2017 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 293. Nonferrous metallic mining.
293.43 Hearings on permit applications.

293.43  Hearings on permit applications.

(1)  Applicability. This section shall govern all hearings on applications for prospecting or mining permits.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (1) is shown as amended eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134. Prior to 7-1-18 it reads:

(1m) Scope.

(a) The hearing on the prospecting or mining permit shall cover the application and any statements prepared under s. 1.11 and, to the fullest extent possible, all other applications for approvals, licenses and permits issued by the department. The department shall inform the applicant as to the timely application date for all approvals, licenses and permits issued by the department, so as to facilitate the consideration of all other matters at the hearing on the prospecting or mining permits.

(b) Except as provided in this section, for all department issued approvals, licenses, and permits relating to prospecting or mining, including solid waste feasibility report approvals and permits related to air and water, to be issued after April 30, 1980, the notice, hearing, and comment process and the time for issuance of decisions shall be controlled by this section and ss. 293.45 and 293.49. The substantive requirements for the issuance of any approval, permit, or license incidental to prospecting or mining are not affected by the fact that a hearing on the approval, permit, or license is conducted as part of a hearing under this section.

Effective date note Note: Par. (b) is shown as amended eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134. Prior to 7-1-18 it reads:

Effective date text (b) Except as provided in this paragraph, for all department issued approvals, licenses and permits relating to prospecting or mining including solid waste feasibility report approvals and permits related to air and water, to be issued after April 30, 1980, the notice, hearing and comment provisions, if any, and the time for issuance of decisions, shall be controlled by this section and ss. 293.45 and 293.49. If an applicant fails to make application for an approval, license or permit for an activity incidental to prospecting or mining in time for notice under this section to be provided, the notice and comment requirements, if any, shall be controlled by the specific statutory provisions with respect to that application. If notice under those specific statutory notice requirements can be given for consideration of the approval, license or permit at the hearing under this section, the application shall be considered at that hearing; otherwise, the specific statutory hearing provisions, if any, with respect to that application shall control. The substantive requirements for the issuance of any approval, permit or license incidental to prospecting or mining are not affected by the fact that a hearing on the approval, permit or license is conducted as part of a hearing under this section.

(2) Location. The hearing shall be held in the county where the prospecting or mining site, or the largest portion of the prospecting or mining site, is located, but may subsequently be adjourned to other locations.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (2) is repealed eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(2m) Public information and notice.

(a) The department shall make available for review in the city, village, or town in which the proposed prospecting or mining site is located, information concerning the proposed prospecting or mining site, including all of the following:

1. The application for the prospecting or mining permit, including the mining plan, reclamation plan, and mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.

2. All of the following relating to an approval other than the prospecting or mining permit:

a. The application.

b. A draft approval.

c. Information or summaries relating to the draft approval.

3. The draft environmental impact statement, the environmental impact report, and any additional supporting information used in the department's evaluation of the proposed prospecting or mining.

4. The draft prospecting or mining permit.

5. The department's analyses and preliminary determinations relating to any approval.

(b) Within 30 days after the expiration of the applicable time period under s. 293.40 (3), the department shall distribute a notice that describes the availability of the information under par. (a); the opportunity for written public comment, including an invitation for the submission of written comments by any person within 45 days after the date of the publication of the notice; and the date, time, and location of the public informational hearing and that includes any additional information that a law concerning any approval requires to be provided. The department shall publish the notice as a class 1 notice under ch. 985 and shall publish notice on the department's Internet site. The date on which the department first publishes the notice on its Internet site shall be considered the date of the publication of the notice required to be published under this paragraph. The department shall also send the notice to all of the following:

1. The clerk of any city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed prospecting or mining site.

2. The clerk of any city, village, town, or county within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed prospecting or mining site is located.

3. The clerk of any city, village, or town, contiguous to any city, village, or town within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed prospecting or mining site is located.

