(including an SMES Cyanide Permit) or an Exploration License. An Operating Permit or Exploration License supersedes the requirement for a groundwater discharge permit, because groundwater discharges permitted under an Operating Permit or Exploration License would be subject to the same level of review and monitoring as those permitted under a separate groundwater permit. Since an SMES is not actually a permit, but an exclusion from one, all SMES operations with actual or potential discharges to groundwater must have a groundwater permit. For more information on groundwater discharge permits, please contact the Montana DEQ at the address and phone/fax numbers found throughout this document.

C. Montana Streambed Preservation Act - 310 Permit: A 310 Permit is issued by the County Conservation Districts, in cooperation with the Montananbsp; Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is only required for certain perennial streams, and is necessary when an applicant intends to ford a stream, install a culvert, or install a bridge. It is also required for stream alteration or diversion. For more information please contact the Conservation District in the county where the operation is proposed.

D. Dredge/Fill - Federal Clean Water Act - Section 404 Permit: A federal Section 404 Permit is issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This permit is required whenever an operator proposes to remove material from (dredge), or place material in (fill), A waters of the United States@. This is defined on land as the area between the A ordinary high water marks@. This law also applies to wetlands. Some of the requirements of Section 404 permitting are redundant with the requirements of the 310 Permit (described Montana Department of Environmental Quality/Permitting & Compliance Division - Hard Rock Program in Subsection C, above). For more information, please contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Montana Office in Helena at (406) 441-1375.

E. Air Quality Permit: An Air Quality Permit is issued by the Montana DEQ's Permitting & Compliance Division under the authority of Montana Air Quality Act. It is required when emissions from a project are expected to exceed certain threshold values for various parameters. Generally, if emissions of any pollutant, including fugitive dust, exceed 25 tons/year, an Air Quality Permit is required. An annual fee, based upon a facilities total emissions, is required. In most cases, an Air Quality Permit is only needed for larger developments (e.g., large open-pit mines, or mines with a sizeable tailings impoundment or onsite, large-scale ore refinement plants, etc.). They are rarely required for exploration operations. By virtue of their relatively small maximum allowable size and tonnage, small mines operating under an SMES are excluded. For more information, please contact the Montana DEQ's Permitting & Compliance Division at the address and phone/fax numbers found throughout this document.

F. Water Rights: Operators always need to secure the necessary water rights/permits when using water in their processing or operation. AOne-shot-only@ users, such as drillers who may need a limited amount of water in a water truck or pipe diversion, can generally take the water as long as consideration is given to downstream water users and streambanks are not altered or a sedimentation problem created. It is strongly recommended that an operator contact a local landowner and inquire about water sources. For more information on specific requirements for water rights and usage, please contact the Montana

Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) - Water Resources Regional Office nearest to your project area:

Billings (406) 247-4415

Bozeman (406) 586-3136

Glasgow (406) 228-2561

Havre (406) 265-5516

Helena (406) 444-6999

 G. Montana Major Facility Siting Act: Although the Montana Major Facility Siting Act covers such things as power plants and pipelines, it's primary application to the mining industry usually involves new power transmission lines for larger operations. It ONLY applies to new power transmission lines that exceed 69 kilovolts. Some of the larger mines require this power capacity, and along with the local power company, must obtain a Facility Siting Permit from the Montana DEQ. A change in this law now exempts construction of a power line between 69 and 115 kilovolts from this Act if the applicant has the support of at least 75% of the landowners involved. For more information, please contact the Montana DEQ's Permitting & Compliance Division at the address and phone/fax numbers found throughout this document.

H. Hard Rock Mining Impact Act: According to sections 82-4-335 (5) & (6) [MCA] of the Metal Mine Reclamation Act (MMRA), prior to issuing an Operating Permit, DEQ must first certify that an applicant Montana Department of Environmental Quality/Permitting & Compliance Division - Hard Rock Program is in compliance with the various requirements of the Montana Hard Rock Impact Act (HRIA) (90-6-301et seq. MCA). The Hard Rock Impact Act (HRIA) only applies to large-scale hard rock and placer mineral developers that would employ over 75 employees. It does NOT apply to exploration programs.

Basically, if an Operating Permit applicant is proposing an operation that would employ over 75 people, the applicant must enter into negotiations with a local committee (near the proposed mine area) made up of local officials and individuals. The negotiations center on the HRIA's requirements for the pre-payment of taxes by the applicant to mitigate socio-economic impacts to the local area caused by an influx of people to work at the mine. Socio-economic concerns usually include local school capacity, water & sewage infrastructure, road maintenance, and other related issues. This process is overseen by the Hard Rock Mining Impact Board, which is attached to the Montana Department of Commerce. For more information regarding the Hard Rock Mining Impact Act, please contact: