AB313 - 2023 Nevada State Assembly Bill, revising mining reclamation.
AB313 – 2023 Session Nevada Legislature Bill, 'Revises Provisions relating to Mining Reclamation. (BDR 46-590). Revisions related to mining reclamation, especially concerning pit lake backfill. The links below are to the Nevada Legislature website listing bills before the 2023 session.
Links to AB 313
An overview, amendments and current status, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10165/Overview
The text of the bill, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10165/Text
The link for public comment, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10165/Opinions This link will take you to the overview page, then scroll to the bottom for the direct public opinions link. You will need to register for, or sign in, to your Nevada Legislature Account.
NMEC letter to the Nevada Assembly Committee on Natural Resources by NMEC Vice President and Director Elizabeth Zbinden - Concerning AB 313
Dear Chair Cohen and Members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee:
I am a geologist who works in the mineral exploration industry. I have been based in Nevada for over 25 years, with clients and assignments all around Nevada and surrounding states as well as some foreign experience. I wish to comment on Assembly Bill 313
This bill was prompted, as I understand it, by the bad condition of certain old pit lakes remaining from historic mining operations.
This bill does nothing to remedy those old mistakes. Instead, it attempts to reinvent the wheel by fixing a problem that has already been fixed by previous legislation. And it fails to recognize that other old pit lakes from other historic mining operations are just fine. .........
For the complete letter, https://nvmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NMEC-Comment-on-AB313-Pit-Backfilling.pdf
Women's Mining Coalition letter by WMC Co-Founder and Board Member Debra Struhsacker - Concerning AB 313
RE: Updated Testimony in Opposition to AB 313 – Pit Backfilling/Un-Mining Bill
Dear Chairwoman Cohen and Members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee:
The Women’s Mining Coalition (WMC) is submitting this updated testimony in response to the March 29, 2023 amendment to this bill and to emphasize that the amendment does not alleviate our concerns about the pit lake backfilling mandate in AB 313. Our March 24, 2023 testimony, which we submitted prior to the hearing being postponed, outlines our concerns in detail and is attached as Exhibit 1 for your convenience.
The amendment to AB 313 still includes the faulty assumption that pit backfilling to eliminate a pit lake is the best way to reclaim a pit and close a mine. AB 313 fails to recognize that backfilling is not the best closure option for many sites – and is the wrong option at some sites. Consequently, the one-size-fits-all pit backfilling mandate in AB 313 is technically flawed. .....
For the complete letter, https://nvmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Womens-Mining-Coalition-Udated-Testimony-in-Opposition-to-AB-313-040723.pdf