Texas Administrative Code

(a) This state may acquire by purchase, donation, or condemnation land that is adversely affected by past coal mining practices if: (1) it is in the public interest; and (2) the Commission determines and makes written findings that: (A) acquiring the land is necessary for success…

(a) The Commission may enter land where an emergency exists and other land necessary to have access to that land to: (1) restore, reclaim, abate, control, or prevent the adverse effects of coal mining practices; and (2) perform activities necessary or expedient to protect the pub…

(a) A lien placed on private property shall be satisfied, to the extent of the value of the consideration received, at the time of transfer of ownership. Any unsatisfied portion shall remain as a lien on the property and shall be satisfied in accordance with this section. Testate…

The requirements specified in §§12.813, 12.814, and 12.818 - 12.823 of this title (relating to Written Consent for Entry; Entry and Consent to Reclaim; Entry for Emergency Reclamation; Land Eligible for Acquisition; Procedures for Acquisition; Acceptance of Gifts of Land; Managem…

Money from the Fund shall not be used for the reclamation of sites and areas designated for remedial action pursuant to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 , et seq.) or that have been listed for remedial action pursuant to the Comprehensive En…

(a) Within 10 months after receipt of a complete petition, the Commission shall hold a public hearing in the locality of the area covered by the petition. If all petitioners and intervenors agree, the hearing need not be held. The Commission may subpoena witnesses as necessary. T…

(a) This section applies to reclamation projects involving the restoration of lands and water adversely affected by past mineral mining; projects involving the protection, repair, replacement, construction, or enhancement of utilities (such as those relating to water supply, road…

(a) Following certification by the Commission of the completion of all known coal projects and the Director's concurrence in such certification, eligible noncoal lands, waters, and facilities shall be those: (1) which were mined or processed for minerals or which were affected by…

(a) Upon petition, an area shall be designated as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations, if the Commission determines that reclamation is not technologically and economically feasible under the Act, this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations…

The Commission must use the criteria in this Subchapter (relating to Lands Unsuitable for Mining) for the evaluation of each petition for the designation of areas as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Notes 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.74 The provisions of this §12.74 ado…

(a) Obligation. Upon receipt of an administratively complete application for a permit for a surface coal mining operation, or an administratively complete application for revision of the boundaries of a surface coal mining operation permit, the Commission must review the applicat…

(a) Procedures for relocating or closing a public road or waiving the prohibition on surface coal mining operations within the buffer zone of a public road. (1) This section does not apply to: (A) lands for which a person has valid existing rights, as determined under subsection …

(a) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, §12.700, and §§ 12.702 - 12.709 of this title (relating to Training, Examination, and Certification of Blasters), each person who is directly responsible for the use of explosives in mining operations regulated…

(a) Surface coal mining operations may not be conducted on the following lands unless those lands either qualify for the exception for existing operations under subsection (b) of this section or are subject to valid existing rights, as determined under § 12.72 (c) of this title (…

(a) The Commission may grant a Commission Blaster Certificate to any qualified applicant who demonstrates valid current blaster certification from another qualified jurisdiction. (b) Any person who holds a valid Commission Blaster Certificate issued under reciprocity may qualify …

(a) The Commission may require the reexamination, training or other demonstration of competency under §12.700, §§12.702-12.707, this section, and §§ 12.709 and 12.710 of this title (relating to Training, Examination, and Certification of Blasters) upon a determination pursuant to…

(a) Notice. The Commission shall serve on each individual to be assessed an individual civil penalty a notice of proposed individual civil penalty assessment, including a narrative explanation of the reasons for the penalty, the amount to be assessed, and a copy of any underlying…

(a) In determining the amount of an individual civil penalty assessed under § 12.696 of this title (relating to When an Individual Civil Penalty May Be Assessed), the Commission shall consider the criteria specified in §§134.174-134.181 of the Act, including: (1) the individual's…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Commission may assess an individual civil penalty against any corporate director, officer, or agent of a corporate permittee who knowingly and willfully authorized, ordered, or carried out a violation, failure, or refu…

(a) If the person to whom a notice of violation or cessation order is issued fails to request a hearing as provided in § 12.693 of this title (relating to Request for Hearing), the proposed assessment shall become a final order of the Commission and the penalty assessed shall bec…

The person charged with the violation may contest the proposed penalty or the fact of the violation by submitting a petition and an amount equal to the proposed penalty or, if an assessment conference has been held, the reassessed or affirmed penalty to the Commission, to be held…

The Commission shall determine the amount of any civil penalty by converting the total number of points assigned under § 12.687 of this title (relating to Point System for Penalties) to a dollar amount, according to the following schedule: Attached Graphic Notes 16 Tex. Admin. Co…

(a) The Commission shall use the point system described in this section to determine the amount of the penalty and, in the case of notices of violation, whether a mandatory penalty should be assessed as provided in § 12.686 (b) of this title (relating to When Penalty Will Be Asse…

