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2001 General Session
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HB 43 was the third legislative attempt in four years to change the regulation of two types of mines in Wyoming, ten-acre exemptions and small mines.
Ten-acre exemptions refer to surface mines for sand, gravel, scoria, limestone, dolomite, shale, ballast, or feldspar that affect fewer than ten acres over the life of the mine.
These mines operate under minimal regulation. They must obtain written permission from the owner and lessee (if any) of the surface and must post a reclamation bond of $1000 per acre of affected land.
The operators of ten-acre exemptions are not required to give public notice or receive any public comment on their operations.
Small mines are surface mines that remove less than 10,000 cubic yards of overburden and affect a maximum of ten surface acres per year. These mines must comply only with a significantly scaled-down version of the regulations that apply to large mines.
As did its 1999 and 1998 predecessors, HB 43 again sought to expand the definition of mineable material under ten-acre exemptions to include all non-metallic material except coal.
For small mines, HB 43 excluded topsoil from the calculation of 10,000 cubic yards of overburden, effectively allowing small mines to become larger without having to comply with stricter regulations.
The proposed change in the calculation of overburden was precipitated by a recent decision by the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council, which ruled against a small mine operator who wished to remove more than 10,000 cubic yards of overburden a year and still remain in the small mine category by not counting topsoil as overburden.
HB 43 was amended during House debate to include a provision not in the two earlier versions of the bill: a requirement that an operator notify local governments and residents within one-half mile when blasting is planned.
Proponents of HB 43 argued that broadening the definition of materials eligible for mining under ten-acre exemptions would allow operators to take advantage of an emerging market for decorative rock.
They also maintained that excluding topsoil in the calculation of overburden would make business more profitable for small mine operators by allowing them to increase productivity.
Since ten-acre exemption mines operate under almost no regulation, opponents argued that expanding the definition of mineable material so more mines could utilize the ten-acre exemption would be undesirable.
Further, opponents noted that many small mines are in close proximity to residential neighbors and maintained that omitting topsoil from the calculation of overburden for small mines would allow these mines to become larger without appropriate regulatory oversight.
HB 43 passed the House, 36-23 (one excused).
It subsequently was killed in the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee on a 2-3 vote, with Sens. Bill Hawks (R-S29, Casper) and Steve Youngbauer (R-S23, Gillette) voting for the bill and Sens. Ken Decaria (D-S15, Evanston), Jayne Mockler (D-S8, Cheyenne) and John Schiffer (R-S22, Kaycee) voting against the bill.
The vote listed below is the House Third Reading (final passage) votes on HB 43.
A YES vote means the representative supported expanding the definition of ten-acre exemption mines and expanding the size of small mines that need not comply with most regulations.
A NO vote means the representative did not support these changes in definition and size of ten- acre exemption and small mines.
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BIG HORN BASIN LEGISLATORS |
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S18 |
Sen. Hank Coe (R) |
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H24 |
Rep. Colin Simpson (R) |
Yes |
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H50 |
Rep. Pat Childers (R) |
Yes |
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S19 |
Sen. Carroll Miller (R) |
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H25 |
Rep. Alan Jones (R) |
Yes |
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H26 |
Rep. Chas. Hessenthaler (R) |
Yes |
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S20 |
Sen. Gerald Geis (R) |
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H27 |
Rep. Jane Wostenberg (R) |
Yes |
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H28 |
Rep. Mike Baker (R) |
Yes |
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CASPER-AREA LEGISLATORS |
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S27 |
Sen. Bruce Hinchey (R) |
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H35 |
Rep. Roy Cohee (R) |
Yes |
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H36 |
Rep. Gerald Gay (R) |
No |
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S28 |
Sen. Keith Goodenough (D) |
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H56 |
Rep. Pat Nagel (R) |
No |
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H57 |
Rep. Thomas Lockhart (R) |
Yes |
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S29 |
Sen. Bill Hawks (R) |
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H37 |
Rep. Rick Tempest (R) |
Yes |
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H59 |
Rep. Dick Sadler (D) |
No |
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S30 |
Sen. Charles Scott (R) |
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H38 |
Rep. Carolyn Paseneaux (R) |
Yes |
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H58 |
Rep. Ann Robinson (D) |
No |
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CHEYENNE-AREA LEGISLATORS |
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S4 |
Sen. April Brimmer Kunz (R) |
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H7 |
Rep. Tony Ross (R) |
No |
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H41 |
Rep. Mac McGraw (D) |
No |
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S5 |
Sen. John Hanes (R) |
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H8 |
Rep. Larry Meuli (R) |
No |
