An Act To Allow Regulated Metal Mining in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0750
Committee Amendment CA_A_H272 (House)
Amends: 38 MRSA §490-M

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 503, L.D. 750, Bill, "An Act To Allow 
Regulated Metal Mining in Maine" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §490-MM, sub-§§3, 7 and 12, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 
653, §23 and affected by §33, are amended to read: 
3. 
Beneficiation. 
"Beneficiation" means the treatment of ore to liberate or 
concentrate its valuable constituents. "Beneficiation" includes, but is not limited to, 
crushing, grinding, washing, dissolution, crystallization, filtration, sorting, sizing, drying, 
sintering, pelletizing, briquetting, calcining, roasting in preparation for leaching to 
produce a fmal or intermediate product that does not undergo further beneficiation or 
processing, gravity concentration, magnetic separation, electrostatic separation, flotation, 
ion exchange, solvent extraction, electrowinning, precipitation, amalgamation and dump, 
vat, and tank and ifl: situ leaching. 
7. Heap or percolation leaching. "Heap or percolation leaching" means a process 
for the primary purpose of recovering metallic minerals in an outdoor environment from a 
stockpile of crushed or excavated ore by percolating water or a solution through the ore 
and collecting the leachate. "Heap or percolation leaching" includes in situ leaching. 
12. Mining area. "Mining area" means an area of land described in a permit 
application and approved by the department, including but not limited to land from which 
earth material is removed in connection with mining, the lands land on which material 
from that mining is stored or deposited, the lallds land on which beneficiating or 
treatment facilities, including groundwater and surface water management treatment 
systems, are located Of the lands, land on which water reservoirs impoundments used in a 
mining operation are located, including, but not limited to, water storage ponds, 
sedimentation ponds, retention ponds or leachate collection ponds, or any other land on 
which a single mining operation or mining activity is located. Each mining operation or 
mining activity must have a defmed mining area. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
Sec. 2. 
Department of Environmental Protection; approval of final 
adoption. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, the Department of Environmental 
Protection is authorized to fmally adopt Chapter 200: Metallic Mineral Exploration, 
Advanced Exploration and Mining, a provisionally adopted major substantive rule of the 
Department of Environmental Protection that was submitted to the Legislature for review 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A on January 10, 2014 and that was also 
submitted to the Legislature for review on January 9, 2015 only if the following changes 
are made: 
1. The rule must be amended in Section I(B)(I) to prohibit the issuance of a permit 
for a mining operation that includes heap or percolation leaching, in situ leaching or 
block caving; 
2. 
The rule must be amended in Section 2(Q) to amend the definition of 
"beneficiation" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory defmition of 
"beneficiation" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 3; 
3. The rule must be amended in Section 2(VV) to amend the definition of "heap or 
percolation leaching" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of 
"heap or percolation leaching" under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 7; 
4. The rule must be amended in Section 2(GGG) to amend the definition of "mining 
area" as necessary to ensure consistency with the statutory definition of "mining area" 
under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 12; 
5. 
The rule must be amended in Section 2(MMM) to amend the definition of 
"passive treatment system" or "passive treatment" to mean the process of sequentially 
removing metals or acidity, or both, using naturally available energy sources, such as 
topographical gradient, microbial metabolic energy, photosynthesis and chemical energy, 
that does not require power or chemicals after construction and operates successfully over 
its design life with regular but infrequent maintenance; 
6. The rule must be amended in Section 2 to add a definition for "remediation" that 
means the cleanup, removal or containment of contaminants or contamination within a 
mining area or an affected area, including long-term action that stops or substantially 
reduces a release or threat of release of contaminants or contamination that is serious but 
not an immediate threat to public health and safety or the environment, short-term 
immediate actions that address releases of contaminants or contamination that require 
expedited responses and an action involving either a short-term removal action or a long-
term removal response. The rule must provide that remediation activities may include, 
but are not limited to, removing contaminants or contamination, containing or treating 
waste on site and identifying and removing sources of groundwater contamination and 
halting further migration of contaminants; 
7. 
