Part 20. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS, version 2 (§ 19.8.20.1 to 19.8.20.2079)

Each exploration hole, other drill or borehole, shaft, well, or other exposed underground opening shall be cased, sealed, or otherwise managed, as approved by the director, to prevent acid or other toxic drainage from entering ground or surface waters, to minimize disturbance to …

A. Each exploration hole, other than drill or boreholes, wells and other exposed underground openings which have been identified in the approved permit application for use to return, underground development waste, coal processing waste or water to underground workings or to be us…

When no longer needed for monitoring or other use approved by the director upon a finding of no adverse environmental or health and safety effects, or unless approved for transfer as a water well under 19.8.20.2021 NMAC, each exploration hole, other drilled hole or borehole, well…

A. Before disturbance of an area, topsoil, subsoils or other approved material suitable as a topdressing to be saved under 19.8.20.2005 NMAC shall be separately removed and segregated from other material. B. After removal, topdressing shall be immediately redistributed in accorda…

A. Materials to be removed. Topsoil to be used as topdressing shall be removed in a separate layer from the areas to be disturbed, unless use of substitute or supplemental materials is approved by the director in accordance with Subsection E of 19.8.20.2005 NMAC. If use of substi…

A. Topdressing removed under 19.8.20.2005 NMAC shall be stockpiled only when it is impractical to promptly redistribute such materials on regraded areas. B. Stockpiled materials shall be selectively placed on a stable area within the permit area, not disturbed, and protected from…

A. After final grading and before the replacement of topdressing, regraded land shall be scarified or otherwise treated as required by the director to eliminate slippage surfaces and to promote root penetration. If the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations shows,…

Nutrients and soil amendments in the amount determined by soil tests shall be applied to the redistributed topdressing, so that it supports the approved postmining land use and meets the revegetation requirements of 19.8.20.2060 through 2066 NMAC. All soil analyses shall be perfo…

A. Surface coal mining operations shall be planned and conducted to minimize changes to the prevailing hydrologic balance in both the permit and adjacent areas and prevent material damage outside of the permit area in order to prevent adverse changes in that balance that could re…

A. Treatment of disturbed area surface flow. (1) With the exception of surface flow leaving the disturbed area with respect to which area the operator has complied with the requirements of 19.8.20.2009 NMAC, all surface flow that leaves the disturbed area shall be passed through …

Overland flow, including flow through litter, and shallow ground water flow from undisturbed areas, and flow in ephemeral streams, may be diverted away from disturbed areas by means of temporary or permanent diversions, if required or approved by the director as necessary to mini…

A. Diversions from perennial and intermittent streams within the permit area shall be approved by the director, if he finds that the diversions comply with: (1) the requirements of Subsection A of 19.8.20.2025 NMAC and Subsection A of 19.8.20.2011 NMAC; (2) local, state and feder…

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 streamflow or to runoff outside the permit area; (2) meet the mor…

A. When required under 19.8.20.2010 NMAC sedimentation ponds shall be used individually or in series and shall: (1) be constructed and certified before any disturbance of the undisturbed area to be drained into the pond and, in addition, for underground mines prior to any dischar…

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 necessary, to reduce erosion, to prevent deepening or enlarge…

Drainage from acid-forming and toxic-forming spoil into ground and surface water shall be avoided by: A. identifying, burying, and treating where necessary, spoil which, in the judgment of the director, may be detrimental to vegetation or may adversely affect water quality if not…

A. Permanent impoundments are prohibited unless authorized by the director, upon the basis of the following demonstrations: (1) the size and configuration of such impoundment will be adequate for its intended purposes; (2) the quality of impounded water will be suitable on a perm…

A. Backfilled materials shall be placed so as to minimize contamination of ground water systems with acid, toxic, or otherwise harmful mine drainage, to minimize adverse effects of mining on ground water systems outside the permit area, and to support approved postmining land use…

Surface mining activities shall be conducted in a manner that facilitates reclamation which will restore approximate premining recharge capacity, through restoration of the capability of the reclaimed areas as a whole, excluding coal processing waste and underground development w…

A. Ground water. (1) Ground water levels, subsurface flow and storage characteristics and the quality of ground water shall be monitored in a manner approved by the director, to determine the effects of surface coal mining operations on the recharge capacity of reclaimed land and…

A. An exploratory or monitoring well may be transferred by the person who conducts surface coal mining operations for further use as a water well with the prior approval of the director and with such approval as is otherwise required by the state engineer. That person and the sur…

Any person who conducts surface coal mining operations shall comply with any water replacement plan approved by the state engineer under the Mine Dewatering Act, and shall also comply with applicable statutes and regulations administered by the state engineer.

