Section NR 132.115 - Mining permit denial(1) Within 90 days of the completion of the record for the public hearing held under s. 293.43, Stats., the department shall deny the mining permit if it finds any of the following: (a) That the site is unsuitable for surface mining, if the application is for a proposed surface mine.(b) That the applicant has violated and continues to fail to comply with this chapter, ch. 293, Stats., or any rule adopted under ch. 293, Stats.(c) That any of the following situations may reasonably be expected to occur during or subsequent to mining: 1. Landslides or substantial deposition from the proposed operation in stream or lake beds which cannot be feasibly prevented.2. Significant surface subsidence that cannot be reclaimed because of the geologic characteristics present at the proposed site.3. Hazards resulting in irreparable damage to any of the following that cannot be prevented under the requirements of this chapter, avoided to the extent applicable by removal from the area of hazard, or mitigated by purchase or by obtaining the consent of the owner: f. Commercial or institutional buildings.h. Other public property designated by the department by rule.4. Irreparable environmental damage to lake or stream bodies despite adherence to the requirements of this chapter. This subdivision does not apply to an activity that the department has authorized pursuant to statute, except that the destruction or filling in of a lakebed shall not be authorized notwithstanding any other provision of law.(d) That the applicant, principal shareholder of the applicant, or a related person has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, forfeited a mining reclamation bond that was posted in accordance with a permit or other approval for a mining operation in the United States, unless the forfeiture was by agreement with the person for whose benefit the bond was posted and the amount of the bond was sufficient to cover all costs of reclamation.(e) That the applicant, a related person, or an officer or director of the applicant has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, been convicted of more than one felony for violations of laws for the protection of the natural environment arising out of the operation of a mining site in the United States, unless any of the following applies: 1. The person convicted has been pardoned for all of the felonies.2. The person convicted is a related person or an officer or director of the applicant with whom the applicant terminates its relationship.3. The applicant included in its permit application under s. NR 132.107 plans to prevent the occurrence in this state of events similar to the events that directly resulted in the convictions.(f) That the applicant or a related person has, within 10 years before the application is submitted, filed a petition for bankruptcy or undergone dissolution that resulted in the failure to reclaim a mining site in the United States in violation of a state or federal law and that failure has not been remedied and is not being remedied.(g) That, within 10 years before the application is submitted, a mining permit or other mining approval issued to the applicant or a related person was permanently revoked because of a failure to reclaim a mining site in the United States in violation of state or federal law and that failure has not been and is not being remedied.(2) The department may not deny a mining permit under sub. (1) (d) to (g) if the person subject to the convictions, forfeiture, permanent revocation, bankruptcy, or dissolution is a related person but the applicant shows that the person was not the parent corporation of the applicant, a person that holds more than a 30 percent ownership in the applicant, or a subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant in which the applicant holds more than a 30 percent interest at the time of the convictions, forfeiture, permanent revocation, bankruptcy, or dissolution.(3) If the department denies an application for a mining permit, the department shall furnish the operator findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order setting forth the reasons for denial.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 132.115
Adopted by, CR 20-043: cr. Register December 2021 No. 792, eff. 1/1/2022