(1) The Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board is created by 2-15-1822, MCA, and appointed by the Governor. By statute the board comprises five members, three of whom reside in an area impacted by large-scale mineral development. At least one member must reside in each district provided for in 5-1-102, MCA. The board consists of:

(a) a representative of the hard-rock mining industry;

(b) a representative of a major financial institution in Montana;

(c) an elected school district trustee;

(d) an elected county commissioner; and

(e) a member of the public-at-large.

(2) Information or submissions: Inquiries regarding the board may be addressed to the Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board, Department of Commerce, 301 South Park, P.O. Box 200523, Helena, Montana 59620-0523.

(3) For administrative purposes the board is attached to the Department of Commerce. For staffing purposes the board is attached to the department's Community Development Division. A chart of the department's organization is found at page 8-13 of these rules and by this reference is made a part of the board's organizational rules.

(1) The Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board adopts and incorporates by reference ARM 8.2.201 through 8.2.206 which sets forth the Department of Commerce's public participation rules. A copy of the rules may be obtained from the Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board, Department of Commerce, 301 South Park, P.O. Box 200523, Helena, Montana 59620-0523.

(1) The Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board adopts and incorporates by reference ARM 1.3.101 through 1.3.233 which sets forth the Attorney General's model procedural rules. A copy of the model rules may be obtained from the Hard-Rock Mining Impact Board, Department of Commerce, 301 South Park, P.O. Box 200523, Helena, Montana 59620-0523. The board will treat the hearing provided for by 90-6-307(4), MCA, as a contested case hearing under the model rules.

(2) The format of the plan must contain the following elements:

(a) the name, address and phone number of the developer's contact person;

(b) a brief summary of the impact plan, which includes the schedule of impact payments and other commitments by the developer;

(c) a list of the local government units which the developer believes might potentially be affected by the development;

(d) a table of contents;

(e) numbered pages throughout.

(3) The plan must be bound in a manner that will allow for ready removal and insertion of pages.

(4) The impact plan must contain information specifically required by statute, information necessary to the implementation of statute, and information necessary to the review and implementation of the plan, including but not limited to:

(a) As required by 90-6-307(1) , MCA, the plan must contain the following information:

(i) a timetable for development, including the opening date of the development and the estimated closing date;

(ii) the estimated number of persons coming into the impacted area as a result of the development;

(iii) the increased capital and operating cost to local government units for providing services which can be expected as a result of the development;

(iv) the financial or other assistance the developer will give to local government units to meet the increased need for services.

(b) As required by 90-6-307(2) , MCA, in the impact plan the developer shall commit itself to pay all of the increased capital and net operating cost to local government units that will be a result of the development, as identified in the impact plan, either from tax prepayments, as provided in 90-6-309, MCA, facility impact bonds, as provided in 90-6-310, MCA, or other funds obtained from the developer, and shall provide a time schedule within which it will do so. The plan may provide for funding from other revenue sources or funding mechanisms if the developer guarantees that the amount to be provided from these sources will be paid.

(c) If the plan provides for the prepayment of property taxes, the plan must specify the conditions under which the recipient local government unit will credit prepaid taxes, as provided by 90-6-309(5) , MCA, and ARM 8.104.215.

(d) If the plan identifies a jurisdictional revenue disparity as provided for by 90-6-403(1) , MCA, the plan must project the place of residence of employees and the district of enrollment of students as required for 90-6-405(2) , MCA.

(e) The plan must define the following terms in a manner consistent with common usage and appropriate to the specific large-scale mineral development:

(i) "persons coming into the impacted area as a result of the development," as required for 90-6-307(1) (b) , MCA;

(ii) if property taxes are to be prepaid, "start of production", as required for 90-6-309(4) , MCA;

(iii) "commercial production", as required for 90-6-311, MCA.

(f) In the plan the developer shall commit to notify the board and the affected local government units within 30 days of each applicable date identified in (e) of this subsection.

