Chapter 880-X-10D - PERFORMANCE STANDARDS UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES

This Rule sets forth the environmental, protection performance standards for underground mining activities. Author: Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.01 Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 9-16-71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 89, 90, 91, 97.

This Rule is intended to ensure that all underground mining activities are conducted in a manner which preserves or enhances environmental and other values in accordance with the Act. Author: Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.02 Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 9-16-…

(1) Specifications. Signs and markers required under this Rule shall --(a) Be posted and maintained, and removed by the person who conducts the underground mining operations; (b) Be of a uniform design throughout the operation that can be easily seen and read; (c) Be made of dura…

Each exploration hole, or other drill-hole or borehole, shaft, well, or other exposed underground opening shall be cased, lined, or otherwise managed to prevent acid or other toxic drainage from entering ground and surface waters, to minimize disturbance to the prevailing hydrolo…

(1) Each mine entry which is temporarily inactive, but has a further projected useful service under the approved permit application, shall be protected by barricades or other covering devices, fenced to prevent access into the entry and posted with signs to identify the hazardous…

When no longer needed for monitoring or other use approved by the State Regulatory Authority upon a finding of no adverse environmental or health and safety effects, or unless approved for transfer as a water well under Rule 880-X-10D-.23, each shaft, drift, adit, tunnel, explora…

(1) Before disturbance of areas affected by surface operations, topsoil and subsoils to be saved under Rule 880-X-10D-.08 shall be separately removed and segregated from other material. (2) After removal, topsoil shall be immediately redistributed in accordance with Rule 880-X-10…

(1) Timing. Topsoil shall be removed from areas to be affected by surface operations or major structures, after vegetative cover that would interfere with the use of the topsoil is cleared from portions of those areas that will be disturbed, but before any drilling for blasting, …

(1) Topsoil and other materials removed in accordance with Rule 880-X-10D-.07 shall be stockpiled only when it is impractical to promptly redistribute such materials on regraded areas. (2) Stockpiled materials shall be selectively placed on a stable area within the permit area, n…

(1) After final grading and before the replacement of topsoil and other materials segregated in accordance with Rule 880-X-10D-.08, regraded land shall be scarified or otherwise treated as required by the State Regulatory Authority to eliminate slippage surfaces and to promote ro…

Nutrients and soil amendments in the amounts determined by soil tests shall be applied to the redistributed surface soil layer so that it supports the postmining land use approved by the State Regulatory Authority and meets the revegetation requirements of Rules 880-X-10D-.52 - 8…

(1) General. All underground mining and reclamation activities shall be conducted to minimize disturbance of the hydrologic balance within the permit and adjacent areas, to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area, and to support approved postmini…

(1) (a) All surface drainage from the disturbed area and point source discharges from underground workings shall be passed through a sedimentation pond, a series of sedimentation ponds or other treatment facility before leaving the permit area. (b) Other treatment facilities shal…

(1) General Requirements. (a) With the approval of the Regulatory Authority, any flow from mined areas abandoned before May 3, 1978, and any flow from undisturbed areas or reclaimed areas, after meeting the criteria of Section 880-X-10D-.25 for siltation structure removal, may be…

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.15

(1) Appropriate sediment control measures shall be designed, constructed, and maintained using the best technology currently available to: (a) Prevent, to the extent possible, additional contributions of sediment to streamflow or to runoff outside the permit area, (b) Meet the mo…

(1) Definitions. For the purposes of this Section only: (a) (RESERVED) (b) Disturbed area shall not include those areas --1. In which the only underground mining activities include diversion ditches, siltation structures, or roads that are designed, constructed and maintained in …

Discharge from sedimentation ponds, permanent and temporary impoundments, coal processing-waste dams and embankments, and diversions shall be controlled, by energy dissipaters, riprap channels, and other devices, where necessary, to reduce erosion, to prevent deepening or enlarge…

Drainage from acid-forming and toxic-forming underground development waste and spoil, if any, into ground and surface water shall be avoided by -- (a) Identifying, burying, or treating, where necessary, waste and spoil which, in the judgment of the State Regulatory Authority, may…

(1) General requirements. The requirements of this Paragraph apply to both temporary and permanent impoundments. (a) Impoundments meeting the Class B or C criteria for dams in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service Technical Release No. 60 (210-VI-TR60, Oct…

(1) Surface entries and accesses to underground workings including adits and slopes, shall be located, designed, constructed, and utilized to prevent or control gravity discharge of water from the mine. (2) Gravity discharge of water from an under ground mine, other than a drift …

(1) Ground water.(a) When underground mining activities may affect groundwater systems which serve as aquifers which significantly ensure the hydrologic balance of water use either on or off permit area, ground water levels and ground water quality shall be periodically monitored…

