Looking for answers to my questions about how to file a Noitce of Intent to mine, and also a Plan of Operations. Since we can't dredge for a leat 2 years(I'm still very ******* mad about the situation and not giving up until it is restored) and I still want to do some productive mining. Anyone outhere ever filed one of these. I know call it a power sluice. If you want to run a trommel it has to be under 2 yard a hour,settleing ponds,10 feet minium from stream and discharged away from the stream. Any info will be helpful.
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§ 3809.1 - 4 Plan of operations: When required.An approved plan of operations is required prior to commencing:
(a) Operations which exceed the disturbance level (5 acres) described in § 3809.1 - 3 of this title.
(b) Any operation, except casual use, in the following designated areas:
(1) Lands in the California Desert Conservation Area designated as controlled or limited use areas by the California Desert Conservation Area plan;
(2) Areas designated for potential addition to, or an actual component of the national wild and scenic rivers system,
(3) Designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;
(4) Areas designated as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System and administered by the Bureau of Land Management;
(5) Areas designated as closed to off-road vehicle use as defined in subpart 8340 of this title.
(6) The area designated as the King Range Conservation Area pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460y et seq., as amended by section 602 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
(c) Plans properly filed and approved under this section constitute authorization under part 8340 of this title (Off-Road Vehicles).
[45 FR 78909, Nov. 26, 1980; 45 FR 82934, Dec. 17, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 8816, Mar. 2, 1983; 59 FR 44856, Aug. 30, 1994]
§ 3809.1 - 5 Filing and contents of plan of operations.
(a) A plan of operations must be filed in the District Office of the Bureau of Land Management having jurisdiction over the Federal lands in which the claim(s) or project area is located.
(b) No special form is required for filing a plan.
(c) The plan shall include:
(1) The name and mailing address of the operator (and claimant if not the operator). Any change of operator or change in the mailing address shall be promptly reported to the authorized officer;
(2) A map, preferably a topographic map, or sketch showing existing and/or proposed routes of access, aircraft landing areas, or other means of access, and size of each area where surface disturbance will occur;
(3) When applicable, the name of the mining claim(s) and mining claim serial numbers assigned to the mining claim(s) recorded pursuant to subpart 3833 of this title.
(4) Information sufficient to describe or identify the type of operations proposed, how they will be conducted and the period during which the proposed activity will take place;
(5) Measures to be taken to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation and measures to reclaim disturbed areas resulting from the proposed operations, including the standards listed in § 3809.1 - 3(d) of this title. Where an operator advises the authorized officer that he/she does not have the necessary technical resources to develop such measures the authorized officer will assist the operator in developing such measures. If an operator submits reclamation measures, the authorized officer will ensure that the operator's plan is sufficient to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation. All reclamation measures developed by the operator, or by the authorized officer in conjunction with the operator, shall become a part of the plan of operations.
(6) Measures to be taken during extended periods of nonoperation to maintain the area in a safe and clean manner and to reclaim the land to avoid erosion and other adverse impacts. If not filed at the time of plan submittal, this information shall be filed with the authorized officer whenever the operator anticipates a period of nonoperation.
(a) A proposed plan of operations shall be submitted to the authorized officer, who shall promptly acknowledge receipt thereof to the operator. The authorized officer shall, within 30 days of such receipt, analyze the proposal in the context of the requirement to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation and provide for reasonable reclamation, and shall notify the operator:
(1) That the plan is approved; or
(2) Of any changes in or additions to the plan necessary to meet the requirements of these regulations; or
(3) That the plan is being reviewed, but that a specified amount of time, not to exceed an additional 60 days, is necessary to complete the review, setting forth the circumstances which justify additional time for review. However, days during which the area of operations is inaccessible for inspection shall not be counted when computing the 60 day period; or
(4) That the plan cannot be approved until 30 days after a final environmental statement has been prepared and filed with the Environmental Protection Agency; or
(5) That the plan cannot be approved until the authorized officer has complied with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act or section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
(b) The authorized officer shall consult with the appropriate official of the bureau or agency having surface management responsibilities where such responsibility is not exercised by the Bureau of Land Management. Prior to plan approval the authorized officer shall obtain the concurrence of such appropriate official to the terms and conditions that may be needed to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation.
(c) The authorized officer shall undertake an appropriate level of cultural resource inventory of the area to be disturbed. The inventory shall be completed within the time allowed by these regulations for approval of the plan (30 days). The operator is not required to do the inventory but may hire an archaeologist approved by the Bureau of Land Management in order to complete the inventory more expeditiously. The responsibility for and cost of salvage of cultural resources discovered during the inventory shall be the Federal Government's. The responsibility of avoiding adverse impacts on those cultural resources discovered during the inventory shall be the operator's.
