Part 1816: PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS – SURFACE MINING ACTIVITIES

Section 1816.100 Contemporaneous Reclamation Reclamation efforts, including, but not limited to, backfilling, grading, topsoil replacement, and revegetation, on all land that is disturbed by surface mining activities shall occur as contemporaneously as practicable with mining ope…

Section 1816.101 Backfilling and Grading: General Requirements Timing of backfilling and grading. a) Contour mining. Rough backfilling and grading shall follow coal removal by not more than sixty (60) days or one thousand, five hundred (1,500) linear feet. The Department may gran…

Section 1816.102 Backfilling and Grading: General Grading Requirements a) Disturbed areas shall be backfilled and graded to: 1) Achieve the approximate original contour, except as provided in subsection (k); 2) Eliminate all highwalls, spoil piles, and depressions, except as prov…

Section 1816.103 Backfilling and Grading: Covering or Treating Coal and Acid- and Toxic-Forming Materials (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.104 Backfilling and Grading: Thin Overburden In surface coal mining which is carried out at the same location over a substantial period of time where the operation transects the coal deposit and where the thickness of the coal deposit relative to the thickness of the…

Section 1816.105 Backfilling and Grading: Thick Overburden In surface coal mining where the thickness of the overburden is large relative to the thickness of the coal deposit and where the operator demonstrates that the volume of the spoil and other waste materials is more than s…

Section 1816.106 Backfilling and Grading: Previously Mined Areas Remining operations on previously mined areas that contain a preexisting highwall shall comply with the requirements of Sections 1816.102 through 1816.107 except as provided in this Section. The requirements of Sect…

Section 1816.107 Backfilling and Grading: Steep slopes a) Surface mining activities on steep slopes shall be conducted so as to meet the requirements of Sections 1816.102 through 1816.106, and the requirements of this Section except where mining is conducted on flat or gently rol…

Section 1816.11 Signs and Markers a) Specifications. Signs and markers required under this Part shall: 1) Be posted and maintained by the person who conducts the surface mining activities; 2) Be of a uniform design throughout the operation that can be easily seen and read; 3) Be …

Section 1816.111 Revegetation: General Requirements a) The permittee shall establish on regraded areas and on all other disturbed areas except areas where vegetative cover is inconsistent with the approved post-mining land use, a vegetative cover that is in accordance with the ap…

Section 1816.112 Revegetation: Use of Introduced Species (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 10 Ill. Reg. 8985, effective July 1, 1986)

Section 1816.113 Revegetation: Timing a) Disturbed areas shall be planted during the first normal period for favorable planting conditions after replacement of the plant-growth medium. The normal period for favorable planting is that planting time generally accepted locally for t…

Section 1816.114 Revegetation: Mulching and Other Soil Stabilizing Practices a) Mulch and other soil stabilizing practices shall be used on all areas that have been regraded and covered by topsoil or topsoil substitutes. The Department shall waive this requirement if seasonal, so…

Section 1816.115 Revegetation: Grazing (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 10 Ill. Reg. 8985, effective July 1, 1986)

Section 1816.116 Revegetation: Standards for Success a) Success of Revegetation 1) Success of revegetation shall be judged in accordance with this Section, Section 1816.117, and as described in the Agricultural Lands Productivity Formula (Illinois Department of Natural Resources,…

Section 1816.117 Revegetation: Tree, Shrub, and Herbaceous Wildlife Vegetation a) For areas to be developed for fish and wildlife habitat (including shelter belts), recreation, or forest products land uses, success of vegetation shall be determined on the basis of tree and shrub …

Section 1816.13 Casing and Sealing of Drilled Holes: General Requirements Each exploration hole, other drill or borehole, well, or other exposed underground opening shall be cased, sealed, or otherwise managed, as approved by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office o…

Section 1816.131 Cessation of Operations: Temporary a) Each person who conducts surface mining activities shall effectively secure surface facilities in areas in which there are no current operations, but in which operations are to be resumed under an approved permit. Temporary a…

Section 1816.132 Cessation of Operations: Permanent a) Persons who cease surface mining activities permanently shall close or backfill or otherwise permanently reclaim all affected areas, in accordance with this Chapter and the permit approved by the Department. b) All undergroun…

Section 1816.133 Post-Mining Land Capability a) All disturbed areas shall be restored in a timely manner to a condition capable of supporting: 1) The uses which they were capable of supporting prior to any mining; or 2) Higher or better uses of which there is a reasonable likelih…

