Idaho Admin. Code r. 58.01.13.100

Current through September 2, 2024

Section 58.01.13.100 - PERMIT AND PERMIT APPLICATION

01.Permit Required. No person may construct a new cyanidation facility prior to obtaining a permit from the Director. No person may materially expand or materially modify a cyanidation facility prior to obtaining a modified permit for such expansion or modification pursuant to Section 750.

02.Permit Application. The owner or proposed operator of a cyanidation facility or the owner's or operator's authorized representative must:

a. Make application to the Director in writing and in a manner or form prescribed herein; and

b. Provide five (5) paper copies of the application to the Director, unless otherwise agreed to by the Department and the applicant.

03.Contents of Application. A permit application and its contents will be used to determine if an applicant can locate, construct, operate, maintain, close, and monitor the proposed cyanidation facility in conformance with these and other applicable rules including, but not limited to, IDAPA 58.01.02, "Water Quality Standards"; IDAPA 58.01.08, "Idaho Rules for Public Drinking Water Systems"; IDAPA 58.01.05, "Rules and Standards for Hazardous Waste"; IDAPA 58.01.06, "Solid Waste Management Rules"; IDAPA 58.01.11, "Ground Water Quality Rule"; and IDAPA 58.01.25, "Rules Regulating the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program." The application must include all of the following information in sufficient detail to allow the Director to make necessary application review decisions concerning compliance with Sections 200 through 205 as applicable and protection of human health and the environment:

a. Name, location, and mailing address of the cyanidation facility.

b. Name, mailing address, and phone number of the applicant, and a registered agent.

c. Land ownership status of the cyanidation facility (federal, state, private, or public).

d. Name, mailing address, and phone number of the applicant's construction and operations manager.

e. The legal structure (corporation, partnership, etc.) and residence of the applicant.

f. The legal description, to the quarter-quarter section, of the location of the proposed cyanidation facility.

g. Evidence the applicant is authorized by the Secretary of State to conduct business in the State of Idaho.

h. A general description of the operational plans for the cyanidation facility from construction through permanent closure. This description must include any proposed phases for construction, operations, and permanent closure.

i. The design maximum daily throughput of ore through the cyanidation facility and the total projected volume of material to be processed during the life of the operation.

j. Cyanidation facility layouts including water management systems designed to segregate storm water from process water.

k. A geotechnical evaluation of all process water and process chemical containment systems within the proposed cyanidation facility.

l. A preconstruction topographic site map or aerial photos extending at least one (1) mile beyond the outer limits of the cyanidation facility, identifying and showing the location and extent of the following features:

i. All wells, perennial and intermittent springs, adit discharges, wetlands, surface waters, and irrigation ditches that may be affected by the cyanidation facility;

ii. All process water supply source(s);

iii. All public and private drinking water supply source(s) within at least one (1) mile of the cyanidation facility;

iv. Identified floodplain areas (shown on USGS sectional Quadrangle maps);

v. All service roads and public roads;

vi. All buildings and structures within half (1/2) a mile of the cyanidation facility;

vii. All outstanding resource waters and sensitive resource aquifers within one (1) mile of the cyanidation facility; and

viii. All Clean Water Act Section 303(d) listed streams, and their listed impairments, within ten (10) miles of the site boundary that may be affected by the cyanidation facility.

m. To the extent such information is available, a description and location of underground mine workings and adits and a description of the structural geology that may influence ground water flow and direction.

n. A description of the proposed land application site. The description must include a potentiometric map, surface and subsurface soil characteristics, geology, hydrogeology and ground water quality. The description of these characteristics must be sufficient to determine anticipated impacts to the affected soils, associated vadose zone as well as anticipated changes in geochemistry that may affect surface and ground water quality.

o. Siting diagram for land application sites, monitoring wells, lysimeters, surface or ground water discharge sites, or surface water monitoring locations.

p. A description of measures to protect wildlife that may be affected by the facility.

q. Proposed post-construction topographic maps.

