(1)    The department may grant an exemption, as provided in this section, from any of the requirements of this subchapter applicable to any of the following:

      (a)    A mining permit application, including the mining plan, reclamation plan, and mining waste site feasibility study and plan of operation.

      (b)    A mining permit.

      (c)    Any other approval.

   (2)   

      (a)    An applicant shall submit a request for an exemption in writing and shall describe the grounds for the exemption and provide documentation identifying the conditions requiring the exemption, the reasons for the exemption, and the reasonableness of the exemption.

      (b)    An applicant may obtain an exemption only if the applicant submits the request no later than the 180th day after the application for the mining permit is administratively complete under s. 295.57 (2), unless the condition that is the basis for the requested exemption is not known to the applicant before that day, in which case the deadline is extended to the 20th day before the deadline under s. 295.57 (7) (a).

      (c)    The department shall issue a decision on a request for an exemption no later than the 15th day after the day on which it received the request under par. (a). Subject to par. (b) and except as provided in par. (d), the department shall grant the exemption if it is consistent with the purposes of this subchapter and will not violate any applicable environmental law outside of this subchapter and if both of the following apply:

         1.    The exemption will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts on the mining site or, if the exemption will result in significant adverse environmental impacts on the mining site, the applicant will offset those impacts through a mitigation program, as provided in s. 295.60 (8), through the measures provided in s. 295.605, or through the conservation measures provided in s. 295.61.

         2.    The exemption will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts off of the mining site.

      (d)   

         1.    The department shall deny a request for an exemption if granting the exemption would violate federal law.

         2.    If federal law imposes a standard for an exemption that differs from the standard in par. (c) and that cannot be modified by state law, and if that standard has been approved by the federal government for use by the state through a delegation agreement, federally approved state implementation plan, or other program approval, then the department shall determine whether to grant the request for the exemption using the federal standard.