08 LC
25 5151
House
Bill 1198
By:
Representatives Knight of the
126th
and Lunsford of the
110th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
conservation and natural resources, so as to change certain provisions relating
to powers and duties of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department
of Natural Resources as to surface mining generally and the division´s
discretion to decline to enforce certain provisions relating thereto; to change
certain provisions relating to permits for surface mining operations, submission
of mining land use plans and amendments thereto, and bonding; to provide for
monitoring of privately owned wells near rock quarries; to provide for certain
penalties and presumptions relating to rock quarrying; to change provisions
relating to civil penalties relative to surface mining violations, procedure for
imposing penalties, hearings, judicial review, and disposition of recovered
penalties; to change certain provisions relating to exemptions from certain
provisions for control of soil erosion and sedimentation; to provide an
effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to conservation and
natural resources, is amended by revising Code Section 12-4-73, relating to
powers and duties of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of
Natural Resources as to surface mining generally and the division´s
discretion to decline to enforce certain provisions relative thereto, as
follows:
"12-4-73.
(a)
The division shall have the following powers and duties:
(1)
To administer and enforce this part and all reasonable rules and regulations
promulgated under this part to issue such orders as may be necessary to enforce
compliance therewith;
(2)
To examine and pass upon permit applications of operators;
(3)
To examine and pass upon surface mining land use plans submitted by
operators;
(4)
To make investigations and inspections;
(5)
To revoke permits, deny renewals, and forfeit bonds or cash of mine operators
who refuse to carry out their plans of mining land use
or violate any
provision of this part, rules or regulations promulgated pursuant to this part,
or conditions of any permit issued pursuant to this
part;
(5.1)
To pursue and enforce civil penalties against mine operators as provided in this
part;
(6)
To collect information on surface mining and mining land use plans;
(7)
To collect, publish, and distribute information on mining land
uses;
(8)
To accept moneys that are available from government units and private
organizations;
(9)
To conduct research studies of mining land uses;
(10)
To carry out land use projects on land where bonds or cash have been forfeited,
using funds available for such purposes;
(11)
To institute and prosecute all such court actions as may be necessary to obtain
the enforcement of any order issued by the division in carrying out this part;
and
(12)
To exercise all incidental powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this
part.
(b)
The powers and duties described in this Code section may be exercised and
performed by the division through such duly authorized agents and employees as
it deems necessary and proper.
(c)
The division may decline to assert jurisdiction under this part over any class
or category of mines where, in the opinion of the division, the effect of the
operations of such mines is not sufficiently substantial to warrant the exercise
of jurisdiction under this
part;
provided, however, that the division shall not decline to assert such
jurisdiction over rock
quarries."
SECTION
2.
Said
title is further amended by revising paragraph (3) of Code Section 12-4-75,
relating to permits for surface mining operations, submission of mining land use
plans and amendments to plans, and bonding, as follows:
"(3)
To file a bond with the director within 60 days after the date of being
furnished approved surety bond forms by the division; provided, however, that
any mining operator who desires to be exempted from the bonding requirement
shall request an exemption from such bonding requirement from the director,
whereupon a mining operator may be exempted from such bonding requirement at the
discretion of the director. Any mining operator who has been granted an
exemption from the bonding requirement and who subsequently violates any of the
provisions of this part or the rules and regulations promulgated under this
part, or who defaults on his obligations under any mining land use plan, may be
required by the director to post a bond in accordance with this paragraph. Any
bond filed with the director shall be written by a surety approved by the
director and authorized to transact business in this state. Such bond shall be
fixed by the director in an amount not more than $2,500.00 per acre, or fraction
thereof, of the area of affected
land;
provided, however, that the bond for rock quarries shall be not less than
$2,500.00 per acre and not more than $5,000.00 per acre, or fraction thereof, of
the area of affected land. Such bond
shall further be payable to the Governor and conditioned upon the faithful
performance of the requirements set forth in this part and the rules and
regulations promulgated pursuant to this part. Mining operators shall have the
option of posting bond, government securities, cash, or any combination thereof
on each mined area. In determining the amount of bond, government securities,
or cash within the above limits, the director shall take into consideration the
character and nature of the land reclamation requirements as approved in the
operator´s mining land use plan. For each permit, the director shall
review and reevaluate at least every five years the site operation, objectives
of the land use plan, and estimated cost factors for completion of the plan and
shall require adjustments to bonding amounts as may be necessary to ensure
adequate funding for site reclamation. The bond, government securities, or cash
shall be held by the division until the affected land or any portion thereof is
satisfactorily reclaimed, in the opinion of the director, at which time the
bond, government securities, or cash or portion thereof shall be terminated or
returned to the mining operator, provided that where a mining operator fails or
refuses to complete any of his responsibilities under a mining land use plan and
the bond, government securities, or cash are consequently recovered upon or
forfeited, the director may expend as he deems appropriate that portion of such
recovered or forfeited funds as is necessary to complete such mining
operator´s responsibilities under the mining land use plan. A mining
operator, upon approval of an amended mining land use plan, shall file with the
director the appropriate bond, government securities, or cash to cover the plan
as amended, unless otherwise exempted from the bonding
requirement."
