Opinion ID: 2602087
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: 1993 Amendments to the MLRA

Text: Through specific legislative amendments enacted in 1993, see §§ 34-32-103(3.5), (4.9), -112.5, -116.5, the General Assembly vested the Board with the authority to authorize the use of toxic or acidic chemicals, including cyanide, for mineral extraction in mining operations, under heavily regulated conditions. The General Assembly enacted these amendments in response to an environmental disaster at the Summitville Mine, a 1,400-acre site in Colorado's southern San Juan Mountains. See Aztec Minerals Corp. v. Romer, 940 P.2d 1025, 1027 (Colo.App. 1996). Under its pre-existing authority, the Board had permitted an open-pit gold mine that used a cyanide heap leach method. Id. The mine's system for environmental protection began to fail in 1987, causing the discharge of cyanide and acidic water into nearby ponds and creeks; these discharges ultimately killed nearly all living organisms in a seventeen-mile stretch of the Alamosa River. [5] Id. at 1027-28. The operator of the Summitville Mine declared bankruptcy before cleanup could begin, causing the government and taxpayers to pay for remediation. Id. at 1028. The disaster drew international attention, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ultimately placed the site on the National Priorities List, its register of the nation's most polluted sites. Id. In response to the Summitville disaster, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources convened a group including environmental representatives, mining industry representatives, and Board members to propose changes to the MLRA. That effort developed into Senate Bill 93-247, the purpose of which was to ensure that mining operations utilizing toxic or acidic chemicals would receive increased regulatory oversight under the MLRA. The statutory amendments enacted by Senate Bill 93-247 created a new category of mining operations, Designated Mining Operations. §§ 34-32-103(3.5), -112.5. These include operations utilizing toxic or acidic chemicals, such as cyanide, for extractive metallurgical processing. § 34-32-103(3.5)(a)(I). Pursuant to its statutory authority, see §§ 34-32-103(4.9), -116.5, the Board has promulgated extensive rules governing Designated Mining Operations. See 2 Colo.Code Regs. § 407.1. The statute and its implementing rules require applicants for Designated Mining Operations to submit and obtain approval of an Environmental Protection Plan, see § 34-32-116.5(5), that will protect all areas that have potential to be affected by designated chemicals, toxic or acid-forming materials or acid mine drainage. 2 Colo.Code Regs. § 407.1, Rule 6.4.20. The Environmental Protection Plan must: Fully describe the procedures for the disposal, decommissioning, detoxification or stabilization for all designated chemicals and toxic or acid-forming materials. Specifically describe measures to be taken to prevent any unauthorized release of pollutants to the environment. Include adequate reclamation and closure practices for such designated chemicals, toxic or acid-forming materials and how unauthorized discharge of acid mine drainage will be prevented.