2 Colo. Code Regs. § 407-4-5

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 20, October 25, 2024

Rule 2 CCR 407-4-5 - EXPLORATION OPERATIONS

5.1 NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONDUCT EXPLORATION OPERATIONS

5.1.1General Provisions

Any person desiring to conduct exploration shall, prior to entry upon the land, file with the Office a Notice of Intent to Conduct Exploration on a form provided by the Board.

5.1.2Application Requirements

Such notice form shall contain the following:

(a) date of filing of the Notice of Intent;

(b) the name, address, and telephone number of the Person conducting exploration;

(c) the name address, and telephone number of the a person to contact concerning the information in the NOI and reclamation of lands affected by exploration;

(d) a description of lands, including:

(i) the site name, if applicable;

(ii) the location, by each quarter section, section, township and range;

(iii) where Public Land is involved, specify the land management agency, mailing address and telephone number;

(iv) the estimated acreage of land surface to be affected by the exploration activities to include areas affected by access along routes for which reclamation is the responsibility of the Person conducting exploration; and

(v) a U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute quadrangle, or similar map of adequate scale, that:

(A) identifies the proposed exploration site(s) or activity areas involving surface disturbance. Activity areas may include all drill holes, mud pits, excavations, trenches, and explorations roads; and

(B) includes sufficient detail to identify and locate all known exploration features and facilities that may be affected and those that are not anticipated to be affected. This includes the location of all drill holes, mud pits, excavations, trenches, and exploration roads.

(vi) provide documentation of the legal right to enter to conduct exploration and reclamation, for Owners of Record described in Rule 1.6.2 . This may include a copy of a lease, deed, abstract of title, a current tax receipt, or a signed statement by the Landowner and acknowledged by a Notary Public stating that the Person conducting exploration has legal right to enter to conduct exploration and reclamation.

(e) the approximate date of anticipated commencement and the date of completion of the above described exploration activity. Completion of activities and commencement of reclamation shall not exceed five (5) years unless approved by the Office or Board;

(f) a narrative description of the methods to be used to conduct the exploration operation, including, but not limited to, the types and uses of equipment, drilling, road or other access route construction, excavations, and other site disturbance activities;

(g) the measures to be taken to reclaim any affected land consistent with the applicable requirements of Rule 3.1 . Such reclamation must be completed within five (5) years of the completion of exploration activities notice provided for in Rule 5.6;

(h) a statement that exploration will be conducted pursuant to the terms and conditions listed on the approved form; and

(i) an application fee as specified in Section 34-32.5-125(a)(IX), C.R.S.

5.1.3Office Review

Upon receipt by the Office of a NOI to Conduct Exploration, the Office shall timely notify the Person conducting exploration, in writing, of receipt of the NOI.

(a) Review of a NOI and associated Financial Warranty information is required by the Office within twenty (20) working days of receipt by the Office. If the Person conducting exploration has not been notified of any deficiencies of the NOI form or Financial Warranty by the Office within twenty (20) working days of receipt by the Office of the NOI, exploration operations may commence. For activities on BLM or USFS lands, the twenty (20) working day period begins when the Office has received notification from the appropriate federal land management agency that they have received the notice of proposed activities, or the Office has otherwise determined that the appropriate federal land management agency has received the notice.

(b) If the Office has notified the Person conducting exploration within twenty (20) working days of receipt of a NOI that it has not been filed in accordance with Rule 5.3, has been deemed complex, or of deficiencies in the Financial Warranty, the Person conducting exploration shall address all identified deficiencies or complexities within sixty (60) days of the Office notification. If the NOI deficiencies or Construction Materials Rule 5 complexities are not addressed within sixty (60) days, the Office may terminate the NOI file. The Office shall notify the Person conducting exploration of such termination.

(c)

(i) The Office shall send notice of its decision on a NOI to the Person conducting exploration;

(ii) A prospective Person conducting exploration may appeal an Office determination within five (5) business days from the date the Office sends notice of its decision;

(iii) The Board shall hear any such appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least ten (10) calendar days from the date of such appeal; and

(iv) The Office's determination shall not take effect until the expiration of the five (5) business days allowed for an appeal, or, in the case of an appeal, until the Board issues its decision.

