Colorado § 34-32-115 - Action by board - appeals.

§ 34-32-115. Action by board - appeals.

(1) Upon receipt of an application for a permit and all fees due from the operator, the board or the office shall set a date for the consideration of such application not more than ninety days after the date of filing. At that time, the board or the office shall approve or deny the application or, for good cause shown, refer the application for a hearing on the question of whether the permit should be granted.

(2) Before holding a hearing as described in subsection (1) of this section, the board or the office shall provide notice to a person who previously filed a protest or petition for a hearing or statement in support of an application pursuant to section 34-32-114 and shall publish notice of the time, date, and location of the hearing on the division website and in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the proposed mining operation once a week for two consecutive weeks immediately prior to the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to article 4 of title 24. A final decision on the application shall be made within one hundred twenty days after the receipt of the application. In the event of complex applications, serious unforeseen circumstances, or significant snow cover on the affected land that prevents a necessary on-site inspection, the board or the office may reasonably extend the maximum time for a final decision by sixty days. In the event of in situ leach mining operations, a final decision on the application shall be made within two hundred forty days.

(3) If action upon the application is not completed within the period specified in subsection (2) of this section, the permit shall be considered to be approved and shall be promptly issued upon presentation by the applicant of a financial warranty in the amount of two thousand dollars per acre affected or such other amount as determined by the board.

(4) The board or the office shall grant a permit to an operator if the application complies with the requirements of this article. The board or the office shall not deny a permit if the operator demonstrates compliance with the following:

(a) The application is complete and the performance and financial warranties have been provided.

(b) The applicant has paid the required fee.

(c) (I) No part of the proposed mining operation, the reclamation program, or the proposed future use is or may be contrary to the laws or regulations of this state or the United States, including but not limited to all federal, state, and local permits, licenses, and approvals, as applicable to the specific operation.

(II) The board may require a statement by the applicant identifying which permits, licenses, and approvals the applicant holds or will be seeking for the proposed mining and reclamation activities.

(d) The mining operation will not adversely affect the stability of any significant, valuable, and permanent manmade structures located within two hundred feet of the affected land, except where there is an agreement between the operator and the persons having an interest in the structure that damage to the structure is to be compensated for by the operator.

(e) Repealed.

(f) The mining operation is not located upon lands:

(I) Where mining operations are prohibited by law or regulation within the boundaries of units of the national park system, the national wildlife refuge system, the national system of trails, the national wilderness preservation system, the wild and scenic rivers system, or national recreation areas;

(II) Which are within or without the boundaries of, and are owned, leased, or have been developed by, any recreational facility established pursuant to article 7 of title 29, C.R.S., unless otherwise authorized by the appropriate governing body or unless the operation will not create any surface disturbance therein;

(III) Which are within the boundaries of, and are owned, leased, or have been developed by, any park and recreation district established pursuant to article 1 of title 32, C.R.S., unless otherwise authorized by the board of directors of the district or unless the operation will not create any surface disturbance therein; and

(IV) That are within the boundaries of any unit of the state park system or any state recreational area in which the entire fee estate is owned by the state of Colorado, unless the mining operation is approved jointly by the board, by the governor, and by the parks and wildlife commission, or unless the operation will not create any surface disturbance therein.

(g) The proposed reclamation plan conforms to the requirements of section 34-32-116.

(h) For designated mining operations, an environmental protection plan has been submitted and conforms to the requirements of sections 34-32-116 and 34-32-116.5.

(5) (a) The board or the office may deny a permit for in situ leach mining operations based on scientific or technical uncertainty about the feasibility of reclamation and shall deny such a permit if the applicant fails to demonstrate that reclamation can and will be accomplished in compliance with this article, including the protection of groundwater and other environmental resources and human health.

(b) The board or the office shall deny a permit for in situ leach mining if the applicant fails to demonstrate by substantial evidence that it will reclaim all affected groundwater for all water quality parameters that are specifically identified in the baseline site characterization, or in the statewide radioactive materials standards or tables 1 through 4 of the basic standards for groundwater as established by the Colorado water quality control commission, to either of the following:

(I) Premining baseline water quality or better, as established by the baseline site characterization conducted pursuant to section 34-32-112.5 (5); or

(II) That quality which meets the statewide radioactive materials standards and the most stringent criteria set forth in tables 1 through 4 of the basic standards for groundwater as established by the Colorado water quality control commission.