(d) Pending final approval of the plan, the authorized officer shall approve any operations that may be necessary for timely compliance with requirements of Federal and State laws, subject to any terms and conditions that may be needed to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation.
(e) In the event of a change of operators involving an approved plan of operations, the new operator shall satisfy the requirements of § 3809.1 - 9 of this title as it relates to bonding.
(a) At any time during operations under an approved plan, the operator on his/her own initiative may modify the plan or the authorized officer may request the operator to do so.
(b) A significant modification of an approved plan must be reviewed and approved by the authorized officer in the same manner as the initial plan.
(c)(1) If, when requested to do so by the authorized officer, the operator does not furnish a proposed modification within a reasonable time, usually 30 days, the authorized officer may recommend to the State Director that the operator be required to submit a proposed modification of the plan. The recommendation of the authorized officer shall be accompanied by a statement setting forth the facts and the reasons for the recommendations.
(2) In acting upon such recommendations the State Director shall determine, within 30 days, whether:
(i) All reasonable measures were taken by the authorized officer at the time the plan was approved to ensure that the proposed operations would not cause unnecessary or undue degradation of the Federal land;
(ii) The disturbance from the operations of the plan as approved or from unforeseen circumstances is or may become of such significance that modification of the plan is essential in order to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation; and
(iii) The disturbance can be minimized using reasonable means.
(3) Once the matter has been sent to the State Director, an operator is not required to submit a proposed modification of an approved plan until a determination is made by the State Director. Where the State Director determines that a plan shall be modified, the operator shall timely submit a modified plan to the authorized officer for review and approval.
(4) Operations may continue in accordance with the approved plan until a modified plan is approved, unless the State Director determines that the operations are causing unnecessary or undue degradation to the land. The State Director shall advise the operator of those reasonable measures needed to avoid such degradation and the operator shall immediately take all necessary steps to implement those measures within a reasonable period established by the State Director.
§ 3809.1 - 8 Existing operations.
[following section was reinstated by court's May 1998 ruling]
(a) Persons conducting operations on the effective date of these regulations, who would be required to submit a notice under § 3809.1 - 3 or a plan of operations under § 3809.1 - 4 of this title may continue operations but shall, within:
(1) 30 days submit a notice with required information outlined in § 3809.1 - 3 of this title for operations where 5 acres or less will be disturbed during a calendar year; or
(2) 120 days submit a plan in those areas identified in § 3809.1 - 4 of this title. Upon a showing of good cause, the authorized officer may grant an extension of time, not to exceed an additional 180 days, to submit a plan.
(b) Operations may continue according to the submitted plan during its review. If the authorized officer determines that operations are causing unnecessary or undue degradation of the Federal lands involved, the authorized officer shall advise the operator of those reasonable measures needed to avoid such degradation, and the operator shall take all necessary steps to implement those measures within a reasonable time recommended by the authorized officer. During the period of an appeal, if any, operations may continue without change, subject to other applicable Federal and State laws.
(c) Upon approval of a plan by the authorized officer, operations shall be conducted in accordance with the approval plan.
I'm a little confused as to why you need to file a NOI or POO, you aren't required to file either unless you create a "significant disturbance", and being a small scale miner (I don't use the term recreational/hobby mining, as it is not in our best interest and you have no rights under the 1872 Mining Laws), that is usaully not the case, if you are not using any "heavy equipment" I don't see that you would create a "significant disturbance".
the ninth circut ruled that a miner really dont have to file a NOI or Plan of operation this spring if they fall under what is already written in the US "codified intent" and filing such gives the Forestry Service permission to screw with you and deny your plan until after public hearings are held.
But if you insist on filing a NOI, merely a letter sent to the FS ranger with your "intent" to mine from normal operating date to normal operating date gives them notice, and they will at that time ask for a POO, and in about 2-5 years you aught to be able to start..... if you are lucky enough to cross allt he t's and dot all your i's and no one objects in a public hearing and you have letters of support from other folks to counter act all those who write objections [you dont get to know about those til after the fact, even if you file for disclosure under freedom of information]
In this area, we are lucky to have a decent fella working as the geologist, and he says just as long as we are "sampling" we wont have to go through the NOI, nor the POO and the use of a backhoe is the preferred method for testing [cause you can easier fill in your test holes that's why], however, one outfit applied for permission and hearing had to be held and notices sent out to all who are on the list to receive such notices [ergo the environmental groups to oppose you]
Walt Eason who was formerly with the GPAA is putting together a seminar/workshop curiculum for small scale miners on how to file, I have not talked with him for a couple months, and last time was about 3-4 hours on the phone [ok Blueduck can be long winded on certain subject matter] http://www.equalaccess2justice.us/cgi-bin/index.cgi?page=Home is one of his websites and you can contact him through there.......
Replies
§ 3809.1 - 4 Plan of operations: When required.An approved plan of operations is required prior to commencing:
(a) Operations which exceed the disturbance level (5 acres) described in § 3809.1 - 3 of this title.
