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DEQ-backed bill would raise hard-rock mining fees and create permit account; industry largely supportive
Summary
House Bill 69 would increase operating and application fees for hard-rock mining and create a dedicated permitting-program account to fund DEQ’s implementation of the Metal Mine Reclamation Act. DEQ and major industry groups, including the Montana Mining Association and Montana Resources, supported the measure after negotiation.
Representative Steve Gist opened the hearing on House Bill 69, a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) bill to update decades-old hard-rock mining fees and create a new permitting program account to support implementation of the Metal Mine Reclamation Act (MMRA).
DEQ Administrator Dan Walsh and Mining Bureau Chief Eric Dahlgren outlined the need: fees for operating permits and exploration licenses have not been updated since 2001, DEQ said, and current mining-fee revenue averages roughly $12,000 per year and is directed…
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