Mining (except Oil and Gas) Sector (NAICS 212)
As a subset of the mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction sector (NAICS 21), mining includes:
- metal and nonmetallic mineral mining, which may involve
- quarrying
- well operations
- beneficiating (e.g., crushing, screening, washing, and flotation)
- other preparation customarily performed at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity.
Additional regulatory information may be available from the US Department of the Interior (DOI).
Laws and Regulations
Air
- Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
- National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): air toxics regulations:
Asbestos
Waste
- Industrial Waste: Mining Waste
- TENORM: Mining Wastes: Technologically-Enhanced, Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM) produced from mining wastes.
Water
- Effluent Guidelines: Coal Mining Point Source Category
- Ore Mining and Dressing Effluent Guidelines
- Mineral Mining and Processing Effluent Guidelines
- Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia: mountaintop coal mining and surface mining.
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): wastewater permits:
- Underground Injection Control (UIC) Regulations
Enforcement
Policies and Guidance
- Guidance on Implementing the Radionuclide NESHAP
- Surface Coal Mining Activities under Clean Water Act Section 404: wetlands policy and guidance
- Polluted Runoff: Abandoned Mine Drainage
- Abandoned Mine Land: Policy and Guidance: assessment and remediation of abandoned mine lands.
Additional federal and state regulations not listed here may apply. Find your state environmental agency.
Frequent Questions
Partnership Programs
- Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP): to reduce methane emissions from coal mining activities
- Natural Gas STAR Program: to reduce methane emissions from natural gas operations