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Contact Us
San Diego Office
3511 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 403
San Diego, CA 92108
Phone: 619-284-8515
Fax: 619-284-0115
Sacramento Office
1255 Starboard Drive
W Sacramento, CA 95691
Phone: 916-375-3018
Fax: 619-704-0499
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Greetings!
IS YOUR MINE SITE IDLE?
This edition of Miner Details will focus on "idle", one of the most misunderstood words in the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA). This newsletter will discuss the requirement of a mine site that has become idle, as defined by SMARA, and the risk they run for being designated as abandoned and removed from the AB 3098 list if the site does not gain approval of an Interim Management Plan. What does it mean to be abandoned? This means the mine site no longer has a legal right to conduct mining. Once a mine operation is abandoned, SMARA requires that the operator commence and complete reclamation in accordance with the approved reclamation plan. If the operator wants to continue to mine, a new reclamation plan must be approved. This would subject the operation to new environmental review and a discretionary hearing. This would be time and cost prohibitive for any operation.
TO AVOID BEING REMOVED FROM THE AB 3098 LIST, READ ON
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 | Upcoming Events | | | |
The California Air Resources Board will be voting on possible changes to the Off and On-road diesel rules December 16th. Read more here.
California High-Speed Rail Authority Board to decide on where construction will begin on December 2nd. Authority staff is to recommend starting construction the Summer of 2012 in the Central Valley. To learn more, click here.
Merry Christmas !!!!! |
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Got LART?
LART is the Lead Agency Review Team that was established by the legislature to help lead agencies meet their responsibilities under SMARA. Starting in the Spring of 2009, LART began to review lead agency SMARA programs throughout the State. LART plans to hit all 133 lead agencies over a 6 year period. Why is the LART doing these reviews? The LART's main purpose is to ensure lead agencies are SMARA compliant.
To find out how LART reviews might affect your operation, click here.
Where has LART been?
To find out, click here.
Where is LART going next?
To find out, click here.
What is the AB 3098 List and how you can stay on it?
To find out, click here.
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| Political Surge Pile
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After the mid-term elections, Republicans made large gains in the House of Representatives, but Democrats retained control of the Senate. For the construction aggregates industry, all eyes will be watching how the new leadership will affect the fate of the multi-year surface transportation bill. The man likely to be the next chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is Congressman John Mica of Florida. To find out what his priorities are for this committee check out his website.
Gov. Schwarzenegger called a special budget session to begin on December 6, 2010 after the Legislative Analyst's Office projected California's budget deficit to be $25.4 billion through June 2010. For more details click here.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach Boards of Harbor Commissioners unanimously adopted the 2010 San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) Update. The Update adds aggressive new goals for reducing diesel air pollution from the freight transportation industry. For more info, click here.
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| HardRock Economics
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Many mines have recently been classified as "idle" because of the economic downturn. Recent reports predict economic activity in 2011 will be status quo or similar to 2010. If demand is not expected to increase, then many more mine sites are at risk of being classified as idle.
In late October, the UCLA Anderson Forecast reported that the Orange County Economy May Be Limping Along But Housing And Labor Markets Will Strengthen By Mid 2011. For the full report, click here.
Construction employment fell nearly 3% from August to September in California, but the overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 12.4%. For the full November 2010 California Economic Update, click here.
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| RAP Session
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Idle Mines and IMPs
Did you know that a mine can be classified as idle and no action from the lead agency is necessary? This means once a mine site has produced less than 10% of its historical maximum for a year, that mine is automatically classified as idle. It is also up to the operator to submit an interim management plan (IMP) within 90 days of becoming idle. The lead agency does not have to first request that an IMP be submitted. This also means that if an IMP is not submitted in time, the lead agency can make a determination that the mine site is abandoned and the operator must commence reclamation. If the operator does not want to start reclamation and desires to increase activity at a later date, a new reclamation plan will need to be submitted.
It is also important to note, that if an operator was not aware that their mine site was idle for more than a year and no IMP had been submitted, the operator is at risk of being removed from the AB 3098 list. Being on this list is what allows operators to sell material to public agencies. In this economy a majority of demand is originating from public sources; therefore, being removed from the AB 3098 list could be devastating to any company.
Is your mine site at risk of being classified as abandoned or removed from the AB 3098 list? To find out, read this month's RAP Session: Idle Mines and IMPs by Warren Coalson.
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We hope you enjoy Miner Details - A Construction Aggregate Industry Newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news and events in California that may impact your business. Please feel free to contact us at crystal@enviromineinc.com with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Warren Coalson
President of EnviroMINE Inc.
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