Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION › Subchapter 17.24.1 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Montana Hard Rock Mining Reclamation Act › Rule 17.24.187 - SMALL MINER METAL LEACHING SOLVENT OR REAGENT OPERATING PLANS

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) An application for a small miner cyanide
				or other metal leaching solvent or reagent processing facility permit must
				include the following information for construction and operation of the
				facility:
(a) appropriate maps showing the
				location of the mine and support facilities, cyanide or other metal leaching
				solvent or reagent-processing facilities, permit boundaries, and perennial
				streams;
(b) the average and
				maximum tonnage/day and per year of ore to be processed and the amount of
				tailings to be generated;
(c) a
				narrative description of the precious metal recovery process;
(d) number, size and location of any proposed
				leach pads and ponds, and ore and tailings piles associated with
				processing;
(e) leach pad, pond,
				and waste facility designs;
(f) a
				plan for a leak detection system, including a program and schedule of
				monitoring for possible leakage which monitors pH, electrical conductivity
				(EC), cyanide as weak acid dissociable (WAD), other metal leaching solvents or
				reagents as appropriate, and other constituent levels, for those constituents
				appropriate to the type of processing proposed;
(g) a remedial action plan for controlling
				and mitigating discharges to surface waters;
(h) a description of the amount of make-up
				water required to operate the plant for ore processing;
(i) a plan for disposal of debris generated
				by clearing, grubbing and logging ensuring that the debris does not impact
				water quality or water flow;
(j)
				sediment and erosion controls for surface disturbances related to cyanide
				processing facilities;
(k) a road
				design and construction plan that provides controlled drainage, including
				location and number of culverts, waterbars, and slash filters;
(l) design for and map of adequate berms for
				placement around diversion ditches and live streams to prevent water quality
				degeneration and erosion of disturbed areas;
(m) a plan for stabilization of disturbed
				stream banks to assure that they will not be left in an erosive
				condition;
(n) a plan to salvage
				and stockpile soil from all areas to be disturbed by cyanide processing
				facilities, including stockpiles and wastepiles;
(o) design and construction plans for
				diversions and sediment impoundments to pass the ten-year, 24-hour
				precipitation event. A diversion must be constructed with drop structures, or
				energy dissipators if necessary to prevent erosion. Diversion ditch berms must
				be sloped to account for site-specific conditions, including soils, climate,
				height of structure, and existing natural slopes and must be revegetated,
				riprapped, or otherwise stabilized to prevent stream sedimentation;
(p) a plan for disposal of liquid and solid
				wastes which includes identification and application areas and the necessary
				discharge permits;
(q)
				end-of-season procedures for shutdown of the cyanide processing
				facility;
(r) a plan for prevention
				of damage to or for documentation of any significant historic, cultural,
				archeological and paleontologic feature within the permit areas on state and
				federal lands;
(s) identification
				and preliminary evaluation of reasonably feasible alternative facility
				sites;
(t) a commitment to comply
				with the operational requirements of this rule;
(u) a map of monitoring site locations which
				also identifies well depth;
(v)
				well logs for those wells identified in (u) above; and
(w) a commitment to avoid perennial streams
				wherever possible; and
(x) for
				facilities that are exposed to precipitation flows and that carry cyanidated or
				other metal leaching solvent or reagent solution, a plan that provides for
				adequate passage of a 50-year 24-hour storm even flow; and
(y) a plan for preventing wildlife access to
				facilities with cyanidated or other metal leaching solvent or reagent
				solutions.