Texas Administrative Code

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 Commission and meets the revegetation requirements of §§ 12.555 - 12.560 of this title (relat…

(a) After final grading and before the replacement of topsoil and other materials segregated in accordance with § 12.505 of this title (relating to Topsoil: Removal), regraded land shall be scarified or otherwise treated as required by the Commission to eliminate slippage surface…

(a) Topsoil and other materials removed under § 12.505 of this title (relating to Topsoil: Removal) 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 surface …

(a) 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, …

(a) Before disturbance of areas affected by surface operations, topsoil and subsoils to be saved under § 12.505 of this title (relating to Topsoil: Removal) shall be separately removed and segregated from other material. (b) After removal, topsoil shall be immediately redistribut…

(a) Comparison to an established standard. Success of revegetation shall be judged on the effectiveness of the vegetation for the approved postmining land use, the extent of cover compared to the cover occurring in natural vegetation of the area, and the general requirements of §…

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

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 substituted for native species only if approved by the Commission under the following conditions: (1) after appropriate field trials have demonstrated that the introduced species are desirable and necessary to achieve the approved postmining land use; (2…

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

Coal processing waste may be returned to underground mine workings only in accordance with the waste disposal program approved by the Commission and MSHA under § 12.193 of this title (relating to Underground Development Waste/Return of Coal Processing Waste to Abandoned Undergrou…

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

Coal processing waste fires shall be extinguished by the person who conducts the surface mining activities in accordance with a plan approved by the Commission and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The plan shall contain, at a minimum, provisions to ensure that only thos…

(a) Coal processing waste banks shall be constructed in compliance with §§ 12.363 and 12.364 of this title (relating to Disposal of Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and to Disposal of Excess Spoil: Valley Fills), except to the extent that the requirements of those sections are…

(a) Ground water. (1) Ground-water monitoring shall be conducted according to the ground-water monitoring plan approved under § 12.146 (b) of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: Protection of Hydrologic Balance). The Commission may require additional monitoring when necessa…

In order to protect the hydrologic balance, surface mining activities shall be conducted according to the plan approved under § 12.146 of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: Protection of Hydrologic Balance) and the following: (1) surface-water quality shall be protected by…

In order to protect the hydrologic balance, surface mining activities shall be conducted according to the plan approved under § 12.146 of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: Protection of Hydrologic Balance) and the following: (1) ground-water quality shall be protected by …

(a) General Requirements. The requirements of this subsection apply to both temporary and permanent impoundments. (1) Impoundments meeting the significant or high hazard class criteria of dams in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service Te…

Drainage from acid-forming and toxic-forming spoil into ground and surface waters shall be avoided by: (1) identifying, burying, and treating where necessary, spoil which, in the judgment of the Commission, may be detrimental to vegetation or may adversely affect water quality if…

Drainage 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 enlargeme…

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

(a) Specifications. Signs and markers required under this section and §§ 12.331 - 12.403 of this title (relating to Permanent Program Performance Standards--Surface Mining Activities) shall: (1) be posted and maintained by the person who conducts the surface mining activities; (2…

(a) Exemption Approval. (1) Following approval by the Commission of an exemption for a mining area, the person receiving the exemption shall, for each mining area, file a written report annually with the Commission containing the information specified in subsection (b) of this se…

(a) Any person who extracts coal for commercial use or sale during coal exploration operations must first obtain a permit to conduct surface coal mining operations for those operations from the Commission under Subchapter G of this chapter (relating to Surface Coal Mining and Rec…

(a) Habitats of unique or unusually high value for fish, wildlife, and other related environmental values and critical habitats of threatened or endangered species identified pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) shall not be disturbed during coa…

Each person who conducts coal exploration which substantially disturbs the natural land surface and which removes more than 250 tons of coal shall, while in the exploration area, possess written approval of the Commission for the activities granted under § 12.111 of this title § …

(a) Liability under the performance bond(s) shall continue until all reclamation, restoration and abatement work required of persons who conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations under requirements of the Act, this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations), and t…

(a) The amount of the bond required for each bonded area shall depend upon the reclamation requirements of the approved permit; shall reflect the probable difficulty of reclamation giving consideration to such factors as topography, geology of the site, hydrology, and revegetatio…

(a) The Commission shall prescribe and furnish the form for filing a performance bond. (b) The Commission shall prescribe terms and conditions for performance bonds and insurance by regulations which meet, at a minimum, the requirements of §§ 12.304 - 12.307 of this title (relati…

Each applicant for a permit shall submit to the Commission as part of the permit application: (1) a certificate issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in Texas. The amount, duration, form, conditions and terms of this insurance shall conform to § 12.311 of this …

(a) After an application for a permit to conduct surface coal mining and reclamation operations has been approved but before such permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the Commission a performance bond or bonds payable to the Commission. The performance bond will be con…

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (1) Collateral bond--An indemnity agreement in a sum certain deposited with the Commission and executed by the permittee and supported by…

A person conducting activities covered by §§12.25-12.29, this section, and § 12.31 - 12.33 of this title (relating to Exemption for Coal Extraction Incidental to the Extraction of Other Minerals) shall: (1) maintain on-site or at other locations available to authorized representa…

The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations), shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) Acid drainage--Water with a pH of less than 6.0 and in which total acidity exceeds total alkalinit…

(a) Activities are exempt from the requirements of the Act if all of the following are satisfied: (1) The cumulative production of coal extracted from the mining area determined annually as described in this paragraph does not exceed 16 2/3% of the total cumulative production of …

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, all information submitted to the Commission under §§12.25-12.27, this section, and §§ 12.29 - 12.33 of this title (relating to Exemption for Coal Extraction Incidental to the Extraction of Other Minerals) shall be made imm…

An application for exemption shall include, at a minimum: (1) the name and address of the applicant; (2) a list of the minerals sought to be extracted; (3) estimates of annual production of coal and the other minerals within each mining area over the anticipated life of the minin…

(a) Minimum Requirements. (1) A determination of the probable hydrologic consequences of the mining and reclamation operations, both on- and off-site, shall be made by a qualified laboratory. The data for this determination shall include: (A) the existing and projected surface- a…

(a) If the applicant is eligible and information is not readily available which would preclude issuance of a permit to the applicant for mining in the area proposed, the Commission shall: (1) determine the minimum data requirements necessary for the proposed site; (2) select the …

Each applicant shall submit to the Commission an application for small operator assistance program containing the following information in order to procure funds for program services: (1) a statement of intent to file a permit application; (2) the names and addresses of: (A) the …

An applicant is eligible for assistance if he or she: (1) intends to apply for a permit pursuant to the Act; and (2) establishes that his or her probable total actual and attributed production from all locations during any consecutive 12-month period either during the term of his…

To the extent possible with available funds, for qualified small operators who request assistance, the Commission shall: (1) select and pay a qualified laboratory to: (A) determine for the operator the probable hydrologic consequences of the mining and reclamation operations both…

An award may be made pursuant to §134.172 of the Act: (1) to the Commission when it demonstrates that any person applied for review pursuant to §§134.161-134.173 of the Act or that any party participated in such a proceeding in bad faith and for the purpose of harassing or embarr…

Any permit renewal shall be for a term not to exceed the period of the original permit established under § 12.219 of this title (relating to Permit Terms). Notes 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.229 The provisions of this §12.229 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093.

(a) Contents. Complete applications for renewals of a permit shall be made within the time prescribed by § 12.106 (b)(2) of this title (relating to Permit Application Filing Deadlines). Renewal applications shall be in a form and with contents required by the Commission under the…