Section NR 131.119 - Reporting and prospecting permit review(1) ANNUAL REPORT. By January 31 of each year, an operator shall submit an annual report to the department summarizing the extent of prospecting, the extent of reclamation activities, and other activities conducted at the prospecting site in the preceding calendar year. The operator shall provide the department with a quantity of paper copies specified by the department and shall provide a complete electronic version in a format specified by the department. The annual report shall include text, maps, tabular summaries and graphics as appropriate, documenting all of the following:(a) A summary of all prospecting completed at the prospecting site during the year, including the extent of additional surface disturbance during the year and total acres of disturbed area on the prospecting site.(b) The volume of material removed, stockpiled, or disposed of on the prospecting site including mining wastes by category, topsoil, and non-prospecting solid waste.(c) A summary of reclamation activities including temporary and permanent reclamation and ongoing site maintenance activities that were completed during the year, including, as applicable, a summary of reclamation monitoring results, an evaluation of completed reclamation as related to the reclamation success criteria specified in the approved reclamation plan, an assessment of the effectiveness of specific reclamation activities conducted that year and recommendations for changes to specific reclamation protocols to consider for future work.(d) A summary of prospecting site dewatering statistics including monthly pumping totals, if applicable.(e) A summary of water treatment activities, if applicable, including monthly totals of water treated and discharged.(f) A summary of any incidents and related responses concerning spills, pond overflows, embankment failures or leakage, liner failures, pipeline failures or leaks, or other unforeseen environmental releases that occurred at the prospecting site.(g) A summary of any plan or permit modifications and any deviations from approved plans not subject to a modification.(h) A summary of environmental monitoring activities and results required under the approved monitoring plan, including an analysis of the data to determine the development of any observable trends and a comparison of the data to background values and predicted values, if predictive modeling or similar analyses were conducted as part of the prospecting permit review process.(i) A discussion of the extent of additional surface disturbance to be expected by the end of the next calendar year including estimates of the volumes of topsoil, ore, mining waste, merchantable by-products, and other materials to be removed.(j) An assessment of the adequacy of the amount of the financial surety posted under s. NR 131.116(1) considering the anticipated condition of the prospecting site at the end of the next calendar year, applicable provisions of the approved reclamation plan, any changes in reclamation costs or changes in state, federal or local regulatory requirements applicable to the prospecting operation. This analysis shall clearly identify the amount of financial security necessary to fulfill the reclamation plan relative to the prospecting site as it is projected to exist at the end of the calendar year.(2) PERMIT REVIEW. The department shall review the prospecting permit, prospecting plan, reclamation plan, and required financial securities annually after issuance of the prospecting permit, to ascertain adequacy, compliance with state or federal laws enacted after the issuance of the permit, and technological currency. The department shall provide its findings to the operator within 30 days after receipt of the annual report submitted under sub. (1). If the department, after review, determines that the plans should be modified or the bond amount changed, it shall notify the operator of the necessary modifications or changes and establish a schedule for submitting modified plans in accordance with s. NR 131.120.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 131.119
Adopted by, CR 20-043: cr. Register December 2021 No. 792, eff. 1/1/2022