(g) If the mineral development will result in increased employment or increased local government costs in more than one county, the plan must identify the counties and evaluate the proportional impact to each county for purposes of 15-37-117, MCA.

(h) The plan must specify whether the developer will make impact payments directly to the affected local government unit or through the hard-rock mining impact board to be deposited to the impact fund of the affected local government unit.

(1) The developer shall submit 12 copies to the board and a sufficient number of copies to each affected county for distribution.

(2) The board will accept as proof of the date of receipt of an impact plan by an affected county a dated receipt, signed by an authorized representative of the county, confirming delivery of the plan by registered mail, hand delivery, or otherwise or an acknowledged statement by the developer certifying the date of delivery of the plan to the county.

(1) Upon receiving the submitted plan, the governing body of each affected county shall publish notice of its receipt of the plan at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice must appear in large, readable format and must specify where copies of the plan will be available for public review.

(a) the name(s) of the developer(s) , the project and the impact plan;

(b) the date the objection is submitted;

(c) the name of the local government unit(s) raising the objection;

(d) the name, address, and phone number of the contact person(s) for the objecting local government unit(s) ;

(e) the name of the local government unit(s) affected by the objection;

(f) the specific elements of the plan being objected to, giving the page number(s) ;

(g) the substance of the objection;

(h) the reasons for the objection;

(i) supportive data, information or analysis, including references to related portions of the plan (giving page numbers) , such as:

(i) analysis of employment and population;

(ii) analysis of location, nature, extent and cost of impact;

(iii) proposed mitigation measure;

(iv) proposed timing and cost of mitigation measure;

(v) proposed method, amount, and source of financing

of the mitigation measure.

(j) the objectors proposal for resolving the disputed issues;

(k) a resolution dated and signed by the governing body of each objecting unit of local government confirming that the above statements appropriately reflect its views and concerns.

(2) A form outlining the contents required by this rule is available from the board.

(1) Only those affected local government units which have requested a 30-day extension of the initial review period pursuant to 90-6-307(6) , MCA, may file objections to the plan during this extension. However, if an objection filed during this extension relates to the interests of a local government unit which did not request an extension, that unit will be allowed to comment on the objection, and any such comment may be considered by the board in subsequent proceedings concerning the objection.

(1) No representative of any party to the plan may communicate with any board member outside the context of a public meeting on any issue related to the plan until the plan has received final approval.

(2) During the 90-day review period and the 30-day negotiation period the board's staff may not communicate with any party concerning the substance of a plan. However, the staff may at any time, either on its own initiative or in response to a request, provide information concerning the technical compliance of a plan with statutes and board rules and the plan review process provided that the information does not relate to the substance or merits of a particular plan. The staff will maintain a log of any such contact.

(1) The Hard-Rock Mining Impact Account may receive direct industry monies, in accordance with the commitments made by the developer in an approved impact plan, and may receive money from the developer's financial guarantee to ensure payments consistent with the developer's commitments. If an approved plan provides that impact payments are to be made through the board, or if the board receives monies through the financial guarantee, the board will deposit these monies into the account, and will distribute the monies as provided by the impact plan to the county treasurer in the affected county to be credited to the impact fund of the affected local government unit. If the entire sum is not requested by, or under the plan committed to, the affected local government units, the board will revert the remainder, if any, to the developer.

(2) In implementing an approved impact plan, the affected local government units and the mineral developer shall establish procedures acceptable to the board for transmitting payments and providing information required by statute or rule. The procedures and information must include the following:

(a) Each local government unit entitled to receive grants or tax prepayments from a mineral developer as provided by an approved impact plan must establish an impact fund within its budget. The fund must be established and maintained in a manner consistent with accepted budgeting and accounting practices. The impact fund budget must reflect tax prepayments, grants or other impact revenues to be received from the developer and the expenditures contemplated by the approved impact plan. Within the fund, tax prepayments must be distinguished from grants or contributions by a separate account, for purposes of identifying future tax crediting obligations.