r. Engineering plans and specifications for all portions of the cyanidation facility must be submitted to the Department for review and approval. Preliminary designs for future phases of the cyanidation facility may be submitted as part of the permit application, provided that, pursuant to Subsection 500.02, the Department review and approval of final plans and specifications is required before construction of those phases may begin. All cyanidation facility engineering plans and specifications must bear the imprint of an Idaho licensed professional engineer that is both signed and dated by the engineer. These plans and specifications must, at a minimum, include all of the following information applicable to the proposed facility.

i. Designs meeting applicable criteria in Sections 200 through 204.

ii. Any alternative design approved by the Department under Section 205.

iii. The water balance, ore flow, and processing calculations demonstrating the logic behind sizing of facilities.

iv. The general ore processing overview and analyses of chemical compatibility of containment materials with process chemicals and wastes, including a chemical mass balance at inputs and outputs from the cyanidation facility.

v. Geotechnical data and analyses demonstrating the logic for plans and specifications of foundation materials and placement.

vi. Requirements for site preparation.

vii. Pumping and dewatering requirements.

viii. Procedures for materials selection and placement for backfilling foundation areas.

ix. Criteria for caps and covers used as source control measures.

x. Criteria for ensuring stability of embankments for pads, ponds and tailings impoundments.

xi. Procedures to classify and modify, if necessary, excavated fill, bedding and cover materials for buildings, pads, ponds, and tailings impoundments.

xii. Plumbing and conveyance schematics and component specifications.

xiii. Plan views and cross-section drawings of leach pad, permanent heaps, vats, process water storage ponds, tailings impoundments, and spent ore disposal areas.

xiv. Leak detection and collection system plans and specifications including, but not limited to, schematics and narratives describing liner and geotextile material specifications, sumping capacity and layout, location of monitoring port(s), monitoring port components, construction operation and maintenance procedures for monitoring ports and pumping systems, including backup system, triggers for containment repairs, replacement or other contingency mitigation, frequency of monitoring, and monitoring parameters.

xv. Provisions to protect containment systems from heavy equipment, fires, earthquakes, and other natural phenomena.

xvi. Quality assurance/quality control procedures.

xvii. The identity and qualifications of the person(s) directly responsible for supervising construction and quality assurance/quality control.

s. Operation and maintenance plans that include all of the following.

i. Maintenance plans, including routine service procedures for containment systems, process chemical storage, and disposal of contaminated water or soils, including petroleum-contaminated soils.

ii. A water management plan that provides for handling and containment of process water including the methods to manage and/or treat all process water and pollutants, run-off or run-on water, emergency releases, and excess water due to flood, rain, snowmelt, or other similar events. The plan must include the basis for the designed containment volumes and estimations of the need for and operation of a land application site, injection wells, infiltration galleries or leach fields, or the need for an IPDES permit. The permittee will update the plan on a regular basis to reflect the reconciliation of the water balance changes in the project through construction, operation, maintenance, and permanent closure, including modifications to the cyanidation facility.

iii. A proposed water quality monitoring plan.

iv. An emergency and spill response plan that describes procedures and methods to be implemented for the abatement and clean up of any pollutant that may be discharged from the cyanidation facility during use, handling or disposal of processing chemicals, petrochemicals and/or fuels, and any other deleterious materials.

v. A seasonal/temporary closure plan, if applicable, that describes the procedures, methods, and schedule to be implemented for the treatment and disposal of process water and pollutants, the control of drainage from the cyanidation facility during the period of closure, the control of drainage from the surrounding area, and the secure storage of process chemicals.

t. The permanent closure plan must be the same as the plan submitted to the Idaho Department of Lands pursuant to the Idaho Mind Land Reclamation Act, Chapter 15, Title 47, Idaho Code, and the rules promulgated thereunder.

u. Characterization of pollutants contained in or released from the cyanidation facility, including the potential for the pollutants to cause degradation of waters.

04.Cost Recovery Agreement. Prior to submittal of the preliminary design report, an applicant must enter into an agreement with the Department for actual costs incurred to review the preliminary design report, process the permit application or any permit modification requests, issue a final permit or permit modification, and review final facility designs prior to construction if such designs were not included in the permit application. The cost recovery agreement may provide for actual costs incurred by the Department for any other service rendered pursuant to these rules or a permit so long as agreed to in advance by the applicant.

Idaho Admin. Code r. 58.01.13.100

Effective March 24, 2022