(b) Any operation, except casual use, in the following designated areas:
(1) Lands in the California Desert Conservation Area designated as controlled or limited use areas by the California Desert Conservation Area plan;
(2) Areas designated for potential addition to, or an actual component of the national wild and scenic rivers system,
(3) Designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;
(4) Areas designated as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System and administered by the Bureau of Land Management;
(5) Areas designated as closed to off-road vehicle use as defined in subpart 8340 of this title.
(6) The area designated as the King Range Conservation Area pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460y et seq., as amended by section 602 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
(c) Plans properly filed and approved under this section constitute authorization under part 8340 of this title (Off-Road Vehicles).
[45 FR 78909, Nov. 26, 1980; 45 FR 82934, Dec. 17, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 8816, Mar. 2, 1983; 59 FR 44856, Aug. 30, 1994]
§ 3809.1 - 5 Filing and contents of plan of operations.
(a) A plan of operations must be filed in the District Office of the Bureau of Land Management having jurisdiction over the Federal lands in which the claim(s) or project area is located.
(b) No special form is required for filing a plan.
(c) The plan shall include:
(1) The name and mailing address of the operator (and claimant if not the operator). Any change of operator or change in the mailing address shall be promptly reported to the authorized officer;
(2) A map, preferably a topographic map, or sketch showing existing and/or proposed routes of access, aircraft landing areas, or other means of access, and size of each area where surface disturbance will occur;
(3) When applicable, the name of the mining claim(s) and mining claim serial numbers assigned to the mining claim(s) recorded pursuant to subpart 3833 of this title.
(4) Information sufficient to describe or identify the type of operations proposed, how they will be conducted and the period during which the proposed activity will take place;
(5) Measures to be taken to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation and measures to reclaim disturbed areas resulting from the proposed operations, including the standards listed in § 3809.1 - 3(d) of this title. Where an operator advises the authorized officer that he/she does not have the necessary technical resources to develop such measures the authorized officer will assist the operator in developing such measures. If an operator submits reclamation measures, the authorized officer will ensure that the operator's plan is sufficient to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation. All reclamation measures developed by the operator, or by the authorized officer in conjunction with the operator, shall become a part of the plan of operations.
(6) Measures to be taken during extended periods of nonoperation to maintain the area in a safe and clean manner and to reclaim the land to avoid erosion and other adverse impacts. If not filed at the time of plan submittal, this information shall be filed with the authorized officer whenever the operator anticipates a period of nonoperation.
[45 FR 78909, Nov. 26, 1980; 45 FR 82934, Dec. 17, 1980]
§ 3809.1 - 6 Plan approval.
(a) A proposed plan of operations shall be submitted to the authorized officer, who shall promptly acknowledge receipt thereof to the operator. The authorized officer shall, within 30 days of such receipt, analyze the proposal in the context of the requirement to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation and provide for reasonable reclamation, and shall notify the operator:
(1) That the plan is approved; or
(2) Of any changes in or additions to the plan necessary to meet the requirements of these regulations; or
(3) That the plan is being reviewed, but that a specified amount of time, not to exceed an additional 60 days, is necessary to complete the review, setting forth the circumstances which justify additional time for review. However, days during which the area of operations is inaccessible for inspection shall not be counted when computing the 60 day period; or
(4) That the plan cannot be approved until 30 days after a final environmental statement has been prepared and filed with the Environmental Protection Agency; or
(5) That the plan cannot be approved until the authorized officer has complied with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act or section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
(b) The authorized officer shall consult with the appropriate official of the bureau or agency having surface management responsibilities where such responsibility is not exercised by the Bureau of Land Management. Prior to plan approval the authorized officer shall obtain the concurrence of such appropriate official to the terms and conditions that may be needed to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation.
(c) The authorized officer shall undertake an appropriate level of cultural resource inventory of the area to be disturbed. The inventory shall be completed within the time allowed by these regulations for approval of the plan (30 days). The operator is not required to do the inventory but may hire an archaeologist approved by the Bureau of Land Management in order to complete the inventory more expeditiously. The responsibility for and cost of salvage of cultural resources discovered during the inventory shall be the Federal Government's. The responsibility of avoiding adverse impacts on those cultural resources discovered during the inventory shall be the operator's.
(d) Pending final approval of the plan, the authorized officer shall approve any operations that may be necessary for timely compliance with requirements of Federal and State laws, subject to any terms and conditions that may be needed to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation.
(e) In the event of a change of operators involving an approved plan of operations, the new operator shall satisfy the requirements of § 3809.1 - 9 of this title as it relates to bonding.
[45 FR 78909, Nov. 26, 1980; 45 FR 82934, Dec. 17, 1980]
§ 3809.1 - 7 Modification of plan.
