Resources: surface mining.

The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 prohibits a person from conducting surface mining operations without obtaining a permit from the lead agency for those operations, and submitting and receiving approval for a reclamation plan and financial assurances from the lead agency. The act makes certain findings and declarations regarding surface mining, including the finding that the extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the state and to the needs of the society. This bill would include additional legislative findings, including, among other things, that the state's mineral resources are vital, finite, and important natural resources and the responsible protection and development of these mineral resources is vital to a sustainable California. The act requires, after the completion of each decennial census, at a minimum, the Office of Planning and Research to identify certain areas of the state, including areas that are standard metropolitan areas. The act also requires the State Geologist to classify, based on certain factors, the areas identified by the office, any area for which classification has been requested by a petition that has been accepted by the State Mining and Geology Board, or other areas as specified by the board, as, among other things, an area that contains mineral deposits and is of regional or statewide significance. This bill would require the board to transmit mineral resource information on the classified areas described above, or on other designated areas, to a lead agency or a metropolitan planning organization within 30 days of receiving a request for the information.