Mich. Admin. Code R. 425.103

Current through Vol. 24-24, January 15, 2025

Section R. 425.103 - Definitions; M to Z

Rule 103.

(1) As used in these rules:

(a) "Mining activity" means any of the following activities for the purpose of, or associated with, mining:

(i) Clearing of land.

(ii) Drilling and blasting.

(iii) Excavation of earth materials to access or remove ore.

(iv) Beneficiation.

(v) Reclamation.

(vi) Transportation of overburden, waste rock, ore, and tailings.

(vii) Storage, relocation, and disposal of overburden, waste rock, ore, and tailings within a mining area, including backfilling of mined areas.

(viii) Storage and transportation of chemical reagents.

(ix) Construction of water impoundment and drainage features.

(x) Construction of haul roads.

(xi) Construction of utilities or extension of existing utilities.

(xii) Withdrawal, transportation, and discharge of water.

(b) "Nonerosive velocity" means a speed of water movement that is not conducive to the development of accelerated soil erosion.

(c) "Organization report" means a certified statement, on a form prescribed by the department, giving the name, address, and plan of the business organization, and listing the following:

(i) All corporate officers, directors, incorporators, and limited liability company managers.

(ii) All other partners, shareholders, limited liability company members, or other persons who have the authority to make, or are responsible for making, operational decisions, including the construction, operation, closure, postclosure monitoring, reclamation, and remediation of a mine.

(d) "Overburden" means unconsolidated earth material that overlies bedrock and that is or will be excavated by open pit mining methods to access ore.

(e) "Percolation leaching" means a process for the primary purpose of the recovery of metals in an outdoor environment from a stockpile of crushed or excavated ore by percolating water or a solution through the ore and collecting the leachate, and includes the processes known as "heap leaching" and "dump leaching."

(f) "Peripheral rock" means rock that is or will be left in place after the completion of mining and within 3 feet of either of the following:

(i) The walls and floor of an open pit.

(ii) The walls, floor, and roof of adits, portals, and underground mine workings.

(g) "Permanent soil erosion and sedimentation control measures" means control measures that are installed or constructed to control soil erosion and sedimentation and that are designed to remain in place after final reclamation.

(h) "Postclosure" means the period following completion of final reclamation in compliance with the approved reclamation plan.

(i) "Public water supply well" means a well that provides water for a "type I public water supply," "type IIa public water supply," "type IIb public water supply," or "type III public water supply" as those terms are defined in R 325.10502.

(j) "Reactive" means susceptible to reacting, dissolving, or otherwise forming a leachate that is or may be harmful to the environment or to human health and safety as determined by the department under conditions that exist, or may exist, at a mining operation.

(k) "Reclamation" means that reconditioning or rehabilitation of the mining area or portions thereof for useful purposes and the protection of the natural resources, including the control of erosion and the prevention of land or rock slides, collapses and subsidence, and air and water pollution.

(l) "Remediation" means the taking of actions that are necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate injury to the public health, safety, or welfare, or to the environment, including cleanup, removal, containment, isolation, destruction, or treatment of a hazardous substance released or threatened to be released into the environment; and associated monitoring and maintenance.

(m) "Stabilization" means the establishment of vegetation or the proper placement, grading, or covering of soil to ensure its resistance to soil erosion, sliding, or other earth movement.

(n) "Storage facility" means a facility or a part of a facility where ore, waste rock, overburden, or tailings is held for a temporary period, at the end of which the ore, waste rock, overburden, or tailings is treated, disposed of, or stored elsewhere.

(o) "Surety bond" has the same meaning as "conformance bond" as used in part 632 of the act.

(p) "Tailings" means material that is separated from the metallic product in the beneficiation or treatment of minerals.

(q) "Temporary soil erosion and sedimentation control measures" means interim control measures which are installed or constructed to control soil erosion and sedimentation and which are not maintained after project completion.

(r) "Wetland" means that term as defined in part 303 of the act.

(2) A term defined in the act has the same meaning when used in these rules.

Mich. Admin. Code R. 425.103

2006 AACS