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A. Missouri CAVE LAW (Inspection) Caves, inspection, to provide map--inspection fees. 293.620.

1. The division of mine inspection, in addition to other duties provided by law, is authorized and directed to inspect at least once a year all caves in the state held open to the public, to make rules and regulations providing for the necessary precautions to secure the health and safety of the visiting public and employees in any such cave in this state, to require every cave owner, operator or agent of any cave held open to the visiting public to provide necessary safety guard rails, bridges, ladders, entrances, platforms, walkways, safety barriers, rails, paths and other safety measures, in and about any such cave before it may be opened to the public, and to file a complete and true plan map of such cave with the division of mine inspection and a copy at the office of the entrance of the cave.

2. Every cave owner, operator or agent of any cave held open to the public shall, before opening the cave to the visiting public, send written notification to the division and pay an annual inspection fee of thirty-five dollars payable to the state treasurer and to be collected by the department of revenue and deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the state mine inspection fund. When the owner, operator or agent of any cave in this state, held open to the visiting public, shall have complied with all the necessary requirements of the division of mine inspection and shall have paid the inspection fee herein mentioned, he shall be provided with a certificate of inspection furnished by the division of mine inspection showing that the cave has been duly inspected and approved and such certificate shall be conspicuously displayed at or near the main entrance to the cave.

(L. 1959 S.B. 188 § 66)

CROSS REFERENCE: Cave and cave life protection law, RSMo 578.200 to 578.225

B. MISsouri Cave Protection Law (1980 effective 1981)

Missouri CAVE LAW Citation of law. 578.200. Sections 578.200 to 578.225 shall be known and may be cited as the "Cave Resources Act". (L. 1980 H.B. 1192 § 1) Effective 1-1-81

Section 578.205. Definitions. When used in sections 578.200 to 578.225, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Cave or cavern", any naturally occurring subterranean cavity enterable by man including, without limitation, a pit, pothole, natural well, grotto and tunnel, whether or not the opening has a natural entrance;

(2) "Cave system", the caves in a given area related to each other hydrologically, whether continuous or discontinuous from a single opening;

(3) "Show cave", any cave or cavern wherein trails have been created and some type of lighting provided by the owner or operator for purpose of exhibition to the general public as a profit or nonprofit enterprise, wherein a fee is generally collected for entry;

(4) "Sinkhole", a hollow place or depression in the ground in which drainage may collect with an opening therefrom into an underground channel or cave including any subsurface opening that might be bridged by a formation of silt, gravel, humus or any other material through which percolation into the channel or cave may occur.

Section 578.210 Entering, attempt to enter, defacing without permission, prohibited.

(1) A person, without the prior written permission of the owner or if a corporation is the owner, of an officer of the corporation, lessee, or if the cavern is located on public land, the superintendent thereof shall not willfully or knowingly break, break off, crack, carve upon, write or otherwise mark upon, or in any manner destroy, mutilate, injure, deface, remove, displace, mar or harm the surfaces of any cave or any natural material therein including, without limitation, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, anthodites, gypsum flowers, or needles, cave pearls, flowstone, draperies, rimstone, spathites, columns or similar crystalline mineral formation, including the host rock thereof.

(2) A person shall not, without the permission required in subsection 1 of this section, break, force, tamper with, remove or otherwise disturb a lock, gate, door or other structure designed to prevent entrance to a cave or cavern. A person violates this subsection whether or not entrance to the cave or cavern is achieved.

Section 578.215. Cave or subsurface waters, placing structures or substances in violation of clean water law, prohibited, exceptions.

(1) A person shall not purposely introduce into any cave, cave system, sinkhole or subsurface waters of the state any substance or structure that will or could violate any provision of the Missouri clean water law as set forth in chapter 204, RSMo, or any water quality standard or effluent limitation promulgated pursuant thereto.

(2) The provisions of subsection 1 of this section do not apply where natural subsurface drainage systems including, without limitation, caves, cave systems, sinkholes, fissures and related openings are used for purposes of stormwater drainage, artificial recharge of aquifers, and irrigation return flow, and where modifications of natural drainage systems are made for purposes of improving natural drainage relationships.

(3) No additional appropriations may be made for the enforcement of sections 578.200 to 578.225.

Section 578.220 Exceptions, certain mining operations.

Sections 578.200 to 578.225 shall not apply to vertical or horizontal underground mining operations.

Section 578.225 Violations, penalty.

Any person who violates any provision of sections 578.200 to 578.225 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.