An Act To Allow Regulated Metal Mining in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0750
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: CHAPMAN, GRATWICK, CHIPMAN
Amends: 38 MRSA §490-U

Legislative Document 
No. 750 
H.P. 503 
House of Representatives, March 5, 2015 
An Act To Allow Regulated Metal Mining in Maine 
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CHAPMAN of Brooksville. 
Cosponsored by Senator GRATWICK of Penobscot and 
Representative: CHIPMAN of Portland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §490-UU is enacted to read: 
§490-UU.  Moratorium 
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a person may not engage in 
metallic mineral exploration or mining in the State until the department finally adopts 
major substantive rules related to the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act that are 
provisionally adopted and submitted for legislative review in accordance with Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A and that are authorized for final adoption by the Legislature. 
Sec. 2.  Major substantive rulemaking; Department of Environmental 
Protection.  The Department of Environmental Protection shall, by January 1, 2017, 
provisionally adopt and submit to the Legislature for review rules related to the Maine 
Metallic Mineral Mining Act. 
1.  Standards.  The rules adopted pursuant to this section must include standards 
determined by the department to be necessary to protect the public health and safety and 
the environment.  Standards adopted by the department may include, but are not limited 
to, standards regulating effects on groundwater quality, control of noise, preservation of 
historic sites, preservation of unusual natural areas, effects on scenic character and 
protection of wildlife and fisheries.  The department shall ensure that the rules adopted 
pursuant to this section: 
A.  Comply with all applicable federal environmental laws and standards, including 
but not limited to the federal Clean Air Act and the federal Clean Water Act; 
B.  Require that all mining areas be left in or returned to a geologically stable 
condition following remediation and closure; 
C.  Require the permittee to provide a specific plan for ensuring that all mining areas 
will be left in or returned to a geologically stable condition following remediation and 
closure; 
D.  Require the permittee to demonstrate that the environmental quality and security 
of the site will be protected through the use of proven technologies and best available 
practices and require use of these technologies and practices as a permit condition; 
E.  Require that all remediation costs related to a mining area are paid by the 
permittee and not by the State; 
F.  Require that the financial assurance method approved for and financial assurance 
amount required for a permittee be determined by an independent 3rd-party expert 
with a background in mining; 
G.  Prohibit in situ leaching, heap leaching and block caving; 
H.  Prohibit the granting of a permit to an applicant when the applicant or an affiliate, 
subsidiary or parent corporation of the applicant has ever been listed in the World 
Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms & Individuals, has ever abandoned any mining site 
resulting in nonremediable or unremediated environmental or economic damages or 
has ever engaged in any ocean dumping of mining tailings regardless of the legality 
of such dumping; and 
I.  Implement a framework for permitting a mining activity that includes several well-
defined decision points, both prior to the commencement of and during the conduct 
of mining activities, to allow for and require additional review of the permit and 
mining plan by the department, with the department retaining the authority to require 
the amendment of permit conditions or the immediate cessation of previously 
permitted mining activities. 
For the purposes of this section, "geologically stable" means impervious to physical, 
chemical or biological weathering processes that form a toxic metal transport mechanism 
that can create off-site contamination within a period of 1,000 years. 
2.  Maine Land Use Planning Commission certification.  The rules adopted 
pursuant to this section relating to the permitting process for a mining permit must 
provide for Maine Land Use Planning Commission certification pursuant to the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 490-NN, subsection 2 in the initial stages of the 
permitting process. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.  Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8072, subsection 11, the 
department may not finally adopt a provisionally adopted rule or part of a provisionally 
adopted rule submitted pursuant to this section unless legislation authorizing adoption of 
the rule or part of the rule is enacted into law by the First Regular Session of the 128th 
Legislature. 
Sec. 3.  Major substantive rulemaking; Maine Land Use Planning 
Commission certification of mining permit applications.  The Maine Land Use 
Planning Commission shall, by January 1, 2017, provisionally adopt and submit to the 
Legislature for review 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 are major substantive rules as defined in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.  Notwithstanding Title 5, section 
8072, subsection 11, the commission may not finally adopt a provisionally adopted rule 
or part of a provisionally adopted rule submitted pursuant to this section unless legislation 
authorizing adoption of the rule or part of the rule is enacted into law by the First Regular 
Session of the 128th Legislature.   
SUMMARY 
This bill provides for a moratorium on metallic mineral exploration or mining in the 
State.  It directs the Department of Environmental Protection, by January 1, 2017, to 
provisionally adopt and submit for legislative review major substantive rules related to 
the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act.  These rules must: 
1.  Include standards necessary to protect the public health and safety and the 
environment; 
2.  Comply with all applicable federal environmental laws and standards; 
3.  Require that all mining areas be left in or returned to a geologically stable 
condition following remediation and closure; 
4.  Require the permittee to provide a specific plan for ensuring that all mining areas 
will be left in or returned to a geologically stable condition following remediation and 
closure; 
5.  Require the permittee to demonstrate that the environmental quality and security 
of the site will be protected through the use of proven technologies and best available 
practices and require use of these technologies and practices as a permit condition; 
6.  Require that all remediation costs related to a mining area are paid by the 
permittee and not by the State; 
7.  Require that the financial assurance method approved for and the financial 
assurance amount required for a permittee be determined by an independent 3rd-party 
expert with a background in mining; 
8.  Prohibit in situ leaching, heap leaching and block caving; 
9.  Prohibit the granting of a permit to certain applicants; and 
10.  Implement a framework for permitting a mining activity that includes several 
well-defined decision points for the department to conduct additional review of the 
permitted activities. 
The bill provides that the department may not finally adopt the rules unless the 
Legislature authorizes final adoption.  The moratorium remains in effect until the 
Legislature authorizes final adoption of the department's rules and the department finally 
adopts those rules.  The bill also provides for accompanying major substantive 
rulemaking by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission regarding certification of 
mining permit applications.