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Bill would let DEQ treat small mine maintenance issues as correctable before costly violations
Summary
Senate Bill 368 would give DEQ authority to issue written warnings and a 30-day correction period for minor maintenance items at mine sites; supporters call it common-sense; opponents say it reduces transparency and enforcement.
Senate Bill 368, introduced by Sen. Sue Vinton, would create a formal path for DEQ to categorize certain routine, quickly correctable incidents at mine sites as "minor maintenance items" and give operators 30 days to fix them before issuance of a notice of noncompliance.
Vinton told the Senate Natural Resources Committee the bill targets everyday issues such as temporary signage knocked down by wind or small equipment leaks that do not pose imminent danger to public health or cause significant environmental harm. Under the proposal, DEQ could issue a written warning for qualifying items and allow 30 days for correction; failure to correct would open the standard enforcement path.
Westmoreland Mining and industry groups, including the Montana Coal…
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