (2), city shall not adopt,
 maintain, or enforce an ordinance, regulation, resolution, policy,
 practice, or master plan in relation to mining that duplicates, is
 different from, extends, revises, contradicts, is more strict than,
 or conflicts in any manner with this part.
         (2) This part applies to a city only if the city annexed
 territory of a township in annexation proceedings commencing after
 January 1, 2023 and applies to only that annexed territory of the
 city.
         Sec. 63904. (1) Except for de minimis extraction or for
 activities exempt under section 63902, a person shall not engage in
 mining in a township, village, or, subject to section 63903(2),
 city except as authorized by a mining permit.
         (2) To obtain a mining permit, a person shall submit an
 application to the department. The application shall contain the
 name and address of the applicant and the location, including a
 legal description and survey, of the proposed mining area. An
 application shall be submitted on a form and in a medium provided
 or approved by the department.
         (3) A mining permit application shall be accompanied, at a
 minimum, by all of the following:
         (a) An application fee of $5,000.00. The department shall
 forward the application fee to the state treasurer for deposit in
 the sand and gravel surveillance fund.
         (b) An environmental impact assessment for the proposed mining
 that describes the natural and human-made features, including, but
 not limited to, flora, fauna, hydrology, geology, and baseline
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 conditions in the proposed mining area, and the potential impacts
 on those features from the proposed mining.
       (c) A mining and reclamation plan for the proposed mining
 operation that complies with section 63905.
       (d) Financial assurance as described in section 63913.
       Sec. 63905. A mining and reclamation plan required under
 section 63904 shall include all of the following:
       (a) A general description of materials, methods, and
 techniques that will be utilized for mining.
       (b) Plans for reclamation of the mining area following
 cessation of mining, including, but not limited to, a description
 of how reclamation will allow for use of the land after closure.
       (c) A general description of the sand and gravel deposit.
       (d) The proposed sequence of mining, habitat conservation, and
 restoration, including, but not limited to, proposed phasing, if
 applicable.
       (e) Surface overburden removal plans and a department-approved
 soil conservation plan. The soil conservation plan shall meet all
 of the following requirements:
       (i) Include steps for the conservation of topsoil.
       (ii) Consider land use after the cessation of mining and site
 conditions.
       (iii) To the extent practical, provide for concurrent
 reclamation and soil conservation.
       (f) The proposed depth from grade level from which the sand
 and gravel will be removed.
       (g) Provisions for grading, revegetation, and stabilization
 that will minimize, to the extent practicable, soil erosion,
 sedimentation, noise, airborne dust, and public safety concerns.
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 The provisions for grading shall include both of the following:
         (i) The reclaimed slopes of the banks of the excavation shall
 not be steeper than 3 feet horizontal to 1 foot vertical.
         (ii) Where open water with a maximum depth in excess of 5 feet
 results from mining, the reclaimed slope into the water shall not
 be steeper than 5 feet horizontal to 1 foot vertical, maintained
 and extended into the water to a depth of 5 feet.
         (h) Provisions for the monitoring of groundwater if the
 environmental impact assessment under section 63904(3)(b)
 identifies expected impacts to groundwater elevation.
         (i) A site plan that complies with all of the following:
         (i) The site plan shall show all of the following:
         (A) The proposed locations of buildings, equipment,
 stockpiles, roads, berms, or other features necessary for mining
 and includes provisions for their removal and for reclamation of
 the area following cessation of mining.
         (B) The location of each residential building within 500 feet
 of the proposed mine.
         (ii) A mining area shall be located not less than 50 feet from
 the nearest public roadway or adjoining property line.
         (iii) Equipment used for screening and crushing shall be located
 as follows:
         (A) Not less than 200 feet from the nearest public roadway.
         (B) Not less than 300 feet from the nearest adjoining property
 line.
         (C) Not less than 500 feet from the nearest residential
 building occupied on adjacent property on the date the mining and
 reclamation plan is submitted to the department.
         (iv) The site plan shall describe the proposed primary routes
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 to be used to transport sand and gravel from the mining area to a
 primary road, other than for local deliveries.
       (v) The operator shall maintain on the boundaries of the
 mining area outward facing signage, spaced no greater than every
 200 feet, specifying "No Trespassing - Mining Area".
       (vi) A stockpile shall not exceed the higher of 70 feet above
 the ground surface at the location of the stockpile or 40 feet
 higher than the elevation of the adjoining property at the nearest
 property line. This subparagraph does not apply to screening berms.
       (vii) An active mining area shall be screened from view from
 adjoining properties to the extent reasonably practicable. The
 screening shall be accomplished by using overburden, to the extent
 available, to construct berms of up to 6 feet in height along
 adjoining property boundaries, unless the applicant requests and
 the department approves a different method of screening. The
 department may require berms visible to the public to be landscaped
 with grass or trees to the extent reasonably practicable.
       (j) The interim use or uses of reclaimed areas before the
 cessation of all mining.
       (k) If required by the department when the mining area will
 present a dangerous condition if left open, a proposal specifying
 fencing or other techniques to minimize trespass or unauthorized
 access to the mining area.
       (l) If a threatened or endangered species is actually
 identified within the mining area, a description of how the
 threatened or endangered species will be protected or of the
 mitigation measures that will be performed, in compliance with part
 365 and rules promulgated thereunder and the endangered species act
 of 1973, 16 USC 1531 to 1544, and rules promulgated thereunder.
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       (m) If a historical or archaeological resource is identified