News Releases from Headquarters›Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

EPA Seeks Small Entity Input on Financial Responsibility Requirements for Hardrock Mining Industry

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks nominations from those small entities that may be subject to a proposed rule establishing financial responsibility requirements for facilities within the hardrock mining industry. Financial responsibility requirements help ensure that owners and operators of these facilities, not taxpayers, pay for environmental cleanup.

The selected nominees will serve as the Small Entity Representatives (SERs), providing advice and recommendations on behalf of their company, community, or organization to the federal panel on the proposed rule. EPA previously solicited nominations for a similar panel in 2010. Entities that participated in that previous effort and would like to be considered again need to re-nominate themselves.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires EPA to establish a federal panel for rules that will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The panel includes federal representatives from the Small Business Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and EPA.

In an earlier Federal Register notice, EPA identified classes of facilities within the hardrock mining industry as those for which EPA will first develop financial responsibility requirements under section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

CERCLA is commonly called the "Superfund" law. In the notice identifying hardrock mining, EPA defined hard rock mining as the extraction, beneficiation or processing of metals and non-metallic, non-fuel minerals.

Small businesses interested in the proposed rule or serving as a SER should visit: http://www.epa.gov/rfa/hard-rock-mining.html

Submissions must be received by June 22, 2015.