295.64 Mining site monitoring; general.

(1) General. The department, as a condition of a mining permit, shall require the operator to perform adequate monitoring of environmental changes during the course of the mining and for the additional period of time that is necessary to satisfactorily complete reclamation and completely release the operator from any bonds or other security required. The department may monitor environmental changes concurrently with the operator and for an additional period after the security is released.

(2) Analyses.

(a) The department shall review baseline water quality data with respect to groundwater and monitoring data associated with the mine, mining waste sites, and sites for the disposal of wastes that are not mining wastes at the time of each review of the mining permit or reclamation plan under s. 295.63 (3) and when the operator requests a modification of the mining permit or reclamation plan.

(b) An operator shall have bacteriological analyses of water samples and all radiological analyses associated with the mining site performed by the state laboratory of hygiene or at a laboratory certified or approved by the department of health services. An operator shall have other laboratory tests the results of which are submitted to the department under this subchapter performed by a laboratory certified or registered under s. 299.11, except that this requirement does not apply to any of the following:

1. Physical testing of soil.

2. Air quality tests.

3. Tests for hydrogen ion concentration (pH).

4. Tests for chlorine residual.

5. Tests for temperature.

History: 2013 a. 1.