Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Goals.
Mining shall be conducted on sites that minimize adverse
impacts on natural resources and the public. Separations shall be maintained
between mining areas and adjacent conflicting land uses. All sites shall
incorporate setbacks or separations that are needed to comply with air, water,
and noise pollution standards; local land use regulations; and requirements of
other appropriate authorities.
Subp.
2.
Mining excluded.
Except as allowed under state and federal laws, no mining
shall be conducted within the following:
A. the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness,
as legally described in the Federal Register, volume 45, number 67 (April 4,
1980), with state restrictions specified in Minnesota Statutes, section
84.523,
subdivision 3;
B. Voyageurs
National Park, with state restrictions specified in Minnesota Statutes, section
84B.03,
subdivision 1;
C. state wilderness
areas, with restrictions specified in Minnesota Statutes, section
86A.05,
subdivision 6;
D. Agassiz and
Tamarac National Wilderness areas, and Pipestone and Grand Portage National
monuments;
E. state scientific and
natural areas;
F. within state
peatland scientific and natural areas where such activities would significantly
modify or alter the peatland water levels or flows, peatland water chemistry,
plant or animal species or communities, or natural features of the peatland
scientific and natural areas, except in the event of a national emergency
declared by Congress;
G. calcareous
fens identified in Minnesota Statutes, section
103G.223;
and
H. a state park, except if the
park has been established as a result of its association with mining.
Subp. 3.
Surface disturbance
prohibited.
No mining activities that disturb the surface shall be
allowed within or on the following:
A.
within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mineral Management Corridor,
identified on the Department of Natural Resources map entitled "Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources B.W.C.A.W. Mineral Management Corridor," dated
February 1991, which map is hereby incorporated by reference, is not subject to
frequent change, and is available through the State Law Library;
B. within one-fourth mile of Voyageurs
National Park;
C. within one-fourth
mile of state wilderness areas;
D.
within one-fourth mile of Agassiz and Tamarac National Wilderness areas, and
Pipestone and Grand Portage National monuments;
E. within one-fourth mile of state scientific
and natural areas;
F. within
one-fourth mile of state parks, except surface disturbance shall be allowed if
the park has been established as a result of its association with
mining;
G. within one-fourth mile
of calcareous fens identified under Minnesota Statutes, section
103G.223;
H. on sites designated in the National
Register of Historic Places, except that surface disturbance shall be allowed
if the sites have been established as a result of their association with
mining;
I. on sites designated in
the Registry of State Historic Sites, except surface disturbance shall be
allowed if the sites have been established as a result of their association
with mining;
J. within national
wild, scenic, or recreational river districts of a national wild, scenic, or
recreational river, and within the areas identified by the document, "A
Management Plan for the Upper Mississippi River," produced by the Mississippi
Headwaters Board, dated January 1981, which document is hereby incorporated by
reference, is not subject to frequent change, and is available through the
State Law Library, except underground mining may be permitted in accordance
with the management plans developed for specific national wild, scenic, or
recreational river districts;
K.
within designated state land use districts, of a state wild, scenic, or
recreational river, except underground mining may be permitted in accordance
with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the rules adopted under it;
L. within the area adjacent to the north
shore of Lake Superior identified in the document entitled, "North Shore
Management Plan," produced by the North Shore Management Board, dated December
1988, which document is hereby incorporated by reference, is not subject to
frequent change, and is available through the State Law Library; and
M. on the following areas, provided they were
in existence before the issuance of a permit to mine:
(1) within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling,
public school, church, public institution, or county or municipal park, unless
allowed by the owner; and
(2)
within 100 feet of a cemetery, or the outside right-of-way line of a public
roadway, except where mine access or haul roads cross the
right-of-way.
Subp.
4.
Mining restricted.
Mining shall be conducted in the following areas only if
there is no prudent and feasible siting alternative. If mining is proposed, the
commissioner shall base siting approval decisions on the specific
characteristics and qualities of the natural resources for which the area has
been designated, and the potential impacts that are likely to result. Mining
shall be allowed only if there will be either no adverse impacts on the natural
resources, or provisions acceptable to the commissioner are proposed to either
mitigate adverse effects, or replace, reroute, or in some other manner reclaim
the affected natural resources:
A.
within a national wildlife refuge, a national waterfowl production area, or on
a national trail;
B. within a state
wildlife management area, or on a state designated trail either listed in
Minnesota Statutes, section
85.015, or acquired
under the authority of Minnesota Statutes, section
84.029,
subdivision 2;
C. in peatlands
identified as peatland watershed protection areas in the Department of Natural
Resources report entitled "Protection of Ecologically Significant Peatlands in
Minnesota," dated November 1984, which report is hereby incorporated by
reference, is not subject to frequent change, and is available through the
State Law Library; and
D. within
waters identified in the public waters inventory, conducted under Minnesota
Statutes, section
103G.201,
that have not been created or substantially altered in size by human
activities, and within the adjoining shorelands, as defined in Minnesota
Statutes, section
103F.205, subdivision
4, of the unaltered waters.
Subp.
5.
General siting criteria.
Portions of a mining operation for which there is flexibility
in site selections, such as storage piles, tailings basins, water reservoirs,
processing plants, offices interconnecting roadways, and auxiliary facilities,
shall be sited to the extent practicable so that:
A. impacts on the public and natural
resources due to wind erosion, noise, and air emissions are
minimized;
B. potential injury to
life due to floods, caving, or slope failure is minimized;
C. potential damage to property and natural
resources due to floods, caving, or slope failure is minimized;
D. major modifications of watersheds,
including diversions of surface water and alterations of groundwater levels,
are minimized;
E. runoff and
seepage can be managed to minimize water impacts on surface water and
groundwater;
F. conflicts with
natural and historical heritage sites, identified during environmental review,
are minimized; and
G. former mining
areas are used in preference to areas undisturbed by mining.
Subp. 6.
Wetland
conservation.
Mining activities that result in the draining or filling of
wetlands, identified pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section
103G.005, subdivision
19, shall not be conducted unless the wetlands are replaced by restoring or
creating wetland areas under a replacement plan approved pursuant to part
6132.5300. It must be noted that the replacement plan requires an evaluation of
the affected wetland, including consideration of avoidance and mitigation
techniques, before replacement by restoration or creation can even be
considered.
Statutory Authority: MS s
93.44 to
93.51;
103G.222
