HF 1029 (LSB 1141HV (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 1029

BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 225)

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for regulation of certain noncoal mine sites, including the reclamation of land above active underground mine sites disturbed by the formation of sinkholes, providing fees, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  208.6  Maps.
   Upon request by the division, the state geologist shall furnish the division with the latest filed maps and extensions of active mine sites pursuant to section 456.11.
    Sec. 2.  Section 208.7, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   208.7  Mining license —— fees and expiration.
   An operator shall not engage in mining as defined by section 208.2 without first obtaining a license from the division. A license shall be issued and renewed upon approval by the division following the submission of a completed application by the operator. An application shall be submitted on a form provided by the division and shall be accompanied by a license fee of fifty seventy-five dollars. Each applicant shall be required to furnish on the form information necessary to identify the applicant. The initial license shall expire on December 31 of the year of issue. An initial license shall be renewed by the division as required by the division. The renewed license shall expire the last day of the second December following the date of issue. The division shall renew a license upon approving an application submitted within thirty days prior to the expiration date. The application for a renewed license must be accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars. A political subdivision shall not be required to pay a license fee.
    Sec. 3.  Section 208.8, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The division may, for repeated or willful for a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, including the violation of a rule adopted or an order issued pursuant to this chapter, initiate an action to suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue a mining license.
    Sec. 4.  Section 208.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  An operator of an active underground mine site shall immediately notify the division of the formation of a sinkhole located at or above the underground mine site.
    Sec. 5.  Section 208.10A, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   Any A person who violates an order issued pursuant to section 208.10 or 208.17A shall be subject to an administrative penalty determined by the division not to exceed five thousand dollars per violation.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  208.17A  Active underground mines.
   1.  The division may adopt rules providing for the reclamation of lands disturbed due to the formation of a sinkhole at or above an active underground mine site required to be registered pursuant to section 208.9. The administrator may issue an emergency remediation order to the operator of the mine requiring immediate restoration. The division shall deliver a copy of the emergency reclamation order to the operator by personal service.
   2.  The division may require the operator to submit to the division for approval a remediation plan or statement affirming that the remediation has been completed in compliance with division requirements.
    Sec. 7.  Section 208.19, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  This section does not apply to the reclamation of an active underground mine site as provided in section 208.17A.
    Sec. 8.  Section 208.20, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   208.20  Extension of time.
   The time for completion of reclamation work may be extended upon presentation by the operator of evidence satisfactory to the division that the reclamation of affected land cannot be completed within the time specified by section 208.17A or 208.19.
    Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  208.24A  Use of single or multiple bonds.
   Regardless of whether an operator posts a number of multiple bonds each for a single mine site or a single bond for multiple mine sites, the total amount of the multiple bonds combined or the single bond shall be applied to cover the costs of completing the reclamation of lands at any one mine site required to be registered pursuant to section 208.9.
    Sec. 10.  Section 456.11, subsection 9, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Abandoned mine Mines.
   a.  When any an underground mine is worked out or is about to be abandoned or indefinitely closed, the operator of the same shall make or cause to be made a completed and extended map of the mine and the result of the same shall be duly extended on all maps of the mine and copies thereof so as to show all excavations and the most advanced workings of the mine, and their exact relation to the boundary or section lines on the surface, and deliver to the state geologist a copy of the completed map.
   b.  When an underground mining site is active, its operator shall provide a current map and current map extensions of the active underground mining site to the state geologist as required by the state geologist. The state geologist shall deliver a copy of the current map and current map extensions to the division of soil conservation and water quality of the department of agriculture and land stewardship as provided in section 208.6.
    Sec. 11.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   BACKGROUND. This bill amends provisions in Code chapter 208 regulating the mining of minerals, including surface mining and underground mining, other than for coal, and provides requirements for the reclamation of lands at the mine site. The provisions are administered and enforced by the division of soil and water conservation (division), an administrative unit of the department of agriculture and land stewardship (Code chapter 159). The provisions regulate a person engaged in and controlling the mining operation (operator). This includes a requirement that the operator be issued a license (Code sections 208.7 and 208.8) and register the mine being operated (Code sections 208.9 and 209.15). The initial license application fee is $50. The license renewal application fee is $20. The registration must be accompanied by a bond or other security. The bonding provisions include requirements for the posting of one bond covering multiple mine sites, and the cancellation or forfeiture of the bond (Code sections 208.23, 208.24, 208.25, 208.26, and 208.28). After the completion of mining operations, the operator must engage in the reclamation of the land disturbed by mining operations, which may include grading, stabilizing, and revegetating the disturbed lands (Code section 208.17). The division may issue an order directing an operator to desist in an activity that constitutes a violation of the Code chapter and a person who violates such an order is subject to an administratively assessed civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation (Code section 208.10A).  Alternatively, the division may notify the attorney general to institute a civil action in district court for injunctive relief and for the assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation.
   BILL’S PROVISIONS. The bill increases the initial license application fee to $75. The bill provides requirements when the operator is actively engaged in mining belowground where land at or above the mine site, required to be registered, has collapsed in the form of a sinkhole. The bill requires the operator to immediately notify the division of the sinkhole. The division may adopt rules providing for the reclamation of lands disturbed due to the formation of a sinkhole at or above an active underground mine site. The division may issue an emergency remediation order to the operator of the mine requiring immediate restoration. The division may also require the operator to submit to the division for approval a remediation plan or statement affirming that the remediation has been completed in compliance with division requirements. The total amount of the combined bonds posted by an operator may be applied to cover the costs of reclaiming land disturbed at any one mine site.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.