(a) The Commission shall assess a penalty for each cessation order. (b) The Commission shall assess a penalty for each notice of violation, if the violation is assigned 31 points or more under the point system described in § 12.687 of this title (relating to Point System for Pena…

The Commission may request the Attorney General of Texas to institute a civil action for relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order or any other order, in the district court of Travis County, or in the district in which the coal exploration or surfac…

(a) No cessation order or notice of violation issued under §§ 12.677 - 12.684 of this title (relating to Enforcement) may be vacated because of inability to comply. (b) Inability to comply may not be considered in determining whether a pattern of violations exists. (c) Unless cau…

(a) A person issued a notice of violation or cessation order under § 12.677 or § 12.678 of this title (relating to Cessation Orders, and Notices of Violation), or a person having an interest which may be adversely affected by the issuance, modification, vacation, or termination o…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a notice of violation or cessation order which requires cessation of mining, expressly or by necessary implication, shall expire within 30 days after it is served unless an informal public hearing has been held wi…

Construction, operation, maintenance, modification, reclamation, and removal activities at operations covered by § 12.650 of this title (relating to Applicability) and this section shall comply with the following: (1) signs and markers for the coal processing plant, coal processi…

Each person who conducts surface coal mining and reclamation operations, which includes the operation of a coal processing plant or support facility which is not located within the permit area for a specific mine, shall obtain a permit in accordance with § 12.204 of this title (r…

(a) Following soil replacement, the soil surface shall be stabilized with a vegetative cover or other means that effectively controls soil loss by wind and water erosion. All vegetation shall be in compliance with the plan approved by the Commission under § 12.201 of this title (…

(a) Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service are based upon the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and include, as a minimum, physical and chemical characteristics of reconstructed soils and soil descriptions…

(a) If not utilized immediately, the topsoil or other suitable soil materials specified in § 12.621 (a)(1) of this title (relating to Prime Farmland: Soil Removal) shall be placed in stockpiles separate from the spoil and all other excavated materials. (b) If not utilized immedia…

(a) Surface coal mining and reclamation operations on prime farmland shall be conducted to: (1) separately remove the topsoil, or remove other suitable soil materials which will create a final soil having a greater productive capacity than that which existed prior to mining; and …

(a) The requirements of this section and §§ 12.621 , 12.622 , 12.624 , and 12.625 of this title (relating to Special Permanent Program Performance Standards--Operations on Prime Farmland) shall not apply to: (1) coal processing plants and roads of underground mines that are activ…

(a) An environmental monitoring system shall be installed, maintained and operated by the permittee on all alluvial valley floors during surface coal mining and reclamation operations and continued until all bonds are released in accordance with § 12.312 and § 12.313 of this titl…

Surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall be conducted to ensure that the agricultural utility and the level of productivity of alluvial valley floors in affected areas are reestablished. Notes 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.612 The provisions of this §12.612 adopted to be e…

(a) Surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall not interrupt, discontinue, or preclude farming on alluvial valley floors, unless: (1) the premining land use is undeveloped rangeland which is not significant to farming; or (2) the area of affected alluvial valley floor i…

(a) Surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall be conducted to preserve, throughout the mining and reclamation process, the essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors not within an affected area. These functions shall be preserved by maintaining those geol…

(a) Suitable mulch or other soil stabilizing practices shall be used on all regraded and topsoiled areas to control erosion, to promote germination of seeds, or to increase the moisture retention of the soil. The Commission may, on a case-by-case basis, suspend the requirement fo…

Seeding and planting of disturbed areas shall be conducted during the first normal period for favorable planting conditions after final preparation. The normal period for favorable planting shall be that planting time generally accepted locally for the type of plant materials sel…

Introduced species may be used if approved by the Commission under the following conditions: (1) after appropriate field trials have demonstrated that the introduced species can establish a diverse, effective, and permanent cover capable of achieving the approved postmining land …

(a) The permittee shall establish on regraded areas and on all other disturbed areas except water areas and surface areas of roads that are approved as part of the postmining land use, a vegetative cover that is in accordance with the approved permit and reclamation plan and that…

(a) All exposed surface areas shall be protected and stabilized to effectively control erosion and air pollution attendant to erosion. (b) Rills and gullies which form in areas that have been regraded and topsoiled and which either disrupt the approved postmining land use or the …

(a) All coal mine waste shall be hauled or conveyed and placed in new and existing disposal areas approved by the Commission for this purpose. These areas shall be within a permit area. The disposal area shall be designed, constructed and maintained: (1) in accordance with § 12.5…

(a) In lieu of the requirements of § 12.532 and § 12.533 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Valley Fills, and to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Head-of-Hollow Fills), the Commission may approve alter…

Disposal of underground development waste and excess spoil in the head-of-hollow fill shall meet all standards set forth in § 12.531 and § 12.532 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and to Disposal of Underg…