2200-2211
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 2200-2211
2200. For the purposes of this chapter, "mine" includes all mineral bearing properties of whatever kind or character, whether underground, or in a quarry or pit, or any other source from which any mineral substance is or may be obtained. 2200.5. For the purposes of this chapter, "lead agency" means the city, county, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or the board that has the principal responsibility for approving a surface mining operation or reclamation plan pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710). 2201. The division shall carry out programs, in cooperation with federal, state, and local government agencies, that will reduce the loss of life and property, and protect the environment, by mitigating geologic hazards. Specific activities to be carried out by the division include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (a) Hazard assessment, including identification and mapping of geologic hazards and estimates of their potential consequences to life, property, and the environment, and likelihood of occurrence. (b) Information and advisory services, including the maintenance of a geologic library, a public education program, maintenance of a geologic data base, review functions, and expert consulting to federal, state, and local government agencies. (c) Emergency response to geologic hazards, including, but not limited to, those related to natural disasters, including monitoring and assessment of anomalous geologic activity, and operation of a clearinghouse for postevent earth science investigations. (d) Development and application of mitigation methods, including identifying state research needs, facilitating needed research, and expediting the application of new research results to public policy and all division activities related to geologic hazards. 2202. The director may do any of the following: (a) (1) Make a collection of typical geological and mineralogical specimens, especially those of economic and commercial importance, and of models, drawings, and descriptions of the mechanical appliances used in mining and metallurgical processes and geology, that collection constituting the museum of the division, which shall be known as the California State Mining and Mineral Museum. (2) For the purpose of ensuring financial support and oversight of the museum, the department, museum staff, and the California State Mining and Mineral Museum Association may take all appropriate measures to encourage donations for support of the museum by individuals, companies, and organizations. These donations shall be collected by the department and deposited in the California State Mining and Mineral Museum Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the money in the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the department for expenditure for the following activities, in the following order of priority: (A) Payment of curation, interpretation services, and administrative costs. (B) Payment of management and visitation enhancement services. (C) Operational costs of the museum. (b) Provide a library of books, reports, and drawings bearing upon the mineral industries, the sciences of mineralogy and geology, and the arts of mining and metallurgy. (c) Preserve and maintain that collection and library as to make them available for reference and examination, and open to public inspection at reasonable hours. (d) Maintain a bureau of information concerning the mineral industries of this state, to consist of that collection and library, and arrange, classify, catalog, and index the data therein contained in a manner that makes the information available to those desiring it. 2203. The State Geologist shall provide all requested and recommended information to the director who shall prepare a report for transmission to the Governor on or before the 15th day of September of each year. The report shall include a section reviewing the status of measures taken in the state to counter geologic hazards and a section reviewing the economic utilization and conservation of the state's mineral resources and problems related thereto pursuant to Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section 2650). 2204. The director may receive on behalf of this state, for the use and benefit of the division, gifts, bequests, devises, and legacies of real or other property and may use the same in accordance with the wishes of the donors. If no instructions are given by the donors, the director shall manage, use, and dispose of the gifts, bequests, and legacies for the best interests of the division and in such manner as the director may determine to be proper. 2205. (a) The State Geologist may do all of the following: (1) Make, facilitate, and encourage special studies of the mineral resources, mineral industries, and geology of the state. (2) Collect statistics concerning the occurrence and production of the economically important minerals and the methods pursued in making their valuable constituents available for commercial use. (3) Conduct, with governmental and nongovernmental entities, geological investigations, studies, and other activities for purposes, including, but not limited to, the timely identification, delineation, and assessment of geological hazards and their potential consequences. (4) Identify and delineate deposits of mineral raw materials in order to prevent their loss to urban encroachment and to assist in their ultimate utilization; and enter into, as the need arises, cooperative agreements, for geological or mineral industry investigations, with cities, cities and counties, counties, federal agencies, and universities that may provide for cost-sharing or cooperative funding. (5) Maintain a laboratory to provide support to the division staff and to conduct other investigations in the line of physical and chemical testing and analysis and mineral identification as may be required in the execution of the plans and operations of the division under this chapter. (6) Issue from time to time reports and maps concerning the geology of the state and the statistics and technology of the mineral industries of the state, including results of investigations in mineral resources conservation practices, the use and recycling of scrap mineral products, the control, disposal, reclamation, and utilization of mining and mineral processing waste products, and the reclamation of mined lands. (7) Conduct, with cities or counties, other state agencies, universities, federal agencies, or private industry, investigations in mining and metallurgy, including the use and recycling of scrap mineral products, and land use practices as these apply to mineral resources conservation, and enter into, as the need arises, cooperative or contractual agreements for those investigations that may provide for cost-sharing or cooperative funding. (8) Conduct, with cities and counties, other state agencies, universities, federal agencies, or private industry, investigations in the study and development of methods for the control, disposal, reclamation, and utilization of mining and mineral processing waste products and the reclamation of mined lands, and enter into, as the need arises, cooperative or contractual agreements for those investigations that may provide for cost-sharing or cooperative funding. (9) Enter into, as the need arises, agreements including, but not limited to, contracts, grant agreements, and cooperative agreements, with governmental and nongovernmental entities that may provide funding for activities of the California Geological Survey and for the activities of the department that are directly related to the activities of the California Geological Survey. Activities that may be funded include, but are not limited to, technical, analytic, and research services related to geologic hazards and resources that the California Geological Survey may provide directly to those entities. (b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Governmental entities" include, but are not limited to, cities, counties, special districts, school districts, state agencies, federal agencies, public hospitals, colleges, and universities. (2) "Nongovernmental entities" include, but are not limited to, private academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private hospitals. 