(b) The governing body shall provide the board with a copy of that portion of the adopted budget or budget amendment that is related to the impact plan and includes the impact fund, a copy of the resolution by which the governing body adopted the budget or budget amendment, and, upon request, the year-end budget report.

(c) The affected local governing body may request that the developer make the payments provided for in the approved impact plan and in the budget or budget amendment of the local government unit. The governing body shall send to the board a copy of each payment request. Each request must identify the name of the local government unit making the request; the date of the request; the name of the mineral developer responsible for making the payment; the amount of the requested payment; whether the request is for a tax prepayment, grant, or other funds; the purpose of the payment as specified in the approved impact plan; and the subaccount within the impact fund for which the payment is intended. The request must refer to the item on the payment schedule or to the page or pages in the approved impact plan on which the financial commitment and the purpose of the expenditure are specified. The request must bear the signatures of the governing body of the affected local government unit.

(d) The board will transmit payments made through the board upon written request from the governing body of the affected local government unit and upon receipt of that documentation specified in (c) and in ARM 8.104.211B.

(e) If the plan provides that payment is to be made by the developer directly to the county treasurer to be credited to the affected local government unit, the developer shall notify the board when the payment is made and the county treasurer shall notify the board when the payment is received. Each notice must contain or reference the information required in (c). Forms for requesting, making or acknowledging receipt of payment are available from the board.

(f) The mineral developer and the governing body of the affected local government unit shall provide the board with a copy of any facility impact bond agreement and guarantee entered into as a result of an approved impact plan within 15 days of their executing the agreement and guarantee. The agreement and guarantee become part of the approved impact plan.

(3) As required by 90-6-307(11) and (15), MCA, the board will notify the Department of Environmental Quality if the mineral developer fails to comply, or resumes compliance, with the terms of the approved impact plan or with the requirements of Title 90, chapter 6, parts 3 and 4 of the Montana Code Annotated.

This rule has been repealed.

(a) Modifications must be submitted in writing to the board and to all local government units that are party to the plan.

(b) The copy filed with the board must bear the signatures of the authorized representatives of the developer and of the governing body of each local government unit that is a party to the modification.

(c) If there is a need to modify the format of the plan and if the modification does not affect the substantive provisions of the plan, the governing body of the county may act on behalf of all local government units within the county when it concurs with the modification of format.

(d) Any modification submitted less than 30 days prior to the end of the review period must carry with it a request from the local governing body for an extension which allows 30-day review of the modification.

(e) All modifications must be incorporated into the plan before the board will approve it. The modified plan must comply with the form and content requirements for an impact plan as provided by parts 3 and 4 of Title 90, chapter 6 of the Montana Code Annotated and by the administrative rules adopted by the board. In the modified plan the table of contents, summary, schedule of payment, and, if a part of the plan, the developer's written guarantee, must accurately contain and reflect the modifications. Obsolete material must be deleted from the plan through the use of replacement pages that contain and reflect the modifications or, if the use of replacement pages is not feasible, obsolete material must be deleted by specific reference.

(f) The board may allow revisions to format following the review or negotiation period, or an extension of either, to the extent that such revisions are necessary to incorporate the modifications into the plan in order to comply with ARM 8.104.203.

(1) The financial guarantee required of a developer by 90-6-309(3), MCA, to assure that property tax prepayments will be paid as needed by local government units must, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:

(a) The guarantee must cover the total amount of money the developer has committed to prepay with adequate provisions for any conditional payments provided for in the impact plan. Both the total amount covered by the guarantee and the specific purpose of each prepayment must be specified with sufficient clarity that it can be determined that the guarantee corresponds with and is sufficient to meet all prepayment commitments in the approved impact plan;

(b) The guarantee must make the money accessible to the board in the event of a default on the part of the developer or the need for the board to resolve a dispute between the developer and an affected local government unit; and

(c) The funds contained in the guarantee mechanism must be protected from all uses not specified in or provided for by an approved impact plan or an approved amendment to the plan.

