2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 34 - MINERAL RESOURCES (§§ 34-1-100.5 — 34-70-101) › MINES AND MINERALS (§§ 34-20-101 — 34-54-107) › MINED LAND RECLAMATION (§§ 34-32-101 — 34-34-101) › Article 32.5 - COLORADO LAND RECLAMATION ACT FOR THE EXTRACTION OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (§§ 34-32.5-101 — 34-32.5-125) › Section 34-32.5-116 - Duties of operators - reclamation plans

(1)
Every operator to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this article shall perform the reclamation prescribed by the reclamation plan adopted pursuant to this section.
(2)
Reclamation plans shall be based upon provisions for, or satisfactory explanation of, all general requirements for the type of reclamation chosen. The details of the plan shall be appropriate to the type of reclamation necessary to achieve the proposed postmining land use.
(3)
(a)
Each year, on the anniversary date of the permit, an operator shall submit the annual fee specified in section
34-32.5-125
, a report and map showing the extent of current disturbances to affected land, reclamation accomplished to date and during the preceding year, new disturbances that are anticipated to occur during the upcoming year, reclamation that will be performed during the coming year, the dates for the beginning of active operations, and the date active operations ceased for the year, if any.
(b)
Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), an operator who has filed an application pursuant to this article shall submit the annual fee specified in section
34-32.5-125
in addition to the map and plan. Where an operator is late in payment of the annual fee by greater than sixty days, the office shall set the matter for a hearing before the board for permit revocation and forfeiture of the financial warranty.
(4)
Reclamation plans and their implementation are required on all affected lands and shall conform to the following requirements:
(a)
Grading shall be carried on so as to create a final topography appropriate to the final post-extraction land use selected in accordance with paragraph (m) of this subsection (4).
(b)
If earth dams are constructed to impound water, the formation of such impoundments will not damage adjoining property or conflict with water pollution laws, rules, or regulations of the federal government or the state of Colorado or with any local government pollution ordinances.
(c)
An operator shall demonstrate that all mined material disposed of within the affected area and all affected areas to be reclaimed as part of the approved application will not result in any unauthorized release of pollutants to the surface drainage system.
(d)
No unauthorized release of pollutants to groundwater shall occur from any materials mined, handled, or disposed of within the permit area.
(e)
All refuse shall be disposed of in a manner that controls unsightliness or the deleterious effects of such refuse.
(f)
In those areas where revegetation is part of the reclamation plan, land shall be revegetated so that a diverse, effective, and long-lasting vegetative cover is established that is capable of self-regeneration and is at least equal, with respect to the extent of cover, to the natural vegetation of the surrounding area. Species chosen for revegetation shall be compatible for the proposed post-extraction land use and shall be of adequate diversity to establish successful reclamation.
(g)
Where it is necessary to remove overburden to mine the construction material, topsoil shall be removed and segregated from other spoil. If such topsoil is not replaced on a backfill area within a period of time short enough to avoid deterioration of the topsoil, vegetative cover or other means shall be employed so that such topsoil is preserved from wind and water erosion, remains free of contamination, and is in a useable condition for sustaining vegetation when restored during reclamation. If, in the discretion of the board, such topsoil is of insufficient quantity or of poor quality for sustaining vegetation or if other strata can be shown to be more suitable for vegetation requirements, the operator shall remove, segregate, and preserve in a like manner such other strata which are best able to support vegetation.
(h)
Disturbances to the prevailing hydrologic balance of the affected land and of the surrounding area and to the quality and quantity of water in surface and groundwater systems, both during and after the mining operation and during reclamation, shall be minimized. Nothing in this paragraph (h) shall be construed to allow the operator to avoid compliance with other statutory provisions governing well permits and augmentation requirements and replacement plans when applicable.
(i)
Areas outside of the affected land shall be protected from slides or damage occurring during the mining operation and reclamation.
(j)
All surface areas of the affected land, including spoil piles, shall be stabilized and protected so as to effectively control erosion.
(k)
All affected areas to be seeded or to receive transplants shall be seeded or transplanted using reclamation practices and techniques acceptable to the office. Planting methods include seedbed and seed preparation and soil amendments appropriate to the topography, physical and chemical characteristics of soil, and selected plant species adequate to give the best chance for successful reclamation.
(l)
The operator may permit the public to use lands it owns for recreational purposes in accordance with the limited landowner liability law contained in article
41
of title
33
, C.R.S., except in areas where such use is found by the operator to be hazardous or objectionable.
