Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PERMITS

The Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation (BMR&R) issues water pollution control permits for mining operations, in accordance with NAC 445A.350 through 445A.447.

Permit applications must be accompanied by a completed Form M (Attachment A), which provides legal and descriptive information on the proposed project, and an application fee per NAC 445A.232.

Permit applications are assigned by the Regulation Branch Supervisor (PCN 0522) to the permit writers (PCNs 0520, 0519, 0511, 0551, and 0523) for review and processing. The major steps and time frames of the application review process are described in the guidance document Time Allowed for Review of Water Pollution Control Permits (Attachment B).

Within 30 days of submittal of the application, an administrative review is performed to determine whether the application contains the necessary information, using the check list Application Requirements for Mining Operations (Attachment C). When the application is administratively complete, a technical review is performed to determine whether the proposed facility is in compliance with the regulations. A period of 90 days is allowed for the technical review. The review time frames do not include any time necessary to obtain required information lacking in the application.

Upon completion of the administrative and technical reviews, a draft permit and fact sheet are prepared. A Notice of Proposed Action is published in a newspaper in the geographic area of the proposed facility, and is also sent to interested parties on the mailing list. The mailing list is comprised of agencies, tribes, groups, companies and individuals who are affected by or interested in the proposed action. Comments received during the 30-day public comment period are addressed in the Notice of Decision, which is issued with the final permit.

The permit is normally valid for five years. A valid permit must be maintained through the life of the facility. Once permanent closure is complete, the facility may be covered by a post-closure water pollution control permit, which delineates required post-closure monitoring for the closed facility.

The permit application documents and associated files are maintained in the Bureau's offices, and are available for public review. Documents in the files include permits, correspondence, technical information, monitoring reports, inspection reports, spill reports and enforcement records.



 

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