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.23

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.24

Before abandoning a permit area or seeking bond release, the operator shall ensure that all temporary structures are removed and reclaimed, and that all permanent sedimentation ponds, diversions, impoundments, and treatment facilities meet the requirements of this chapter for per…

(1) No land within 100 feet of a perennial stream or an intermittent stream shall be disturbed by underground mining activities, unless the Regulatory Authority specifically authorizes underground mining activities closer to, or through, such a stream, the Regulatory Authority ma…

Underground mining activities shall be conducted so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal, while utilizing the best technology currently available to maintain environmental integrity, so that reaffecting the land in the future through surface coal mining ope…

(1) Rules 880-X-10D-.28 - 880-X-10D-.32 apply only to surface blasting activities incident to underground mining, including, but not limited to, initial rounds of slopes and shafts. (2) Each person who conducts underground mining activities shall comply with all applicable State …

(1) At least 30 days before initiation of blasting, the operator shall notify, in writing, all residents or owners of dwellings or other structures located within 1/2 mile of the permit area now to request a preblasting survey. (2) A resident or owner of a dwelling or structure w…

(1) Blasting signs. Blasting signs shall meet the specification of Rule 880-X-10D-.03. The operator shall:(a) Conspicuously place signs reading "Blasting Area" along the edge of any blasting area that comes within 100 feet of any public road right-of-way, and at the point where a…

(1) General requirements. Blasting shall be conducted to prevent injury to persons, damage to public or private property outside the permit area, adverse impacts on any underground mine, and change in the course, channel, or availability of surface or ground-water outside the per…

The Operator shall retain a record of all blasts for at least three years. Copies of these records shall be kept at the mine site and, upon request, made available to the Regulatory Authority and to the public for inspection. Such records shall contain the following data: (1) Nam…

(1) Spoil or underground development waste (hereafter referred to as "spoil") not required to achieve the approximate original contour within the area where overburden has been removed shall be transported and placed in a controlled manner in position for concurrent compaction an…

(1) General. All coal mine waste shall be placed in new or existing disposal areas within a permit area, which are approved by the Regulatory Authority for this purpose. Coal mine waste shall be hauled or conveyed and placed for final placement in a controlled manner to --(a) Min…

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.35

Refuse piles shall meet the requirements of Section 880-X-10D-.34, the additional requirements of this section, and the requirements of 30 CFR 77.214 and 30 CFR 77.215 of this title. (1) Drainage control. (a) If the disposal area contains springs, natural or manmade water courses…

New and existing impounding structures constructed of coal mine waste or intended to impound coal mine waste shall meet the requirements of Section 880-X-10D-.34. (1) Coal mine waste shall not be used for construction of impounding structures unless it has been demonstrated to th…

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.38

(1) Coal mine waste fires shall be extinguished by the person who conducts the surface mining activities, in accordance with a plan approved by the Regulatory Authority and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The plan shall contain, at a minimum, provisions to ensure that …

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.40

(1) Noncoal mine wastes including, but not limited to grease, lubricants, paints, flammable liquids, garbage, abandoned mining machinery, lumber and other combustible materials generated during mining activities shall be placed and stored in a controlled manner in a designated po…

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.42

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.43

(Not Used) Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.44

(1) The operator shall, to the extent possible using the best technology currently available, minimize disturbances and adverse impacts on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values and shall achieve enhancement of such resources where practicable. (2) Endangered and threat…

At any time a slide occurs which may have a potential adverse affect on public property, health, safety, or the environment, the person who conducts the underground mining activities shall notify the State Regulatory Authority by the fastest available means and comply with any re…

Reclamation efforts, including, but not limited to, backfilling, grading, topsoil replacement and revegetation of all areas affected by surface operations, shall occur as contemporaneously as practicable with mining operations. Author: Notes Ala. Admin. Code r. 880-X-10D-.47 Stat…

(1) Disturbed areas shall be backfilled and graded to(a) Achieve the approximate original contour, except as provided in paragraph (11) of this section; (b) Eliminate all highwall, spoil piles, and depressions, except as provided in paragraph (8) (small depressions) and in paragr…

(1) Remining operations on previously mined areas that contain a preexisting highwall shall comply with the requirements of Section 880-X-10D-.48 and 880-X-10I-.04 of this chapter, except as provided in this section. (2) The requirements of Section 880-X-10D-.53(1)(a) and (1)(b) …

(1) Covering or treating. (a) A person who conducts underground mining activities shall treat, or cover with a minimum of 4 feet of the best available non-toxic and noncombustible material, all exposed coal seams remaining after mining, and all acid-forming materials, toxic-formi…