Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1)
The purpose of an environmental evaluation shall be to address specific impacts
of a mining operation in order to allow affected agencies to make decisions on
whether to issue or deny a permit and develop permit conditions. It shall
provide full and fair discussion of significant environmental impacts and shall
inform decision makers and the public of reasonable alternatives that would
avoid or minimize adverse impacts and/or enhance the quality of the human and
natural environment. An environmental evaluation shall focus on significant
environmental issues and alternatives.
(2) For the purposes of this rule, "impacts"
include both direct and indirect impacts:
(a)
"Direct impacts" are those impacts that are caused by the action and occur at
the same time and place as the action;
(b) "Indirect impacts" are those impacts that
are caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance,
but are still reasonably foreseeable.
(3) The Department shall direct staff or hire
a third party contractor to prepare an environmental evaluation. The applicant
shall pay costs of hiring a third party contractor. The scope of the
environmental evaluation shall be determined by the technical review team
following consultation with the project coordinating committee.
(4) An environmental evaluation shall be
completed by Department staff or a third party contractor at least 60 days
before the issuance of any draft permits. Upon receipt of a complete
environmental evaluation, the Department shall provide public notice in
accordance with OAR 632-037-0030 stating that the environmental evaluation is
complete and receive written comments for a period of 14 calendar days after
the notice is given.
(5) A
complete environmental evaluation shall include the following sections:
(a) Impact Analysis;
(b) Cumulative Impact Analysis;
(c) Alternatives Analyses.
(6) Impact Analysis. An impact
analysis shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) An analysis of the reasonably foreseeable
causes and impacts of the proposed mine on the environment, including but not
limited to air, water, soil, vegetation, wildlife and wildlife habitat,
geology, cultural resources and visual resources; and
(b) An analysis of the causes and impacts of
the following types of credible accidents, including the catastrophic
consequences of such accidents even if the probability of occurrence is low,
provided that the analysis is supported by credible scientific evidence and is
not based on pure conjecture:
(A) Releases of
contaminants into the environment as a result of the mine operation or closure;
(B) Precipitation events and other
natural events such as earthquakes that exceed the design standards of the mine
facilities;
(C) Human error;
(D) Fire;
(E) Unplanned detonation of explosives; and
(F) Equipment failures.
(7) Cumulative Impact
Analysis. A cumulative impact analysis shall include an assessment of the total
cumulative impact on the environment that results from the incremental impact
of an action when added with other past, present and reasonably foreseeable
future actions, regardless of the agency or persons that undertake the other
action, or whether the actions are on private, state or federal land:
(a) A cumulative impact analysis shall
include but is not limited to the following:
(A) An identification of those resources for
which an impact could occur from the proposed mining operation that could
potentially combine with the impacts of other past, present or reasonably
foreseeable future actions to produce a cumulative impact;
(B) An identification of past, present and
reasonably foreseeable future actions that may occur in the study area,
including each of the following types of actions:
(i) Similar actions. Actions that, when
viewed with other reasonably foreseeable or proposed actions, have similarities
that provide a basis for evaluating their environmental consequences together,
such as common timing or geography;
(ii) Connected actions. Actions that cannot
or will not proceed unless other actions are taken previously or
simultaneously, or that are interdependent parts of a larger action and rely on
the larger action for their justification;
(iii) Separate actions. Actions that affect
the same environmental resources, including air, vegetation, wildlife and
wildlife habitat, soil, and water resources.
(C) An analysis, by resource category
identified in paragraph (A) of this subsection, of the cumulative impacts of
the proposed mining operation and each of the actions identified in paragraph
(B) of this subsection.
(b) The extent of a cumulative impact
analysis shall be determined by a technical review team. In making such a
determination, the technical review team shall consider the following:
(A) The alternatives considered for the
proposed mining operation;
(B) The
type of environmental impacts that are evaluated in the environmental
evaluation; and
(C) The physical
dimension of the proposed mining operation.
(8) Alternatives Analysis:
(a) An alternatives analysis shall include a
review and analysis of the following:
(A) All
alternatives analyzed by the applicant or applicant's contractor in accordance
with OAR 632-037-0045(6); and
(B)
Any reasonable alternatives identified by the technical review team to ensure
that all alternatives within the authority of each permitting or cooperating
agency are reviewed and analyzed. The alternatives identified by the technical
review team may include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i) Alternative locations for mine
facilities, including heap leach pads, roads, impoundments, ponds, ore storage
areas and waste disposal areas;
(ii) Alternative designs, processes
(including chemical processes), operations and scheduling for mine facilities
and operations, including heap leach pads, roads, impoundments, ponds, ore
storage areas and waste disposal areas;
(iii) Alternative water supply;
(iv) Alternative power supply; and
(v) Alternative reclamation procedures.
(b) The
review and analysis required under subsection (a) of this section shall:
(A) Explore and evaluate the environmental
impacts of all reasonable alternatives, and include a brief discussion of
reasons a particular alternative was eliminated by the applicant;
(B) Include sufficient detail in the
description of each alternative so that affected agencies and the public may
evaluate the comparative merits of each alternative; and
(C) Discuss the systematic procedure used to
arrive at the preferred alternative, including the decision criteria used and
the information considered.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
517.750 - 517.995
Stats. Implemented: ORS
517.978
