Texas Administrative Code

(a) A notice of violation or cessation order shall be served on the person to whom it is directed or his designated agent promptly after issuance, as follows: (1) by tendering a copy at the coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operation to the designated agent …

(a) Pattern of violations. (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Director of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Division shall issue an order to a permittee requiring the permittee to show cause why the permit and right to mine under the Act should not be …

(a) An authorized representative of the Commission shall issue a notice of violation if, on the basis of an inspection he finds a violation of the Act, this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations), or any condition of a permit or an exploration approval imposed under such p…

(a) Conditions, practices, or violations warranting a cessation order. (1) An authorized representative of the Commission shall immediately order a cessation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations or of the relevant portion thereof, if he or she finds, on the basis of …

(a) General provisions. (1) Whenever a court of competent jurisdiction enters a judgment against or convicts a person under the provisions of this section, the Commission will update AVS to reflect the judgment or conviction. (2) The existence of a performance bond or bond forfei…

(a) Any person who is or may be adversely affected by a coal exploration or surface coal mining and reclamation operation may ask the Commission to review informally an authorized representative's decision not to inspect or take appropriate enforcement action with respect to any …

Any person who is or may be adversely affected by a surface coal mining and reclamation operation or a coal exploration operation may notify the Commission in writing of any alleged failure on the part of the Commission to make adequate and complete or periodic inspections as pro…

(a) A citizen may request an inspection under § 12.670 (e) of this title (relating to Inspections by the Commission), by furnishing to an authorized representative of the Commission a signed, written statement (or an oral report followed by a signed, written statement) giving the…

(a) The Commission shall make available to the Director and the Regional Director, upon request, copies of all documents relating to applications for and approvals of existing, new, or revised coal exploration approvals or surface coal mining and reclamation operations permits an…

(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…

(a) Valley fills shall meet all of the requirements of § 12.531 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements) and the additional requirements of this section. (b) The fill shall be designed to attain a long-term stati…

(a) Underground development waste and spoil not required to achieve the approximate original contour and which is not used as backfill shall be hauled or conveyed to and placed in designated disposal areas within a permit area if the disposal areas are authorized for such purpose…

The operator shall retain a record of each blast, including seismograph reports, which shall be retained for at least three years and which shall be available for inspection by the Commission and the public on request. The record shall contain the following data: (1) name of the …

(a) General requirements. (1) Blasting shall be conducted in a manner that will 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 ground or surfac…

(a) At least 30 days before initiation of a blasting program, the operator shall notify, in writing, all residents or owners of dwellings or other structures located within 1/2 mile of any part of the permit area regarding how to request a pre-blasting survey. The request shall b…

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 enlargemen…

(a) Scope. For the purposes of this section only, disturbed areas 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 accordance with §§12.500…

(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 mo…

(a) General Requirements. (1) With the approval of the Commission, any flow from mined areas abandoned before May 3, 1978, and any flow from undisturbed areas or reclaimed areas, after meeting the criteria of § 12.514 of this title (relating to Hydrologic Balance: Siltation Struc…

Discharge of water from areas disturbed by underground mining activities shall be made in compliance with all applicable state and federal water-quality laws and regulations and with the effluent limitations for coal mining promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency …

(a) Underground mining activities shall be planned and conducted to minimize disturbance of the hydrologic balance within the permit and adjacent areas, to prevent material damages to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area, to assure the protection or replacement of water…

(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 §§ 12.330 - 12.402 of this title (relating to Permanent P…

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 lines; and water and sewage lines which p…

Primary roads shall meet the requirements of § 12.400 of this title (relating to Roads: General) and the additional requirements of this section. (1) Certification. The construction or reconstruction of primary roads shall be certified in a report to the Commission by a qualified…

(a) Road classification system. (1) Each road, as defined in § 12.3 of this title (relating to Definitions), 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) frequently used fo…

Any person may petition the Commission to initiate a proceeding for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of any regulation. The petition shall be submitted in accordance with § 1.301 of this title, relating to Petition for Adoption of Rules, and the APA. Notes 16 Tex. Admin. Code §…

(a) General. All affected areas shall be restored in a timely manner: (1) to conditions that are capable of supporting the uses which they were capable of supporting before any mining; or (2) to higher or better uses achievable under criteria and procedures of this section. (b) D…

(a) Persons who cease surface mining activities permanently shall close or backfill or otherwise permanently reclaim all affected areas, in accordance with this chapter (relating to Coal Mining Regulations) and the permit approved by the Commission. (b) All underground openings, …

(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 abandonment shall not relieve a person of their obli…

(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…

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 future through surface coal mi…