2205.1. None of the provisions of Division 1 (commencing with Section 501) or this division shall be construed as abridging the authorized geologic functions of other state agencies. 2206. The State Geologist may prepare a special collection of ores and minerals of California to be sent to or used at any world's fair or exposition in order to display the mineral wealth of the State. 2206.1. Notwithstanding Section 14670 of the Government Code, subject to the approval of the Director of General Services, the State Geologist may lease, for a period not to exceed 20 years, collections of ores and minerals of California for the public benefit. 2207. (a) The owner or the operator of a mining operation within the state shall forward to the director annually, not later than a date established by the director, upon forms approved by the board from time to time, a report that identifies all of the following: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person, company, or other owner of the mining operation. (2) The name, address, and telephone number of a designated agent who resides in this state, and who will receive and accept service of all orders, notices, and processes of the lead agency, board, director, or court. (3) The location of the mining operation, its name, its mine number as issued by the Bureau of Mines or the director, its section, township, range, latitude, longitude, and approximate boundaries of the mining operation marked on a United States Geological Survey 7 1/2-minute or 15-minute quadrangle map. (4) The lead agency. (5) The approval date of the mining operation's reclamation plan. (6) The mining operation's status as active, idle, reclaimed, or in the process of being reclaimed. (7) The commodities produced by the mine and the type of mining operation. (8) Proof of annual inspection by the lead agency. (9) Proof of financial assurances. (10) Ownership of the property, including government agencies, if applicable, by the assessor's parcel number, and total assessed value of the mining operation. (11) The approximate permitted size of the mining operation subject to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710), in acres. (12) The approximate total acreage of land newly disturbed by the mining operation during the previous calendar year. (13) The approximate total of disturbed acreage reclaimed during the previous calendar year. (14) The approximate total unreclaimed disturbed acreage remaining as of the end of the calendar year. (15) The total production for each mineral commodity produced during the previous year. (16) A copy of any approved reclamation plan and any amendments or conditions of approval to any existing reclamation plan approved by the lead agency. (b) (1) Every year, not later than the date established by the director, the person submitting the report pursuant to subdivision (a) shall forward to the lead agency, upon forms furnished by the board, a report that provides all of the information specified in paragraphs (1) to (16), inclusive, of subdivision (a). (2) The owner or operator of a mining operation shall allow access to the property to any governmental agency or the agent of any company providing financial assurances in connection with the reclamation plan, in order that the reclamation can be carried out by the entity or company, in accordance with the provisions of the reclamation plan. (c) Subsequent reports shall include only changes in the information submitted for the items described in subdivision (a), except that, instead of the approved reclamation plan, the reports shall include any reclamation plan amendments approved during the previous year. The reports shall state whether review of a reclamation plan, financial assurances, or an interim management plan is pending under subdivision (b), (c), (d), or (h) of Section 2770, or whether an appeal before the board or lead agency governing body is pending under subdivision (e) or (h) of Section 2770. The director shall notify the person submitting the report and the owner's designated agent in writing that the report and the fee required pursuant to subdivision (d) have been received, specify the mining operation's mine number if one has not been issued by the Bureau of Mines, and notify the person and agent of any deficiencies in the report within 90 days of receipt. That person or agent shall have 30 days from receipt of the notification to correct the noted deficiencies and forward the revised reports to the director and the lead agency. Any person who fails to comply with this section, or knowingly provides incorrect or false information in reports required by this section, may be subject to an administrative penalty as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 2774.1. (d) (1) The board shall impose, by regulation, pursuant to paragraph (2), an annual reporting fee on, and method for collecting annual fees from, each active or idle mining operation. The maximum fee for any single mining operation may not exceed four thousand dollars ($4,000) annually and may not be less than one hundred dollars ($100) annually, as adjusted for the cost of living as measured by the California Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, calendar year averages, using the percentage change in the previous year, beginning with the 2005-06 fiscal year and annually thereafter. (2) (A) The board shall adopt, by regulation, a schedule of fees authorized under paragraph (1) to cover the department's cost in carrying out this section and Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710), as reflected in the Governor's Budget, and may adopt those regulations as emergency regulations. In establishing the schedule of fees to be paid by each active and idle mining operation, the fees shall be calculated on an equitable basis reflecting the size and type of operation. The board shall also consider the total assessed value of the mining operation, the acreage disturbed by mining activities, and the acreage subject to the reclamation plan. (B) Regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be adopted by the board in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of any emergency regulations pursuant to this subdivision shall be considered necessary to address an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. (3) The