(d) The guarantee must be provided through a financially sound third-party financial institution that is acceptable to the board and in which the developer does not have a significant financial interest.

(2) The financial guarantee must be submitted to the board in sufficient time that it may be approved by the board and be in place before mining activities under an operating permit issued by the Department of Environmental Quality commence or prior to the time an affected local government unit must incur a financial obligation in implementation of the approved impact plan and in anticipation of revenues protected by the financial guarantee, whichever occurs first.

This rule has been repealed.

(1) Under certain circumstances the mineral developer or the governing body of an affected county (on its own behalf or on behalf of another affected government unit within the county) may petition the board to amend an approved impact plan. The requirements and procedures for petitioning to amend a plan are provided in 90-6-311, MCA, and a petition for an amendment must include or identify the following:

(a) when applicable, a copy of a resolution, dated and signed by the governing body of each local government unit that is requesting the amendment, authorizing the county to submit the petition for the amendment of the impact plan;

(b) date of the petition;

(c) the name of the mineral developer;

(d) county in which mineral development is located;

(e) name, address, phone number and signature(s) of each petitioner (county and/or mineral developer) ;

(f) all local government units believed by the petitioner to be affected by the proposed amendment;

(g) as required by 90-6-311(2) , MCA, an explanation of the need for an amendment, a statement of the facts and circumstances underlying the need for an amendment, and a description of the corrective measures proposed by the petitioner;

(h) the costs and commitments identified in the approved plan which will be changed as a result of the proposed amendment, with the relevant pages in the plan cited;

(i) other provisions of the approved plan which may be changed by the proposed amendment, with the relevant pages cited and substitute language proposed that will make the plan consistent throughout;

(j) a statement as to which of the following is the legal basis for the petition:

(i) that the plan itself provides for amendment under certain conditions and that those conditions have been met with the conditions specified and the pages on which they are established cited. The petitioner must establish that the conditions have been met;

(ii) that employment at the large-scale mineral development is forecast to increase or decrease by at least 75 persons, as determined under 90-6-302(4) , MCA, over or under the employment levels contemplated by the approved impact plan;

(iii) that the approved impact plan is materially inaccurate because of errors in assessment and that two years have not elapsed since the date the facility began commercial production with the date the facility began commercial production indicated; or

(iv) that the governing body of an affected county and the mineral developer are joining in the petition to amend the impact plan.

(1) The board will grant a waiver or a conditional waiver of the impact plan requirement to a large-scale mineral development permittee, as authorized by 90-6-307(14), MCA, if:

(a) The permittee and the governing bodies of all potentially affected local government units, as identified by the board and the affected county or counties, notify the board in writing that:

(i) they do not anticipate a need to increase local government services and facilities as a result of the increase in employment identified in the permittee's annual report to the Department of Environmental Quality; or

(ii) the anticipated increase in need for services and facilities is not expected to result in an increase in local government costs to the nondeveloper taxpayer, or that such costs will be paid by the developer under the terms of the conditional waiver;

(b) No potentially affected local government unit requests the board to deny the waiver or to require an impact plan; or

(c) Following a public hearing on the proposed waiver, or notice and opportunity for hearing, the board considers it unlikely that adverse fiscal impacts will affect any local government unit, either as a result of the increase in employment identified in the permittee's annual report, as required by 82-4-339, MCA, or as a result of the associated changes in the mining operation.

(2) Following its decision, the board will provide a copy of the waiver, conditional waiver, or denial of waiver to the Department of Environmental Quality, the permittee, and the potentially affected local government units identified by the board and the affected county or counties for purposes of 90-6-307(14), MCA.

This rule has been repealed.

This rule has been repealed.

This rule has been repealed.

This rule has been repealed.

This rule has been repealed.