5.2CONFIDENTIALITY

5.2.1Notice, Not a Matter of Public Record

All information provided the Office in a Notice of Intent to Conduct Exploration shall be protected as confidential information by the Board and not be a matter of public record in the absence of written release from the Operator or upon a finding by the Board that reclamation is satisfactory, whichever may first occur.

5.2.2Permanently Confidential

Pursuant to Sections 34-32.5-113(3) and 34-32.5-113(7)(c) and (d), C.R.S. 1984, as amended, all information contained within the temporary and final reports, required in accordance with Rules 5.4.3 and 5.6.1 shall remain permanently confidential.

5.3TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR EXPLORATION OPERATIONS

5.3.1 Protection of Surface Areas

The Exploration Operations described in this notice will be conducted in such a manner as to minimize surface disturbances. In addition to the measures required in Rules 5 and 3.1, precautions to be taken include:

(a) confinement of operations to areas near existing roads or trails where practicable;

(b) drilling shall be conducted in such a way as to prevent cuttings and fluids from directly entering any dry or flowing stream channels;

(c) timely abandonment of drill holes upon completion as required by Rule 5.4;

(d) reclamation of affected lands upon completion of operations or phases of an operation; and

(e) backfilling and revegetating any pits.

5.3.2 Protection of Wildlife

The Exploration Operation shall be conducted as to minimize adverse effects upon wildlife.

5.3.3Financial Warranty

(1) Upon filing the Notice of Intent to Conduct Exploration, the person shall provide Financial Warranty in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per acre of the land to be disturbed, or such other amount as determined by the Office, based on the projected costs of reclamation.

(2) A person may submit statewide Warranties for exploration if Warranties are in an amount fixed by the Office, based on the projected costs of reclamation, and such person otherwise complies with the provisions of this Rule for every area to be explored. (Further information on Performance and Financial Warranty procedures may be found in Rule 4.)

5.3.4Notice of Completion of Exploration Prior to Initiating Reclamation

(1) Upon completion of the exploration, there shall be submitted to the Office a Notice of Completion of Exploration Operations.

(2) Within ninety (90) days after the submittal of the Notice of Completion the Office shall notify the person who had conducted the Exploration Operations of the steps necessary to reclaim the land. (In most cases, this will simply involve a conference to discuss the Reclamation Plans outlined in the Notice of Intent that was previously submitted by that person.)

5.3.5Post-Reclamation- Inspection and Release of Warranties

(1) The Office shall inspect the lands explored within ninety (90) days after the Person conducting exploration on the lands submits a Reclamation Report and request for reclamation responsibility release, meeting the requirements of Rule 4.16.1, including permanent abandonment of all exploration drill holes as required by Rule 5.4.2 or 5.4.5 . If the Office finds the reclamation satisfactory, the Office shall release the applicable Performance and Financial Warranties.

(2) The Financial Warranty shall not be held for more than sixty (60) days after the date the Office determines that reclamation has been completed satisfactorily (including permanent abandonment of all exploration drill holes).

5.3.6Compliance with State and Federal Laws

All Exploration Operations shall be conducted in such a manner as to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, air and water quality laws and regulations, the Act, and these Rules and Regulations.

5.4ABANDONMENT OF EXPLORATION DRILL HOLES

5.4.1 General Provisions

(1) Without regard to any exemptions from reclamation responsibility described in or authorized under Rule 1.(13) or any other provision of the Act or these Rules, all drill holes sunk (drilled) for the purpose of exploration for locatable or leasable minerals shall be permanently plugged, sealed or capped pursuant to the requirements of this Rule immediately following the drilling of the hole and the collection of drill hole information; unless provision is made pursuant to Rule 5.4.3 to temporarily abandon the hole, pursuant to Rule 5.4.4 to maintain the hole for purposes of monitoring, or pursuant to Rule 5.4.5 to convert the hole to a water well.

(2) This Rule shall not apply to holes drilled within the affected area in conjunction with a mining operation for which the Board or Office has issued a permit, nor to wells or holes drilled for the purposes of coal exploration, exploration or removal of oil and gas, nor to geothermal wells or water wells, nor to holes drilled from within underground mine workings. For purposes of this Rule, "permanent abandonment" of a exploration drill hole shall be defined as abandonment in conformance with the requirements of Rule 5.4.2 or 5.4.5, or inclusion within the permit boundary of a mining operation for which the Board or Office has issued a Permit.