total revenue generated by the reporting fees may not exceed, and may be less than, the amount of three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000), as adjusted for the cost of living as measured by the California Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, calendar year averages, using the percentage change in the previous year, beginning with the 2005-06 fiscal year and annually thereafter. If the director determines that the revenue collected during the preceding fiscal year was greater or less than the cost to operate the program, the board shall adjust the fees to compensate for the overcollection or undercollection of revenues. (4) (A) The reporting fees established pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Mine Reclamation Account, which is hereby created. Any fees, penalties, interest, fines, or charges collected by the director or board pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710) shall be deposited in the Mine Reclamation Account. The money in the account shall be available to the department and board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of carrying out this section and complying with Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710), which includes, but is not limited to, classification and designation of areas with mineral resources of statewide or regional significance, reclamation plan and financial assurance review, mine inspection, and enforcement. (B) (i) In addition to reporting fees, the board shall collect five dollars ($5) per ounce of gold and ten cents ($0.10) per ounce of silver mined within the state and shall deposit the fees collected in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Minerals Fund Subaccount, which is hereby created in the Mine Reclamation Account. The department may expend the moneys in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for only the purposes of Section 2796.5 and as authorized herein for the remediation of abandoned mines. (ii) Notwithstanding subdivision (j) of Section 2796.5, fees collected pursuant to clause (i) may also be used to remediate features of historic abandoned mines and lands that they impact. For the purposes of this section, historic abandoned mines are mines for which operations have been conducted before January 1, 1976, and include, but are not limited to, historic gold and silver mines. (5) In case of late payment of the reporting fee, a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or 10 percent of the amount due, whichever is greater, plus interest at the rate of 1 1/2 percent per month, computed from the delinquent date of the assessment until and including the date of payment, shall be assessed. New mining operations that have not submitted a report shall submit a report prior to commencement of operations. The new operation shall submit its fee according to the reasonable fee schedule adopted by the board, and the month that the report is received shall become that operation's anniversary month. (e) The lead agency, or the board when acting as the lead agency, may impose a fee upon each mining operation to cover the reasonable costs incurred in implementing this chapter and Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 2710). (f) For purposes of this section, "mining operation" means a mining operation of any kind or character whatever in this state, including, but not limited to, a mining operation that is classified as a "surface mining operation" as defined in Section 2735, unless excepted by Section 2714. For the purposes of fee collections only, "mining operation" may include one or more mines operated by a single operator or mining company on one or more sites, if the total annual combined mineral production for all sites is less than 100 troy ounces for precious metals, if precious metals are the primary mineral commodity produced, or less than 100,000 short tons if the primary mineral commodity produced is not precious metals. (g) Any information in reports submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) that includes or otherwise indicates the total mineral production, reserves, or rate of depletion of any mining operation may not be disclosed to any member of the public, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 6252 of the Government Code. Other portions of the reports are public records unless excepted by statute. Statistical bulletins based on these reports and published under Section 2205 shall be compiled to show, for the state as a whole and separately for each lead agency, the total of each mineral produced therein. In order not to disclose the production, reserves, or rate of depletion from any identifiable mining operation, no production figure shall be published or otherwise disclosed unless that figure is the aggregated production of not less than three mining operations. If the production figure for any lead agency would disclose the production, reserves, or rate of depletion of less than three mining operations or otherwise permit the reasonable inference of the production, reserves, or rate of depletion of any identifiable mining operation, that figure shall be combined with the same figure of not less than two other lead agencies without regard to the location of the lead agencies. The bulletin shall be published annually by June 30 or as soon thereafter as practicable. (h) The approval of a form by the board pursuant to this section is not the adoption of a regulation for purposes of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and is not subject to that chapter. 2207.1. A manufacturer or processor, at his option, may upon request report to the State Geologist data on consumption or utilization of mineral materials. Such reports shall be confidential. Publications issued as commodity or marketing studies under the provisions of Section 2205 of this code may contain figures from such reports, provided that these figures are presented so as not to disclose the consumption or utilization of minerals by any user. 2208. The director or a qualified assistant may at any time enter or examine any and all mines, quarries, wells, mills, reduction works, refining works, and other mineral properties or working plants in this state in order to gather data to comply with the provisions of this chapter. 2209. The director may fix a price upon and dispose of to the public all publications of the division, including reports, bulletins, maps, registers, or other publications. The price shall approximate the cost of publication and distribution. The director may also furnish the publications of the division to public libraries without cost and may exchange publications with geological surveys, scientific societies, and other like bodies. 2210. All money received by the division from sales of publications issued by the division shall be deposited at least once each month in the State treasury to the credit of the General Fund. 2211. The department is the primary state agency responsible for geologic hazard review and investigation, including, but not limited to, investigation of geologic hazards that may occur in relation to natural disasters. In that capacity, the department is responsible for the seismological, geological, and strong motion aspects of earthquake and other geological hazards investigations.