Nevada Department of Wildlife Industrial Artificial Pond Regulation Change

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1 Nevada Department of Wildlife Industrial Artificial Pond Regulation Change Regional Stakeholder Meetings January 12 14, 2016 Alan Jenne, Habitat Division Administrator Matt Maples, Habitat Staff Specialist Purpose of Stakeholder Meeting Provide background and status of existing regulations and program requirements Introduce NDOWs proposed regulation changes to the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) Provide timeline for the proposed regulation change Receive stakeholder comments 1

2 Overview of NRS Nevada Revised Statues requires a permit to develop or maintain certain bodies of water; fees and assessments; penalties 1. Defines the type of ponds or operations that must have an Industrial Artificial Pond Permit (IAPP) 2. Provides guidelines as to how permits should be issued, renewed, transferred, or denied 3. Provides for the permit cost (no more than $125 per year) 4. Requires an annual assessment fee (no more than $10,000 per year) as determined by the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners 5. Specifies penalties (misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor) for failure to obtain a permit, comply with permit conditions, or pay assessment fees To implement NRS, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners adopted Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) NAC to in and it has not been changed since. The proposed regulation changes would only modify NAC, not NRS. 2

3 Overview of existing NAC Regulations Permits includes measures to protect wildlife and operating standards to be implemented by the permittee Wildlife mortality reporting Access to property for inspections Overview of existing NAC Regulations NAC Requires permittees to pay an annual assessment fee based on the tons of material processed through a mill or a heap leach pad during the previous fiscal year. 3

4 Assessment Fee Challenges Only 55% of current permit holders pay an annual assessment. Many projects that require significant staff time and inspections are paying $0 to $50 per year. Program cost is approximately $578,000 but assessment fees only bring in $258,000. Program has a funding shortfall of $320,000 per year. Average NDOW cost per permit ~$6,423/year Costs include staff time to issue and manage permits, conduct compliance inspections and review quarterly reports. Average revenue per permit is ~$2,870 What Changed? Prior to 2011, the IAPP Program was subsidized with sportsman dollars to account for the shortfall. The use of sportsman dollars was eliminated in 2011 because it was determined that sportsman dollars should not pay for a industry program. Recent withdrawal of $200,000 to pay for the Sagebrush Ecosystem Council. As a result, the IAP Account balance has declined substantially in the last 5 years. 4

5 What action has NDOW taken? Eliminated spending within the Industry Project Fund, which was used in cooperation with the Nevada Mining Association to fund research and habitat projects related to industry activity: Mule deer assessment, Sage grouse telemetry, Golden eagle surveys, Abandoned mine land work Habitat reclamation Developing an improved database for permitting and mortality reporting to increase efficiency. Current shortfall is not sustainable without input of sportsman dollars. The work load (# active permits) has remained stable or increased over time. Funding and Permitting Goals Create sustainable system that covers the cost of the program and minimizes the sportsman subsidy Create an assessment fee structure where more of the existing permittees pay annual assessments Provide a consistent and clear permitting processes 5

6 Proposed Regulation Change Changes to assessment fee structure to encompass more active permittees and align assessment fees more closely with cost (costrecovery). Add/modify certain definitions to support the revised assessment fees. Clean up and additional language to clarify purpose of permits and process for permit issuance, renewal, and modification. How will the proposed assessment fee structure work? Establish three Assessment Fee Schedules: a) Number of tons of ore a facility is designed to process per year, b) Cumulative acres of artificial water bodies a facility is designed to include, and c) Cumulative number artificial water bodies a facility is designed to include. These schedules will increase the number of facilities that are required to pay an assessment fee. Inclusion of industries beyond mining (solar, geothermal, coal power plants). Assessment fee would be required from most permitted facilities. Increasing payees from 55% to 98%. 6

7 How will the proposed assessment fee structure work? Establish five Payment Tiers within each Fee Schedule: As project size or production increases, the fee will increase. Larger projects require more effort to permit and inspect (higher costs to NDOW). Payment tier for permanently closed facilities that still require an IAP permit, and create permitting/inspection costs. The highest payment tier will not exceed the existing fee cap of $10,000 per year. The proposed payment tiers start at $1,000 and increase to $10,000 per year. Fee Calculation Example Example of assessment fee calculation for a project that includes: Designed to process 250,000 tons of ore per year = Tier 3 in Schedule A (Ore Tons) Has a total of 30 surface acres in ponds at the facility = Tier 2 in Schedule B (Pond Acres) Has 3 individual ponds at the facility = Tier 1 in Schedule C (Pond Census) (A) Ore Tons (B) Pond Acres (C) Pond Census Tier 4 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 Tier 3 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 Tier 2 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Tier 1 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Permanent Closure $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 The assessment fee is based on the highest qualifying payment tier. In this example, the project s assessment fee would be $6,000 per year. 7

8 Existing IAP Tasks and Funding Industrial Artificial Pond Program Program Funding Source Implements toxic pond regulations (required by NRS) Manage permits, conduct inspections, ensure compliance with permit terms $320k (55%) $258k (45%) Assessment Fees Shortfall Currently industry funded, but major shortfall results in use of sportsman dollars (shortfall). * Indicates sportsmen generated funding source Existing Technical Review Tasks and Funding Technical Review Program Program Funding Source Provides biological data and expertise to land management agencies during NEPA. Provides input relative to avoidance, minimization, and mitigation for industrial development. $1,018,000 (75%) $340,000 (25%) State License Dollars* Federal PR Grant Dollars* Currently 100% sportsman funded. * Indicates sportsmen generated funding source 8

9 New Program Structure In conjunction with the regulation change, NDOW will combine these two programs into a single Industrial Development Program to take advantage of Federal Pittman Robertson grant funding. IAP $320k (55%) $258k (45%) Tech. Review Assessment Fees Shortfall Industrial Development Program $350k (15%) $1,357,000 (55%) $578k (45%) IAP Program (Assessment Fees Only) Technical Review (Federal PR Grant Only) Industrial Project Fund (Federal PR Grant Only) $340k (25%) $1,018,000 (75%) State License Dollars* Federal PR Grant Dollars* * Indicates sportsmen generated funding source Expected Results Clean up and clarify permitting processes. IAPP Program will be 100% self sustaining industry will be paying for permitting and inspection programs through assessment fees. IAPP Program assessment fees will be used as matching funds to obtain Federal Pittman Robertson Grant dollars. 80% of Federal PR Grant will be used to fund the Technical Review Program. 20% of Federal PR Grant will be used to re start the Industrial Project Fund. Revitalize the Industrial Project Fund for habitat and research project related to industrial development. Coordinated with Industry Partners 9

10 Regulation Adoption Process and Timeline January January February March May/June July Initial Regulation Language Stakeholder Meetings & Scoping Revised Regulation Language Public Workshop & Final Regulation Language Adoption by NBWC Regulation filed with Legislative Commission and Secretary of State Questions? Support material available at: s/public_notices/ 10