(3) Permanent abandonment shall be attested by the submission of a final report, as described in Rule 5.6.

5.4.2Permanent Abandonment of Exploration Drill Holes

(1) Any drill hole which evidences artesian flow of groundwater to the surface shall be plugged with neat cement grout, or a similar material sufficient to prevent such artesian flow, as approved by the Office. The Operator should exercise care in evaluating the existence of artesian flow in fluid or mud-drilled holes, in which artesian flow may be temporarily inhibited by the presence of the drilling fluid or mud.

(2) Any drill hole which encounters an aquifer in consolidated rock formations, shall be sealed, utilizing a high-quality sodium bentonite-type gel, specifically developed for use as an abandonment fluid, or an equivalent material or technique as approved by the Office.

(3) Any drill hole limited to unconsolidated material and less than ten (10) feet of penetration into bedrock, shall be backfilled with materials removed from the drill hole, or an equivalent material or technique as approved by the Office. If the materials removed from the hole during drilling are inadequate to backfill the drill hole, materials representative of the undisturbed unconsolidated materials shall be backfilled into the drill hole.

(4) Any drill hole that penetrates saturated unconsolidated materials and continues more than ten (10) feet into bedrock shall be abandoned in a manner sufficient to prevent inter-mixture of aquifers.

(5) Any drill hole that penetrates unsaturated unconsolidated materials and continues deeper than ten (10) feet into bedrock, but does not encounter an aquifer, shall be securely capped, as approved by the Office.

(6) The Operator conducting the exploration shall submit to the Director of the Office a copy of the final report required under Rule 5.6.

5.4.3Temporary Abandonment of Exploration Drill Holes

An exploration drill hole may be temporarily abandoned without being permanently plugged or sealed. However, no drill hole which is to be temporarily abandoned without being plugged or sealed shall be left in such a condition as to allow fluid communication between aquifers, consistent with the Rules and Regulation for Water Well Construction, Pump Installation, and Monitoring and Observation Hole/Well Construction ("Water Well Construction Rules"), 2 CCR 402-2, and specifically Rules 10.1 and 10.4.5 of the Water Well Construction Rules, and their applicable subsection therein. Such temporarily abandoned drilled holes shall be securely capped in a manner which prevents unauthorized entry and injury to persons and animals. (Copies of the above-referenced Rule may be reviewed at the Office during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) on working days. Contact the Minerals Program Supervisor at the Office address. The Water Well Construction Rules are also available from the Board of Examiners of Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Contractors ("Board of Examiners") at the Division of Water Resources or can be viewed and obtained at the Board of Examiners' web site at www.boe.state.co.us)

5.4.4Conversions to a Monitoring Well

An exploration drill hole may be converted to a monitoring well for the purpose of groundwater or geophysical monitoring, if the Operator conducting the exploration:

(a) has obtained the necessary permit from the State Engineer (Division of Water Resources);

(b) cases and seals the drill hole in accordance with the requirements of the Water Well Construction;

(c) caps the drill hole to prevent unauthorized entry and injury to persons and animals; and

(d) submits to the Office a copy of the "Well Construction and Test Report" submitted to the Division of Water Resources describing the method and materials used in casing and sealing the drill hole to prevent commingling of aquifer waters.

5.4.5Use as, or Conversion to, a Water Well

(1) If any exploration drill hole or monitoring well will ultimately be used as, or converted to, a water well:

(a) the user of the water well must have obtained an approved well permit from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, in accordance with Articles 90, 91 and 92 of Title 37, C.R.S.; and

(b) the Operator conducting the exploration shall submit to the Office the permanent abandonment report required by Rule 5.6 with an attached copy of the completely executed "Well Construction and Report," submitted to the Colorado Division of Water Resources as required by the Board of Examiners of the Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Contractors.

(i) The Operator need not complete those portions of the permanent abandonment report which duplicate information contained on the "Well Construction and Test Report."