(c) The board or the office may deny a permit for in situ leach mining if the existing or reasonably foreseeable potential future uses for any potentially affected groundwater, whether classified or unclassified pursuant to section 25-8-203, C.R.S., include domestic or agricultural uses and the board determines the in situ leach mining will adversely affect the suitability of the groundwater for such uses.

(d) The board or the office may deny or revoke a permit for in situ leach mining if:

(I) The applicant, an affiliate, officer, or director of the applicant, the operator, or the claim holder has demonstrated a pattern of willful violations of the environmental protection requirements of this article, rules promulgated pursuant to this article, a permit issued pursuant to this article, or an analogous law, rule, or permit issued by another state or the United States as disclosed in the application pursuant to section 34-32-112 (2)(i);

(II) (A) Except as specified in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (II), the applicant or any affiliate, officer, or director of the applicant has in the ten years prior to submission of the application violated the environmental protection requirements of this article, rules promulgated pursuant to this article, a permit issued pursuant to this article, or an analogous law, rule, or permit issued by another state or the United States as disclosed in the application pursuant to section 34-32-112 (2)(i).

(B) The board or office may issue or reinstate a permit if the applicant submits proof that the violation referred to in sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) has been corrected or may conditionally issue or reinstate a permit if the violation is in the process of being corrected to the satisfaction of the board or if the applicant submits proof that the applicant has filed and is presently pursuing a direct administrative or judicial appeal to contest the validity of the alleged violation. For purposes of this sub-subparagraph (B), a direct administrative or judicial appeal to contest the validity of the alleged violation shall not include an appeal of an applicant's relationship to an affiliate. If the violation is not successfully abated or if the violation is upheld on appeal, the board or office shall revoke or deny the conditional permit issued or reinstated pursuant to this sub-subparagraph (B).

Source: L. 76: Entire article R&RE, p. 737, § 1, effective July 1. L. 81: (3) and (4)(a) amended, p. 1670, § 8, effective June 19; (4)(f)(III) amended, p. 1627, § 39, effective July 1. L. 88: IP(4) and (4)(g) amended and (4)(e) repealed, pp. 1210, 1215, §§ 10, 16, effective July 1. L. 91: (1), (2), and IP(4) amended, p. 1421, § 4, effective May 6. L. 92: (1), (2), and IP(4) amended, p. 1942, § 40, effective July 1. L. 93: Entire section amended, p. 1182, § 8, effective July 1. L. 2008: (2) amended and (5) added, p. 939, § 6, effective May 20. L. 2012: (4)(f)(IV) amended, (HB 12-1317), ch. 248, p. 1234, § 87, effective June 4. L. 2025: (2) amended, (SB 25-054), ch. 200, p. 890, § 6, effective August 6.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 34-32-117 as it existed prior to 1976.

Cross references: For the short title ("Legacy Mining and Modernization Act") and the legislative declaration in SB 25-054, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 200, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "1974 Land Use Legislation in Colorado", see 51 Den. L. J. 467 (1974). For article, "Oil Shale and Water Quality: The Colorado Prospectus Under Federal, State, and International Law", see 58 Den. L.J. 715 (1981).

Eligibility for permits. Unless the subject land is zoned for mining use or permission for such use is granted by the local government following special use review proceedings, an operator is not eligible to receive a mining permit from the reclamation board. C & M Sand & Gravel v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 673 P.2d 1013 (Colo. App. 1983).

Standards applied to modification by board of its decision. Unless prohibited by statute, a government licensing agency may modify its decision to grant or transfer a permit to rectify errors or to alter its ruling on the basis of newly discovered evidence, but the modification must be for good cause and it must be within any statutory time limits. N.J. Zinc Co. v. Mined Land Reclamation, 738 P.2d 51 (Colo. App. 1987).

Any modification so allowed must be based on facts which could not have been discovered before the original decision was rendered. N.J. Zinc Co. v. Mined Land Reclamation, 738 P.2d 51 (Colo. App. 1987).

The county's ban on the use of toxic or acidic ore-precessing reagents in heap or vat leach applications exceeds its statutory authority in a field the general assembly identified and granted the mined land reclamation board authority to permit and regulate in the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act; therefore, the county ordinance is impliedly preempted by the Act. Colo. Mining Ass'n v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Summit County, 199 P.3d 718 (Colo. 2009).