Colorado Mining Ass'n v. Board of County Commissioners of Summit County

We granted certiorari in Colorado Mining Association v. Board of County Commissioners of Summit County, 170 P.3d 749 (Colo.App.2007), to determine whether Colorado's Mined Land Reclamation Act ("the MLRA") preempts an ordinance Summit County adopted, invoking its statutorily-delegated land use authority. Summit County banned the use of toxic or acidic chemicals, such as cyanide, for mineral processing in vat or heap leach operations for all zoning districts in the county. The effect of this ordinance is to prohibit a certain type of mining technique customarily used in the mineral industry to…