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"12-4-75.1.
(a)
The division shall provide for monitoring of any privately owned water well
located within four miles of the affected land of any rock quarry for which a
surface mining permit is required under this part, upon the request of the owner
of such well, in order to monitor flow and levels of contaminants that may be
associated with rock quarrying activities. Such monitoring shall be performed
by the division or by a qualified contractor, other than the mining operator,
selected by the division. The division shall provide a written analysis of the
results of such monitoring not less frequently than monthly to the requesting
well owner and to the mining operator. The mining operator shall be liable to
the division for all costs of such monitoring, analysis, and reporting and shall
reimburse the division for the same.
(b)
The flow rate and level of contaminants as reported in the first monthly report
for any well as prepared pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall
be used as a baseline for such statistics. Any subsequent drying up of the well
according to monthly reported flow or increase in levels of monthly reported
contaminants shall be presumed to have been caused by the operator of the rock
quarry for purposes of any administrative action brought by the director against
the quarry operator; and unless such presumption is rebutted by a preponderance
of evidence, such operator shall be subject to a civil penalty, the same as
provided by Code Section 12-5-52 for violations of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of
this title.
(c)
For any rock quarry for which a surface mining permit has been issued under this
part but for which blasting has not commenced, a hydrology study shall be made,
pursuant to the owner´s request, and a baseline report of flows and
contaminants for any well within the area described by subsection (a) of this
Code section shall be performed in the same manner provided by subsection (a) of
this Code section prior to the commencement of blasting.
(d)
Any damage to the person or property of any owner of property adjacent to the
quarry which occurs concurrently with blasting at the quarry shall be rebuttably
presumed to have been caused by such blasting for purposes of any administrative
action brought by the director against the quarry operator and shall cause the
operator of such rock quarry, regardless of what entity performed the blasting,
to be subject to a civil penalty, the same as provided by Code Section
12-4-83."
SECTION
4.
Said
title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 12-4-83,
relating to civil penalties relative to surface mining violations, procedure for
imposing penalties, hearings, judicial review, and disposition of recovered
penalties, as follows:
"(a)
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, any mining operator
violating any provision of this part or any of the rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to this part, or who negligently or intentionally fails or
refuses to comply with any final order of the director of the division, shall be
liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
$1,000.00
$25,000.00
for such violation and an additional civil penalty not to exceed
$500.00
$5,000.00
for each day during which such violation continues."
SECTION
5.
Said
title is further amended by revising the introductory language and paragraphs
(1) and (2) of Code Section 12-7-17, relating to exemptions from certain
provisions for control of soil erosion and sedimentation, as
follows:
"This
chapter shall not apply to the following activities:
(1)
Surface mining, as the same is defined in Code Section
12-4-72,
except for rock quarrying;
(2)
Granite
Dimension
stone quarrying and land clearing for such
quarrying;"
SECTION
6.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
7.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.