Water from the surface or from an underground mine shall not be diverted or otherwise discharged into other underground mine workings, unless the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations demonstrates to the director that this will: A. abate water pollution or otherw…

Before abandoning the permit area, the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations shall renovate all permanent sedimentation ponds, diversions, impoundments, and treatment facilities to meet criteria specified in the detailed design plan for the permanent structures a…

A. No surface land within 100 feet of a perennial stream or a stream with a biological community determined according to Subsection C of 19.8.20.2025 NMAC shall be disturbed by surface coal mining operations except in accordance with 19.8.20.2011 and 2012 NMAC, unless the directo…

A. 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. B. Gravity discharge of water from an underground mine, other than a drift mi…

Surface coal mining operations shall be conducted so as to maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal while maintaining environmental integrity so that reaffecting the land in the future through surface mining operations is minimized.

A. Each operator shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws in the use of explosives. B. Blasts that use more than 5 lbs. of explosive or blasting agent shall be conducted according to the schedule required by 19.8.20.2030 NMAC. C. Blasters. (1) No later than twelve …

A. 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 how to request a preblasting survey. B. A resident or owner of a dwelling or structure wit…

A. General requirements. (1) The operator shall conduct blasting operations at times approved by the director and announced in the blasting schedule. The director may limit the area covered, timing, and sequence of blasting as listed in the schedule, if such limitations are neces…

A. Blasting signs. Blasting signs shall meet the specifications of Subsections A and B of 19.8.20.2000 NMAC. The operator shall:(1) 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, an…

A. 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 perm…

The operator shall retain a record of all blasts for at least 3 years. Upon request, copies of these records shall be made available to the director and to the public for inspection. Such records shall contain the following data: A. name of the operator conducting the blast; B. l…

A. Spoil not required to achieve the approximate original contour within the area where overburden has been removed shall be hauled or conveyed to and placed in designated disposal areas within a permit area, if the disposal areas are authorized for such purposes in the approved …

Valley fills shall meet all of the requirements of 19.8.20.2034 NMAC and the additional requirements of 19.8.20 NMAC. A. The fill shall be designed to attain a long-term static safety factor of 1.5 based upon data obtained from subsurface exploration, geotechnical testing, founda…

Disposal of spoil in the head-of-hollow fill shall meet all standards set forth in 19.8.20.2034 and 2035 NMAC and the additional requirements of 19.8.20 NMAC. A. The fill shall be designed to completely fill the disposal site to the approximate elevation of the ridgeline. A rock-…

In lieu of the requirements of 19.8.20.2035 and 2036 NMAC, the director may approve alternate methods of disposal of hard rock spoil, including fill placement by dumping in a single lift, on a site specific basis, provided the services of a registered professional engineer experi…

A. No surface coal mining activities shall be conducted closer than 500 feet to any point of either an active or abandoned underground mine, except to the extent that: (1) the nature, timing, and sequences of the operations are jointly approved by the director, the mine safety an…

A. Coal processing waste banks shall be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of 30 CFR 77.214/77.215, and approved by the director. B. All coal processing waste other than wastes to be disposed of in the mine workings or excavation, shall be hauled or conveyed and pl…

A. All coal processing waste banks shall be inspected, on behalf of the person conducting surface coal mining operations, by a qualified registered professional engineer or other qualified professional specialist under the direction of the professional engineer. (1) Such inspecti…

A. Unless the operator demonstrates to the director that embankments can be constructed so as not to impose safety or environmental hazards, a properly designed subdrainage shall be provided, which shall: (1) intercept all ground water sources; (2) be protected by an adequate fil…

A. Coal processing waste banks shall be constructed in compliance with 19.8.20.2034 and 2035 NMAC, depending on the location of the waste bank, except to the extent the requirements of those sections are specifically varied in 19.8.2042 NMAC. B. Following grading of the coal proc…

Coal processing waste fires shall be extinguished by the person who conducts the surface coal mining operations, in accordance with a plan approved by the director and the mine safety and health administration. The plan shall contain, at a minimum, provisions to ensure that only …

Before any burned coal processing waste, other materials, or refuse is removed from a disposal area, approval shall be obtained from the director. A plan for the method of removal, with maps and appropriate drawings to illustrate the proposed sequence of the operation and method …

Coal processing waste may be returned to underground mine workings only in accordance with the waste disposal program approved by the director and MSHA under 19.8.9.917 NMAC.

A. Non-coal wastes including, but not limited to, grease, lubricants, paints, flammable liquids, garbage, abandoned mining machinery, lumber and other combustibles shall be placed, stored or disposed of in a controlled manner in a designated portion of the permit area in accordan…

A. 19.8.20.2047 through 2049 NMAC apply to dams and embankments, constructed of coal processing waste, or intended to impound coal processing waste, whether they were completed before adoption of 19.8 NMAC or are intended to be completed thereafter. B. Waste shall not be used in …