4. The main public library of each city, village, town, or county with zoning jurisdiction over the proposed mining site or within whose boundaries any portion of the proposed prospecting or mining site is located.

5. Any regional planning commission for the area within which the proposed prospecting or mining site lies.

6. Any state agency that the department knows is required to grant a permit or other authorization necessary for the construction or operation of the proposed prospecting or mining project.

7. The federal environmental protection agency, U.S. army corps of engineers, and states potentially affected by the proposed discharge if a water discharge permit under ch. 283 or a wetland permit that constitutes a water quality certification as required by 33 USC 1341 (a) is to be considered at the public informational hearing.

8. The federal environmental protection agency and appropriate agencies in other states that may be affected if an air pollution control permit under ch. 285 is to be considered at the public informational hearing.

9. If a water withdrawal permit under s. 293.65 for a withdrawal of surface water is to be considered at the public informational hearing, the persons specified in s. 30.18 (4) (a).

10. If an individual permit under s. 30.12 for a structure through which water transferred from the Great Lakes basin would be returned to the source watershed through a stream tributary to one of the Great Lakes is to be considered at the public informational hearing, the governing body of each city, village, and town through which the stream flows or that is adjacent to the stream downstream from the point at which the water would enter the stream.

11. Any person upon request. The department's notice under this subdivision may be given through an electronic notification system established by the department.

12. The applicant.

13. Any other person to whom the department is required to give notice of any proposed determination, application, or hearing concerning an approval under the laws relating to the issuance of any approval or under s. 1.11.

(c) The department shall coordinate the public comment period for the prospecting or mining permit with the public comment period for any other approval for the prospecting or mining operation, except that if an application for an approval is filed too late to allow public comment within the public comment period for the prospecting or mining permit, the department shall issue separate notice, as described in par. (b), for the approval after the application is filed.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (2m) is created eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(3) Timing of notice and of hearing; giving of notice.

(a) If it is determined that a statement under s. 1.11 is not required, the hearing shall be scheduled for a date not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days after the announcement of that determination, and the scheduling and providing of notice shall be completed not later than 10 days following the announcement. Notice of the hearing shall be given by mailing a copy of the notice to any known state agency required to issue a permit for the proposed operation, to the regional planning commission for the affected area, to the county, city, village and town within which any part of the affected area lies, to all persons who have requested this notification and, if applicable, to all persons specified under par. (b) 3. and s. 281.35 (5) (b) and (6) (f). Written comments may be submitted to the department within 30 days of the date of notice.

(b) If it is determined that a statement under s. 1.11 is required, or if an environmental impact statement is required under s. 293.39, the department shall hold at least one informational meeting regarding the preliminary environmental report within 60 days of its issuance. The meeting shall be held not sooner than 30 days nor later than 60 days after the issuance of the report. The scheduling and providing of notice of the meeting shall be completed not later than 10 days following the issuance of the preliminary environmental report. A hearing referred to under sub. (1m) shall be scheduled for a date not less than 120 days nor more than 180 days after the issuance of the environmental impact statement. The scheduling and providing of notice of the hearing shall be completed within 30 days from the date of issuance of the environmental impact statement. The providing of notice shall be accomplished by:

1. Mailing a copy of the notice to all known departments and agencies required to grant any permit necessary for the proposed operation, to any regional planning commission within which the affected area lies, to the governing bodies of all towns, villages, cities and counties within which any part of the proposed prospecting or mining site lies, to the governing bodies of any towns, villages or cities contiguous to any town, village or city within which any part of the proposed prospecting or mining site lies and to any interested persons who have requested such notification.

2. Publication of a class 2 notice, under ch. 985, utilizing a display advertising format, in the weekly newspaper published in the closest geographic proximity to the proposed prospecting or mining site, in the newspaper having the largest circulation in the county within which the proposed site lies and in those newspapers published in counties contiguous to the county within which the proposed site lies which have a substantial circulation in the area of, or adjacent to, the proposed prospecting or mining site.