(m)
With respect to all affected land, the operator, in consultation with the landowner where possible subject to the approval of the board, shall determine which parts of the affected land shall be reclaimed for forest, range, crop, horticultural, homesite, recreational, industrial, or other uses, including food, shelter, and ground cover for wildlife. Before approving a new reclamation plan or a change in an existing reclamation plan, the board may confer with the local board of county commissioners and the board of supervisors of the conservation district if the mining operation is within the boundaries of a conservation district.
(n)
If the operator's choice of reclamation is for range, the affected land shall be restored to slopes commensurate with the proposed land use that shall not be too steep to be traversed by livestock. No grazing shall be permitted on reclaimed land until the planting is firmly established. The board, in consultation with the landowner and the local conservation district, if any, shall determine when grazing may start.
(o)
If the operator's choice of reclamation is for agricultural or horticultural crops that normally require the use of farm equipment, the operator shall grade the affected land so the area can be traversed with farm machinery. Preparation for seeding or planting, fertilization, and seeding or planting rates shall be governed by general agricultural and horticultural practices except where research or experience in such operations differs with such practices.
(p)
If the operator's choice of reclamation is for the development of the affected land for homesite, recreational, industrial, or other uses, including food, shelter, and ground cover for wildlife, the minimum requirements necessary for such reclamation shall be agreed upon between the operator and the board.
(q)
(I)
All reclamation requirements required by this section shall be carried to completion with reasonable diligence and conducted concurrently with mining operations to the extent practicable, taking into consideration the mining plan, safety, economics, the availability of equipment and material, and other site-specific conditions relevant and unique to the affected land and the postmining land use. Upon completion of each phase of mining and, in accordance with the reclamation plan, final reclamation of each mining phase shall be completed prior to the expiration of five years after the date the operator advises the board in an annual report that such phase of mining has been completed, unless such period is extended by the board pursuant to section
34-32.5-112
; except that reclamation may be completed in phases and the five-year period may be applied separately to each phase as it commences during the life of the mine.
(II)
No planting shall be required on affected land:
(A)
Used or proposed to be used by the operator for the deposit or disposal of refuse until after the cessation of operations productive of such refuse or proposed for future mining operations;
(B)
Within depressed haulage roads or final cuts while such roads or final cuts are being used or made; or
(C)
Where permanent pools or lakes have been formed.
(III)
No planting of any kind shall be required on affected land so long as the chemical and physical characteristics of the surface and immediately underlying material of such affected land are chemically incompatible with plant growth, deficient in plant nutrients, or composed of sand, gravel, shale, or stone to such an extent as to seriously inhibit plant growth and such condition cannot feasibly be remedied by chemical treatment, fertilization, replacement of overburden, or like measures. When natural weathering and leaching of any of such affected land, over a period of five years after commencement of reclamation, fails to remove the chemical and physical characteristics inhibitory to plant growth or if, at any time within such five-year period, the board determines that any of such affected land is, and during the remainder of said five-year period will be, unplantable, the operator's obligations under the provisions of this article with respect to such affected land may, with the approval of the board, be discharged by reclamation of an equal number of acres of land previously mined and owned by the operator and not otherwise subject to reclamation under this article.
(IV)
With the approval of the board and the owner of the land to be reclaimed, an operator may substitute land previously mined and owned by the operator that is not otherwise subject to reclamation under this article or, in the alternative, with the approval of the board and the owner of the land, reclamation of an equal number of acres of any lands previously excavated or mined but not owned by the operator if the operator has not previously abandoned unreclaimed land affected by mining operations. As an alternative, the board may grant the reclamation of lesser or greater acreage if the cost of reclaiming such acreage is at least equivalent to the cost of reclaiming the original permit lands. If an area is so substituted, the operator shall submit a map of the substituted area conforming to all map requirements in this article. Upon completion of reclamation of the substituted land, the operator shall be relieved of all obligations under this article with respect to the land for which substitution has been permitted.
(r)
A building, or a structure placed on affected land during extraction operations, may remain on the affected land at the option of the operator with the approval of the landowner and the board if such building or structure conforms to local building and zoning codes and is compatible with the postmining land use.
L. 95: Entire article added, p. 1174, § 1, effective July 1. L. 96: (3) amended, p. 180, § 6, effective April 18. L. 2002: (4)(m) and (4)(n) amended, p. 518, § 16, effective July 1.