California Water Code

§ 13397

WAT § 13397 Effective Jan 1, 1996Div. 7 · Ch. 5.7

Statute text

(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)Thousands of abandoned mines have been identified in this state. Waste, including acid rock drainage from abandoned mines, has a devastating effect on aquatic life and has degraded some major water bodies in the state. Abandoned mines are the overwhelming source of copper loading to the Sacramento River and the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In some instances, waste from abandoned mines can cause public health and safety problems.

(2)The formation of acid rock drainage is a process that can continue for centuries after the abandonment of a mine and is difficult to control. The complete elimination of acid rock drainage is not possible at this time.

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Legislative history

Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 878, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1996.