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M
MCL - (2) maximum contaminant level: Established under the
Safe Drinking Water Act. (3) the maximum permissible level of a
contaminant in water delivered to any user of a public water system.
MCLs are enforceable standards.
MCLG - (2) maximum contaminant level goal: Established under
the Safe Drinking Water Act. (3) a number that is associated with
no adverse health effects from drinking water containing a particular
contaminant over a lifetime; a nonenforceable, ideal health goal
issued as part of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
macroinvertebrates - (3) large or exceptionally prominent
animals that lack a spinal column.
macrophyte - (3) any plant that can be seen with the unaided
eye, such as aquatic mosses, ferns, liverworts, or rooted plants.
massive - (4) a homogenous structure, without stratification,
flow-banding, foliation or bedding.
mesh - (2) the number of openings per unit area of a screen.
metal - (4) a class of chemical elements generally characterized
by ductility, malleability, luster, and conductivity of heat and
electricity, including alkali, alkali earth, base, heavy
and precious metals. See also metalloid.
metalloid - (4) a class of elements chemically intermediate
in properties between metals and non-metals including boron,
silicon, germanium, arsenic and tellurium. Electrical semi-conductors
and their oxides are amphoteric (capable of acting either as an
acid or a base). Also called semi-metals.
metallurgy - (4) study of metals and their properties and
structure, the concentration and refining of ore, the production
of alloys and the shaping and treatment of metals by heat and rolling.
metamorphic rock - (3) any rock derived from pre-existing
rocks by mineralogical, chemical, and structural changes, essentially
in the solid state, in response to marked changes in temperature,
pressure, shearing stress, and chemical environment at depth in
the earth's crust.
metric ton - (3) 1.102 short tons or 2,204 pounds.
microclimate - (3) local site-specific climate conditions
that differ from the general climate because of local differences
in elevation and exposure.
mill - (2) a mineral treatment plant in which crushing,
grinding and further processing of ore is conducted to produce a
product.
milling - (2) the processing of ore to produce a product.
mine - (2) excavation of earth for the extraction of ore
or other economic minerals.
mineralization - (3) the processes taking place in the earth's
crust resulting in the formation of valuable minerals or ore bodies.
mineral - (2) an inorganic substance occuring in nature,
though not necessarily of inorganic origin, which has: (a) definite
chemical composition or, more commonly, a characteristic range of
composition, and (2) distinctive physical properties or molecular
structure. (4) a naturally occuring inorganic element or compound
having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical
composition, crystal form and physical properties.
mineral deposit - (4) a naturally occuring mass of economically
valuable metallic or non-metallic minerals that are not necessarily
economically recoverable. See also ore.
mineral rights - (3) ownership of all minerals, including
all rights needed for access, exploration, development, mining,
ore dressing, and transportation.
mining district - (3) an area, usually designated by name,
with described or understood boundaries, where minerals are found
and mined under rules prescribed by the miners, consistent with
the Mining Law of 1872.
Mining Law of 1872 (General Mining Law) - (3) the federal
act that, with its amendments, formed the framework for the mining
of locatable minerals on the public lands. This law declared that
"valuable" mineral deposits rather than simply "mineral
deposits" were to be free and open to exploration and purchase,
limited individual claims to 20 acres, required $100 worth of assessment
work yearly, and allowed milling or processing claims of 5 acres
or less to be entered on nonmineral lands.
mitigation - (4) an activity aimed at avoiding, controlling
or reducing the severity of adverse physical, chemical, biological
and/or socioeconomic impacts of a project activity.
monoculture - (3) the growth of only a single plant species
within an area.
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