Section 1816.14 Casing and Sealing of Drilled Holes: Temporary Each exploration hole, other drill or boreholes, wells, and other exposed underground openings which have been identified in the approved permit application for use to return coal processing waste or water to undergro…

Section 1816.15 Casing and Sealing of Drilled Holes: Permanent When no longer needed for monitoring or other use approved by the Department upon a finding of no adverse environmental or health and safety effect, or unless approved for transfer as a water well under Section 1816.4…

Section 1816.150 Roads: General a) Road classification system. 1) Each road, as defined in 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1701.Appendix A, shall be classified as either a primary road or an ancillary road. 2) A primary road is any road which is: A) Used for transporting coal or spoil; B) Freq…

Section 1816.151 Primary Roads Primary roads shall meet the requirements of Section 1816.150 and the additional requirements of this Section. a) Certification. The construction or reconstruction of primary roads shall be certified in a report submitted to the Department by a qual…

Section 1816.180 Utility Installations All surface coal mining operations shall be conducted in a manner which minimizes damage, destruction, or disruption of services provided by oil, gas, and water wells; oil, gas, and coal-slurry pipelines; railroads; electric and telephone li…

Section 1816.181 Support Facilities a) Support facilities shall be operated in accordance with a permit issued for the mine or coal preparation operation to which it is incident or from which its operation results. b) In addition to the other provisions of this Part, support faci…

Section 1816.190 Affected Acreage Map a) On or before September 1 of each year every permit holder shall submit to the Department reports and maps of affected areas. b) Two copies, plus one additional copy for each county in which the permit is located, of the reports and maps sh…

Section 1816.21 Topsoil: General Requirements (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.22 Topsoil and Subsoil a) Removal. 1) All topsoil shall be removed as a separate layer from the area to be disturbed, and segregated. Where topsoil is of insufficient quantity or poor quality for sustaining vegetation, the materials approved by the Department in acco…

Section 1816.23 Topsoil: Storage (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.24 Topsoil: Redistribution (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.25 Topsoil: Nutrients and Soil Amendments (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.41 Hydrologic Balance Protection a) General. All surface 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 perm…

Section 1816.42 Hydrologic Balance: Water Quality Standards and Effluent Limitations Discharges of water from areas disturbed by surface mining activities shall be made in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended (30 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the En…

Section 1816.43 Diversions a) General Requirements. 1) With the approval of the Department, 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 1816.46 for siltation structure remova…

Section 1816.44 Hydrologic Balance: Stream Channel Diversions (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.45 Hydrologic Balance: Sediment Control Measures a) Appropriate sediment control measures shall be designed, constructed, and maintained using the best technology currently available to: 1) Prevent, to the extent possible, additional contributions of sediment to stre…

Section 1816.46 Hydrologic Balance: Siltation Structures a) Definitions. For the purpose of this Section only: 1) Siltation structure means a sedimentation pond, a series of sedimentation ponds, or other treatment facility. 2) Disturbed area shall not include those areas: A) In w…

Section 1816.47 Hydrologic Balance: Discharge of Structures Discharge from sedimentation ponds, permanent and temporary impoundments, coal processing waste dams and embankments, and diversions shall be controlled, by energy dissipators, riprap channels, and other devices where ne…

Section 1816.48 Hydrologic Balance: Acid-Forming and Toxic-Forming Spoil (Repealed) (Source: Repealed 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.49 Impoundments a) The requirements of this subsection apply to both temporary and permanent impoundments. 1) 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-TR6…

Section 1816.50 Hydrologic Balance: Ground Water Protection (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.51 Hydrologic Balance: Protection of Ground Water Recharge Capacity (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.52 Hydrologic Balance: Surface and Ground Water Monitoring (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.53 Hydrologic Balance: Transfer of Wells (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.54 Hydrologic Balance: Water Rights and Replacement (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.55 Hydrologic Balance: Discharge of Water Into an Underground Mine (Repealed) (Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8131, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1816.56 Post-Mining Rehabilitation of Sedimentation Ponds, Diversions, Impoundments, and Treatment Facilities 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…

Section 1816.57 Hydrologic Balance: Stream Buffer Zones a) No land within one hundred (100) feet of the top of the bank of the normal channel of a perennial stream or an intermittent stream shall be disturbed by surface mining activities, except in accordance with Section 1816.43…

Section 1816.59 Coal Recovery Surface mining activities shall be conducted so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal, while utilizing the best appropriate technology currently available to maintain environmental integrity, so that reaffecting the land in the …