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H42 |
Rep. Pete Illoway (R) |
Yes |
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S6 |
Sen. Rich Cathcart (D) |
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H9 |
Rep. Wayne Johnson (R) |
No |
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H10 |
Rep. Pete Anderson (R) |
Yes |
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S7 |
Sen. Kathryn Sessions (D) |
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H11 |
Rep. Wayne Reese (D) |
No |
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H43 |
Rep. Doug Samuelson (R) |
Yes |
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S8 |
Sen. Jayne Mockler (D) |
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H12 |
Rep. Layton Morgan (D) |
No |
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H44 |
Rep. Floyd Esquibel (D) |
No |
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GILLETTE-AREA LEGISLATORS |
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S23 |
Sen. Steven Youngbauer (R) |
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H31 |
Rep. John Hines (R) |
Yes |
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H52 |
Rep. George McMurtrey (R) |
Excused |
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S24 |
Sen. Dick Erb (R) |
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H32 |
Rep. Jeff Wasserburger (R) |
Yes |
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H53 |
Rep. Nick Deegan (D) |
Yes |
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LANDER/RIVERTON-AREA |
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S25 |
Sen. Cale Case (R) |
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H33 |
Rep. Harry Tipton (R) |
No |
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H54 |
Rep. Del McOmie (R) |
Yes |
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S26 |
Sen. Bob Peck (R) |
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H34 |
Rep. Frank Philp (R) |
Yes |
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H55 |
Rep. David Miller (R) |
Yes |
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NORTHEAST/EAST CENTRAL |
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S1 |
Sen. Bill Barton (R) |
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H1 |
Rep. Marlene Simons (R) |
Yes |
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H2 |
Rep. Ross Diercks (D) |
No |
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S2 |
Sen. Jim Anderson (R) |
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H5 |
Rep. Jim Hageman (R) |
Yes |
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H6 |
Rep. Dave Edwards (R) |
Yes |
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S3 |
Sen. Curt Meier (R) |
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H3 |
Rep. Bill Stafford (R) |
Yes |
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H4 |
Rep. Roger Huckfeldt (R) |
Yes |
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SHERIDAN-AREA LEGISLATORS |
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S21 |
Sen. Tom Kinnison (R) |
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H29 |
Rep. Jerry Iekel (R) |
Yes |
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H51 |
Rep. Bruce Burns (R) |
No |
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S22 |
Sen. John Schiffer (R) |
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H30 |
Rep. Jack Landon (R) |
No |
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H40 |
Rep. Douglas Osborn (R) |
Yes |
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SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING |
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S9 |
Sen. Mike Massie (D) |
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H13 |
Rep. Jane Warren (D) |
No |
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H45 |
Rep. Lorna Johnson (D) |
No |
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S10 |
Sen. Irene Devin (R) |
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H14 |
Rep. Phil Nicholas (R) |
Yes |
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H46 |
Rep. Jim Slater (R) |
Yes |
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S11 |
Sen. Bill Vasey (D) |
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H15 |
Rep. Tony Rose (R) |
Yes |
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H47 |
Rep. Teense Willford (R) |
Yes |
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SOUTHWEST WYOMING |
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S12 |
Sen. Rae Lynn Job (D) |
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H16 |
Rep. Stephen Watt (R) |
Yes |
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H48 |
Rep. George "Bud" Nelson (D) |
No |
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S13 |
Sen. Tex Boggs (D) |
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H17 |
Rep. Fred Parady (R) |
Yes |
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H60 |
Rep. Bill Thompson (D) |
No |
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S14 |
Sen. Mark Harris (D) |
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H18 |
Rep. John Eyre (R) |
Yes |
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H39 |
Rep. Chris Boswell (D) |
No |
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S15 |
Sen. Ken Decaria (D) |
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H19 |
Rep. Owen Petersen (R) |
No |
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H49 |
Rep. Saundra Meyer (D) |
No |
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WEST CENTRAL WYOMING |
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S16 |
Sen. Delaine Roberts (R) |
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H20 |
Rep. Louie Tomassi (R) |
No |
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H21 |
Rep. Randall Luthi (R) |
Yes |
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S17 |
Sen. Grant Larson (R) |
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H22 |
Rep. Jim "Bubba" Shivler (R) |
Yes |
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H23 |
Rep. Clarene Law (R) |
Yes |