3. Mailing a copy of the notice to the U.S. environmental protection agency, U.S. army corps of engineers and other states potentially affected by the proposed discharge if a water discharge permit under ch. 283 is to be considered at the hearing under this section and to the U.S. environmental protection agency and appropriate agencies in other states which may be affected if an air pollution control permit under ch. 285 is to be considered at the hearing under this section.

(c) Written comments may be submitted by any governmental agency within 80 days of the date of issuance of the statement under par. (b). Individual persons may submit written comments within 120 days of the date of issuance of the statement. The last day for receipt of comments shall be specified by the department in all notices.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (3) is repealed eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(3m) Informational hearing. The department shall hold a public informational hearing before it approves or denies an application for a prospecting or mining permit and not less than 30 days after the date of the publication of the notice under sub. (2m) (b). The department shall hold the public informational hearing in the county where the majority of the proposed prospecting or mining site is located. The department shall hold a single public informational hearing covering the draft prospecting or mining permit, all other draft approvals, and the draft environmental impact statement, except that if an application for an approval is filed too late to allow the application to be considered at the public informational hearing for the prospecting or mining permit, the department shall hold a separate public informational hearing on the draft approval in the county where the majority of the proposed prospecting or mining site is located not less than 30 days after the date of the publication of a separate notice under sub. (2m) (b) for the approval. The department shall publish the separate notice for the approval on its Internet site not more than 10 days after the application is considered to be complete, which is the 30th day after the department receives the application unless, before that day, the department requests additional information, in which case the application is considered to be complete when the applicant provides the information. A public informational hearing under this subsection is not a contested case hearing under ch. 227.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (3m) is created eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(4) Participation by local governments. Any county, town, village or city receiving notice of the filing of an application in the manner provided under sub. (3) (a) or (b) shall refer the application and reclamation plan to a committee established under s. 293.33 (1) or (2), if any, for review and comment. Such counties, towns, villages or cities may participate as a party in the hearing on the application and may make recommendations on the reclamation plan and future use of the project site.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (4) is repealed eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(4m) Summary. After considering the comments received under subs. (2m) and (3m) and before acting on the application for the mining permit, the department shall prepare a summary of the comments and the department's response to the comments.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (4m) is created eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

(5) Hearing procedure.

(a) At the opening of the hearing, the hearing examiner shall advise all persons present of their right to express their views either orally or in writing, under oath or otherwise, and of the legal effect of each form of testimony. All interested persons, at the hearing or at a time set prior to the hearing, shall be given an opportunity, subject to reasonable limitations on the presentation of repetitious or irrelevant material, to express their views on any aspect of the matters under consideration. The presentation of these views need not be under oath nor subject to cross-examination. A written record of unsworn testimony shall be made.

(b) Persons who wish to participate as parties shall file a written notice with the hearing examiner setting forth their interest at least 30 days prior to the scheduled time of the hearing or prior to the scheduled time of any prehearing conference, whichever is earlier, unless good cause is shown.

(c) The record shall consist of the contested case portion of the proceeding. Views given under par. (a) and all written comments submitted from any source shall be placed in the file of the proceeding and shall be given appropriate probative value by the hearing examiner or decisionmaker.

(d) Hearings conducted under this section may be continued for just cause.

(e) If evidence of conformance with applicable zoning ordinances as required by s. 293.49 (1) (a) 6. is not presented by the time testimony is completed, the department shall close the record and continue the hearing. The duration of the continuance of the hearing shall be specified by the department at the time the continuance begins, after first requesting the applicant to state the anticipated time at which the evidence will be provided. The continuance may be extended by the department prior to its expiration upon notice to all parties if good cause is shown.

(f) Each approval or denial of a license or permit considered at the hearing under this section shall be made in findings of fact, conclusions of law and an order setting forth reasons with clarity and in detail.

Effective date note Note: Sub. (5) is repealed eff. 7-1-18 by 2017 Wis. Act 134.

293.43 History