The rule must be amended in Section 9(B)(I)(i)(i) to require, as part of the 
application contents relating to applicant information, a list and explanations of all felony 
convictions and all criminal convictions of environmental or land use laws administered 
by the department, the State, other states, the United States or another country, not just 
those within the 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the application. The rule 
must provide that a list and explanations of civil violations of environmental or land use 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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to 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
laws administered by the department, the State, other states, the United States or another 
country are required only for those civil violations occurring in the 10 years immediately 
preceding the filing of the application. The rule must provide that the department may 
require the applicant to update the list to reflect any felony or criminal convictions or 
civil violations of environmental or land use laws imposed on the applicant, its 
responsible officers or related corporations subsequent to the filing of the application; 
8. The rule must be amended in Section 9(C) to provide that the department shall 
require testing, as part of the baseline site characterization report, to establish a baseline 
for maximum contaminant levels established by the federal Environmental Protection 
Agency, maximum exposure guidelines for drinking water standards established by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention, drinking water standards adopted pursuant to Title 22, section 2611 and 
applicable water quality or licensing standards under Title 38, sections 414-A and 420, 
unless the applicant can demonstrate to the department's satisfaction that testing for 
specific elements, contaminants or conditions under any of these specified water quality 
guidelines and standards is not necessary. To the extent necessary, the rule must be 
amended in Section 22 to provide that the department shall require monitoring, as part of 
the monitoring plan, to ensure maintenance of the baseline for these specified water 
quality guidelines and standards, unless the applicant can demonstrate to the department's 
satisfaction that monitoring for specific elements, contaminants or conditions under any 
of these specified water quality guidelines and standards is not necessary; 
9. The rule must be amended in Section 9(K) to require, as part of the contingency 
plan, a description of the detection and warning systems to be used by the applicant in 
alerting the applicant or the department that an accident or failure listed in Section 
9(K)(1) has occurred; 
to. The rule must be amended in Section to(G)(9) to clarify that access to a potential 
mining site during the application process by any intervenor must be as allowed pursuant 
to an adjudicatory hearing process; 
11. The rule must be amended in Section 11 (A)(2)G) to clarify that a permit may not 
be approved unless the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed mining operation 
will not use heap or percolation leaching, in situ leaching or block caving; 
12. The rule must be amended in Section II(D) to clarify that the department may 
not issue a mining permit if the applicant or any person in a position to control the 
operations of the applicant has documented violations of state or federal land use or 
environmental laws, or documented violations of land use or environmental laws of a 
foreign country, demonstrating that the applicant would not be capable of complying with 
the terms and conditions of a mining permit. The rule must provide that an applicant may 
present evidence of changed conditions or circumstances demonstrating the current 
ability to comply with all permit .terms and conditions notwithstanding any prior 
violations and that if that evidence is sufficient to warrant a finding by the department 
that the applicant is capable of compliance, the department may issue the permit; 
13. The rule must be amended in Section IS(B)(4)(a) to require, as part of the 
information required to support a request to transfer a permit, a list and explanations of all 
felony convictions and all criminal convictions of environmental or land use laws 
administered by the department, the State, other states, the United States or another 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
country, not just those within the 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the request 
to transfer the pennit. 
The rule must provide that a list and explanations of civil 
violations of environmental or land use laws administered by the department, the State, 
other states, the United States or another country are required only for those civil 
violations occurring in the 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the request to 
transfer the pennit. The rule must provide that the department may require the transferee 
to update the list to reflect any felony or criminal convictions or civil violations of 
environmental or land use laws imposed on the transferee, its responsible officers or 
related corporations subsequent to the filing of the request to transfer the pennit; 
14. The rule must be amended in Section 17(A)(7) to require the department to hire 
3rd parties with documented experience in material handling and construction, mining 
costs and financial analysis to analyze and evaluate the proposed terms and conditions of 
financial assurance required for the applicant or permittee; 
15. The rule must be amended in Section 17 to provide that additional fmancial 
assurance is required for a mining operation that includes a tailings impoundment. The 
rule must provide that, as part of the application requirements for a mining operation that 
includes a tailings impoundment, the applicant shall submit the following information: 