(2) The user of the water well may assume the Operator's responsibility for maintenance of the temporary abandonment and completion of the permanent abandonment of a exploration drill hole or monitoring well proposed to be converted to a water well, if the following requirements are satisfied:

(a) the user of the water well must submit a copy of the completely executed well permit to the Mined Land Reclamation Office; and

(b) the user of the water well and the Operator conducting the exploration must submit a completely executed "Request for Transfer of Responsibility for Abandonment of a Exploration Drill Hole Converted to a Water Well" to the Office.

5.5 SURFACE RECLAMATION

5.5.1 General Requirements

All lands affected by drilling must be reclaimed to a condition appropriate for the land use existing prior to exploration, or other beneficial use, upon completion of exploration.

5.5.2Specific Requirements

This reclamation shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) trash must be removed from the site;

(b) vegetation cleared from the site must be properly disposed of or dispersed;

(c) drill cuttings must be spread to a depth no greater than one-half (1/2) inch or buried in an approved disposal pit;

(d) mud pits, excavations, trenches, or other disturbance shall be backfilled and graded to blend with the surrounding land surface;

(e) if vegetative cover was destroyed, an appropriate seed mix shall be used in the first normal period favorable for planting;

(f) if necessary to assure successful revegetation, the drill site area shall be scarified, mulched and the seed covered; and

(g) reclamation shall be completed in accordance with all applicable requirements of Rule 3.1.

5.6FINAL REPORT

5.6.1 General Requirements

(1) No later than sixty (60) days after the completion of the abandonment of any drill hole which has artesian flow at the surface, or no later than twelve (12) months after the completion of the abandonment of any other drill holes, the Operator conducting the exploration shall submit to the Director of the Office a report containing:

(a) the date of completion of abandonment;

(b) the location of such hole:

(i) for holes having artesian flow at the surface, within two hundred (200) feet of its actual location; or

(ii) for all other holes, to the nearest forty (40) acre subdivision.

(c) For holes having artesian flow at the surface, the estimated rate of flow (if such is known); and

(d) a description of the plugging, sealing, and capping techniques used.

(i) When mud is used for abandonment, the description shall include the viscosity (marsh funnel viscosity) of the mud when the drill hole reached bottom, the trade name of the abandonment mud utilized, and the final viscosity (marsh funnel viscosity) of the abandonment mixture.

(ii) When cement is used to abandon the drill hole, the description shall include a description of the cement grout mixture utilized to seal and plug the hole.

(2) In the case of closely spaced drill holes having similar geologic and hydrologic characteristics, the Operator may, with the approval of the Office, submit a single consolidated final report including the locations of all drill holes, and the abandonment technique.

(3) The final report and all information contained therein shall be confidential in nature and shall not be matter of public record.

(4) The report shall be signed by the Operator conducting the exploration operation, attesting to the accuracy of the information contained therein.

5.7WAIVER OF SPECIFIC REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING AQUIFERS

The Director of the Office may waive the administrative provisions of Rules 5.4.2 and 5.4.4 which pertain to aquifers (report requirements) upon approval of a written application submitted to the Director.

5.8ANNUAL REPORT AND FEE

(1) An annual report must be submitted by the anniversary date of the Notice of Intent (NOI) approval for each year until a reclamation responsibility release is granted. The Annual Report shall include all information specified on the Annual Report Form, in the format required by the Office. The annual report shall contain:

(a) an updated map showing the location of all holes drilled, any roads constructed, areas disturbed and areas reclaimed to date, including identification of disturbance and reclamation activities which have occurred in the preceding year. Exploration disturbance and reclamation must be identified on a site map of adequate scale to field locate these areas, which may include;

(i) coordinates reported in latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes and seconds or in decimal degrees to an accuracy of at least five (5) decimal places (e.g., latitude 37.12345 N, longitude 104.45678 W); or

(ii) coordinates based on the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) North American

Datum (NAD). For UTM, the Prospector will need to specify NAD 1927, NAD 1983 or WGS 84, and the applicable zone, measured in meters.

(2) On the anniversary date of the Notice of Intent (NOI) approval, the Person conducting exploration shall submit to the Office an annual fee as specified in Section 34-32.5-125(b)(iv), C.R.S.

2 CCR 407-4-5

42 CR 12, June 25, 2019, effective 7/15/2019