(a) At any time during operations under an approved plan, the operator on his/her own initiative may modify the plan or the authorized officer may request the operator to do so.
(b) A significant modification of an approved plan must be reviewed and approved by the authorized officer in the same manner as the initial plan.
(c)(1) If, when requested to do so by the authorized officer, the operator does not furnish a proposed modification within a reasonable time, usually 30 days, the authorized officer may recommend to the State Director that the operator be required to submit a proposed modification of the plan. The recommendation of the authorized officer shall be accompanied by a statement setting forth the facts and the reasons for the recommendations.
(2) In acting upon such recommendations the State Director shall determine, within 30 days, whether:
(i) All reasonable measures were taken by the authorized officer at the time the plan was approved to ensure that the proposed operations would not cause unnecessary or undue degradation of the Federal land;
(ii) The disturbance from the operations of the plan as approved or from unforeseen circumstances is or may become of such significance that modification of the plan is essential in order to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation; and
(iii) The disturbance can be minimized using reasonable means.
(3) Once the matter has been sent to the State Director, an operator is not required to submit a proposed modification of an approved plan until a determination is made by the State Director. Where the State Director determines that a plan shall be modified, the operator shall timely submit a modified plan to the authorized officer for review and approval.
(4) Operations may continue in accordance with the approved plan until a modified plan is approved, unless the State Director determines that the operations are causing unnecessary or undue degradation to the land. The State Director shall advise the operator of those reasonable measures needed to avoid such degradation and the operator shall immediately take all necessary steps to implement those measures within a reasonable period established by the State Director.
§ 3809.1 - 8 Existing operations.
[following section was reinstated by court's May 1998 ruling]
(a) Persons conducting operations on the effective date of these regulations, who would be required to submit a notice under § 3809.1 - 3 or a plan of operations under § 3809.1 - 4 of this title may continue operations but shall, within:
(1) 30 days submit a notice with required information outlined in § 3809.1 - 3 of this title for operations where 5 acres or less will be disturbed during a calendar year; or
(2) 120 days submit a plan in those areas identified in § 3809.1 - 4 of this title. Upon a showing of good cause, the authorized officer may grant an extension of time, not to exceed an additional 180 days, to submit a plan.
(b) Operations may continue according to the submitted plan during its review. If the authorized officer determines that operations are causing unnecessary or undue degradation of the Federal lands involved, the authorized officer shall advise the operator of those reasonable measures needed to avoid such degradation, and the operator shall take all necessary steps to implement those measures within a reasonable time recommended by the authorized officer. During the period of an appeal, if any, operations may continue without change, subject to other applicable Federal and State laws.
(c) Upon approval of a plan by the authorized officer, operations shall be conducted in accordance with the approval plan.
Pgs. 28, 29
3809.605 What are prohibited acts under this subpart?
Include, but not limited to,
a. undue degrigation
b. Beginning operations other than casual before filing notice as required by 3809.21 or received aproved plan of operations, as required by 3809.412.
Pg. 29
c. operations outside the scope of your notice or plan of operations.
d. Beginning operations w/o providing required financial guarantee.
e. Failing to meet requirements when you cease operations.
f. Failing to comply with performance standards.
g. Failing to comply with enforcement actions.
h. Abandoning operations prior to complying with reclaimation required.
I'm a little confused as to why you need to file a NOI or POO, you aren't required to file either unless you create a "significant disturbance", and being a small scale miner (I don't use the term recreational/hobby mining, as it is not in our best interest and you have no rights under the 1872 Mining Laws), that is usaully not the case, if you are not using any "heavy equipment" I don't see that you would create a "significant disturbance".
Skip
But if you insist on filing a NOI, merely a letter sent to the FS ranger with your "intent" to mine from normal operating date to normal operating date gives them notice, and they will at that time ask for a POO, and in about 2-5 years you aught to be able to start..... if you are lucky enough to cross allt he t's and dot all your i's and no one objects in a public hearing and you have letters of support from other folks to counter act all those who write objections [you dont get to know about those til after the fact, even if you file for disclosure under freedom of information]
In this area, we are lucky to have a decent fella working as the geologist, and he says just as long as we are "sampling" we wont have to go through the NOI, nor the POO and the use of a backhoe is the preferred method for testing [cause you can easier fill in your test holes that's why], however, one outfit applied for permission and hearing had to be held and notices sent out to all who are on the list to receive such notices [ergo the environmental groups to oppose you]
Walt Eason who was formerly with the GPAA is putting together a seminar/workshop curiculum for small scale miners on how to file, I have not talked with him for a couple months, and last time was about 3-4 hours on the phone [ok Blueduck can be long winded on certain subject matter] http://www.equalaccess2justice.us/cgi-bin/index.cgi?page=Home is one of his websites and you can contact him through there.......
William
Idaho