Surface mining: determinations: appeals.

Existing law, the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, prohibits, with certain exceptions, a person from conducting a surface mining operation unless, among other things, a reclamation plan has been submitted to and approved by the lead agency, as defined, for the operation. The act requires the owner or operator of a mining operation to submit an annual report containing information regarding the operation. For purposes of compliance with specified provisions of the Public Contract Code, the act requires the Department of Conservation to, at a minimum, quarterly publish in the California Regulatory Notice Register, or otherwise make available, upon request, to the Department of General Services or any other state or local agency, a list identifying surface mining operations that have submitted the annual report and it indicates compliance with specified standards, guidelines, and requirements or that there is a pending appeal. This bill would require the department to give notice by personal service or certified mail to a surface mining operation that it determines shall not be included in the above-described list or shall be removed from the above-described list. The bill would specify that the surface mining operation shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of service within which to file an appeal of the department's determination with the State Board of Mining and Geology. The bill would require that an appeal be scheduled and heard at a public hearing within 60 days from the date the appeal is filed, or a longer time if mutually agreed upon by the board and the appellant. The bill would require that when a timely appeal is filed on behalf of a surface mining operation pursuant to the provisions of the bill, the operation shall remain on the list pending the final outcome of the appeal, if the appeal has not been pending for more than 180 days. The bill would require the board to deny a request for an appeal of a notice issued pursuant to those provisions if either (1) the notice alleges one or more violations of the act that the board determines to be ministerial in nature and not constituting a substantial violation, in which case the appellant would have 30 days to correct the violation and achieve compliance, or (2) the specific claims asserted in the notice have been adjudicated, or are pending adjudication before the board or a lead agency in a separate action authorized by the act. The bill would prescribe requirements for the review of information and evidence pertaining to the appeal, as specified. The bill would authorize the board, by regulation, to establish procedures for declining to hear appeals that it determines raise only ministerial issues.