People ex rel. Department of Conservation v. El Dorado County

Does the Director of the Department of Conservation (Director) have standing to file a petition for a writ of mandate challenging reclamation plans and financial assurances for surface mining operations approved by defendant El Dorado County (County) under the Surface Mining *981 and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 2710 et seq.)? 1 2We conclude he has.

Background

SMARA, enacted in 1975 (Stats. 1975, ch. 1131, § 11, p. 2793), requires that California surface miners provide reclamation plans for their mining operations and financial assurances to implement those plans. (§ 2770, subd. (a).) A reclamation plan under SMARA is a written plan specifying how mined land will be treated so as to minimize the environmental impacts of mining and render a mined site usable in the future for alternative purposes. (See § 2733.) Financial assurances are a mine operator’s pledges of funds sufficient to perform reclamation in accordance with an approved reclamation plan. (§ 2773.1, subd. (a)(1).) SMARA prohibits the continuation past stated dates of any surface mining operation not covered by a reclamation plan and financial assurances that have been approved by…