information assessing the potential risk for a failure of the tailings impoundment that 
would pose a threat to the public health and safety or the environment; information 
estimating the cost of responding to a failure of the tailings impoundment, including the 
cost of restoring and repairing any damaged public facilities or services and the cost of 
restoring and remediating any damage to the environment resulting from a failure of the 
tailings impoundment; and information projecting the variation over time and, based on 
the size of the tailings impoundment, of the potential costs of a failure of the tailings 
impoundment. The rule must provide for qualified, independent 3rd-party review of the 
application submission materials required for a mining operation that includes a tailings 
impoundment, with the costs of the 3rd-party review to be paid by the applicant. The rule 
must provide that the estimates of the costs of a failure of the tailings impoundment 
provided by the applicant may not include costs to the applicant associated with loss of 
use of the tailings impoundment for operations or the costs of repairing the tailings 
impoundment to restore operations. The rule must require financial assurance in an 
amount determined by the department to be sufficient for the department to respond to, 
restore and remediate any damage to public facilities or services or to the environment 
resulting from the highest cost estimate failure of the tailings impoundment, as based on 
the applicant's cost estimates or as based on information provided by the 3rd-party 
reviewer, and this financial assurance coverage amount must be posted in accordance 
with Section 17 before any tailings may be placed or deposited in the impoundment. The 
rule must provide for administration of this financial assurance in accordance with 
Section 17, including annual adjustment of the financial assurance amount so that the 
amount is sufficient for the department to respond to, restore and remediate any damage 
to public facilities or services or to the environment resulting from the highest cost 
estimate failure of the tailings impoundment in the upcoming year. This rule change 
must be incorporated as necessary in Section 17 and any other affected sections; 
16. The rule must be amended in Section 20(B)(3) to provide that, except as allowed 
under state and federal laws, no mining may be conducted in or on designated lands under 
Title 12, section 598-A, including, but not limited to, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
and public reserved lands, but not including public reserved lots described in Title 12, 
section 1801, subsection 8, paragraph A; 
17. The rule must be amended in Section 20(B)( 4) to provide that the setback from 
the resources listed in Section 20(B)(4) applies to both surface and underground mining; 
18. 
The rule must be amended in Section 20(B)(4) to require a setback, in 
accordance with Section 20(B)(4), from designated lands under Title 12, section 598-A, 
including, but not limited to, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and public reserved 
lands, but not including public reserved lots described in Title 12, section 1801, 
subsection 8, paragraph A; 
19. The rule must be amended in Section 20(D) to provide that the applicant shall 
design, construct, operate and maintain underground mine openings to prevent 
unauthorized entry and, to the extent feasible and practicable, to minimize the risk of 
unacceptable settling, subsidence, voids or caving; 
20. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I) to clarify that the points of 
monitoring and compliance identified in Section 22(B)(I) are to be placed in relation to a 
mining area and not in relation to a mining operation or activity; 
21. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I)(a) to clarify that the language in 
Section 22(B)(I)(a) relates to groundwater monitoring systems; 
22. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(i) to clarify that the language 
in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(i) relates to groundwater monitoring at points of compliance; 
23. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(ii) to clarify that the language 
in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(ii) relates to groundwater monitoring within a mining area and to 
provide that, to the extent technically feasible, the department shall require groundwater 
monitoring within any mining area if the department determines such monitoring to be 
necessary to assess the performance of pollution control measures or the potential for 
contamination as defmed under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 5 outside any 
mining area; 
24. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(iii) to clarify that the language 
in Section 22(B)(I)(a)(iii) relates to groundwater monitoring to determine compliance 
with surface water quality standards and to provide that, to the extent technically feasible, 
the department shall require groundwater monitoring at any location to determine the 
potential for groundwater discharges to surface waters that would cause or contribute to 
nonattainment of applicable water quality criteria. The rule must provide that failure of 
groundwater to meet applicable water quality criteria at points of baseflow discharge 
constitutes contamination as defined under Title 38, section 490-MM, subsection 5; 
25. The rule must be amended in Section 22(B)(I)(b) to clarify that the language in 
Section 22(B)(I)(b) relates to background groundwater monitoring wells. 
The 
department may renumber Section 22(B)(1)(b) as Section 22(B)(I)(a)(iv) and make all 
other necessary changes in Section 22(B)(1) to ensure proper numbering and formatting 
within Section 22(B)(1); 
26. The rule must be amended to provide that wet mine waste units may not be used 
for storage or treatment of mine waste after closure. 
This rule change must be 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A "to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
incorporated as necessary in Section 2(LLLL), Section 9(D)(12), Section 20(0)(2), 
Section 24(A)(3)(d), Section 24(B)(5) and any other affected sections; 
27. The rule must be amended to provide that perpetual treatment means treatment 
for more than 20 years post-closure. This rule change must be incorporated as necessary 
in Section 2(000), Section 9(D)(l2), Section 20(0)(2), Section 24(B)(5) and any other 
affected sections; 
28. 
All necessary corrections must be made to the table of contents so that it 
corresponds with the page numbers and the subchapter, section or subsection titles within 
the rule; 
29. 
All other necessary grammatical, formatting, punctuation or other technical 
nonsubstantive editing changes must be made to the rule, including the removal of 
strikethrough letters or words remaining from prior drafts and edits; and 
30. All other necessary changes must be made to the rule to ensure conformity 
throughout the rule with the specified rule changes directed under this section. 
The Department of Environmental Protection is not required to hold hearings or 
undertake further proceedings prior to final adoption of the rule in accordance with this 
section. 
Sec. 3. Maine Land Use Planning Commission rulemaking; certification 
of mining permit applications. By February 1,2016, the Maine Land Use Planning 
Commission shall adopt rules related to commission certification of metallic mineral 
mining permit applications as described in the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section must include any additional provisions necessary 
to ensure consistency with the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act and rules related to 
the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act adopted by the Department of Environmental 
Protection. Notwithstanding any provision oflaw to the contrary, rules adopted pursuant 
to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
Sec. 4. Metallic Mining Fund; Department of Environmental Protection. 
Any costs to the Department of Environmental Protection associated with implementing 
the directives in section 2 must be drawn from existing funds within the Metallic Mining 
Fund, established by Public Law 2011, chapter 653, section 32.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill and 
authorizes final adoption by the Department of Environmental Protection of Chapter 200: 
Metallic Mineral Exploration, Advanced Exploration and Mining, a provisionally adopted 
major substantive rule of the Department of Environmental Protection that was submitted 
to the Legislature for review on January 10, 2014 and that was also submitted to the 
Legislature for review on January 9, 2015 only if a number of specified changes to the 
rule are made. The amendment also provides for a number of corresponding changes to 
the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act. The amendment also provides for rulemaking 
by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission related to commission certification of 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " 
to H.P. 503, L.D. 750 
metallic mineral mining permit applications as described in the Maine Metallic Mineral 
Mining Act. 
The rules implementing the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act, which are 
authorized for final adoption by this amendment, are intended to allow for the 
commercial mining of metallic minerals in the State under a statutory and regulatory 
framework,that addresses risks and protects and prevents damage to the public health and 
safety and the environment and that ensures that the full cost of closure, reclamation and 
post-closure treatment and monitoring of a permitted mining site, as well as the full cost 
of correction and remediation of an accident or failure at a permitted mining site, are paid 
by the permittee and not by the State. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: OS/28115 
Mac. 
LD750 
LR 1845(02) 
An Act To Allow Regulated Metal Mining in Maine 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment,ill! ( j..\ - ~ 7 J.) 
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium revenue increase - General Fund 
Potential future biennium cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Potential future biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Potential future biennium revenue increase - Municipalities 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill authorizes final adoption of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) mining rules if certain changes 
are m~de to the rule. DEP's costs related to making changes to the rule are expected to be minor and can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. DEP may incur costs in the future related to approving applicants for a mining 
permit and engaging in certain oversight activities. The extent of costs to DEP will depend on the number of 
applicants and the activities they engage in, but these costs are expected to be covered by mining fees. Applicants are 
required to pay an initial processing fee not to exceed $500,000 and an annual license fee between $20,000 and 
$50,000 that will be directed to the Metallic Mining Fund within DEP. No estimate is made at this time on the number 
of mining applicants. Any additional costs to the Maine Land Use Planning Commission for rulemaking are expected 
to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
If applicants are approved, mining excise tax revenues would be received. The revenue would reimburse 
municipalities and unorganized territories for at least 50%, and if sufficiently available 100%, of the property tax 
revenue loss suffered by that municipality or unorganized territory as a result of property tax exemptions created 
under the mining excise tax statute. 25% of any remaining revenues would be paid to DEP for oversight of mining 
activity and 75% would be deposited to the General Fund. No estimate has been made at this time of the amount of 
mining excise tax revenues that might be generated. 
LR1845(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1