Texas Administrative Code

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) Underground mining activities shall not be conducted beneath or adjacent to any perennial stream, or impoundment having a storage volume of 20 acre-feet or more, unless the Commission, on the basis of detailed subsurface information, determines that subsidence will not cause …

(a) Each person who conducts underground mining activities shall adopt all measures approved by the Commission under § 12.194 of this title (relating to Subsidence Control Plan) to reduce the likelihood of subsidence, to prevent subsidence-causing material damage or reducing the …

The mining schedule shall be distributed by mail to all owners of property and residents within the area above the underground workings and adjacent areas. Each such person shall be notified by mail at least six months prior to mining beneath his or her property or residence. The…

(a) Underground mining activities shall be planned and conducted so as to prevent subsidence from causing material damage to the surface, to the extent technologically and economically feasible, and so as to maintain the value and reasonably foreseeable use of surface lands. This…

(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 §…

When the approved postmining land use is range or pasture land, the reclaimed land shall be used for livestock grazing at a grazing capacity approved by the Commission approximately equal to that for similar non-mined lands, for at least the last two full years of liability requi…

Before any burned coal mine waste or 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 methods of…

Coal mine waste fires shall be extinguished by the person who conducts the underground 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 those …

(a) Coal mine waste banks shall be constructed in compliance with § 12.531 and § 12.532 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Valley Fills), e…

(a) A properly designed subdrainage system shall be provided, which shall: (1) intercept all ground-water sources; (2) be protected by an adequate filter; and (3) be covered so as to protect against the entrance of surface water or leachate from the coal mine waste. (b) All surfa…

(a) All coal mine waste banks shall be inspected, on behalf of the person conducting underground mining activities, by a qualified professional engineer or other person approved by the Commission. (1) Inspections shall occur at least quarterly, beginning within seven days after p…

Any person who conducts underground mining activities shall replace the water supply of an owner of interest in real property who obtains all or part of his or her supply of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other legitimate use from an underground or surface sourc…

(a) An exploratory or monitoring well may only be transferred by the person who conducts underground mining activities for further use as a water well with the prior approval of the Commission. That person and the surface owner of the lands where the well is located shall jointly…

(a) Ground water. (1) Ground-water monitoring shall be conducted according to the ground-water monitoring plan approved under § 12.188 (b) of this title (relating to Reclamation Plan: Protection of Hydrologic Balance). The Commission may require additional monitoring when necessa…

(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 …

(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 underground development waste and spoil, if any, into ground and surface waters shall be avoided by: (1) identifying, burying, and treating, where necessary, waste and spoil which, in the judgment of the Commission, may be detrimental …

When no longer needed for monitoring or other use approved by the Commission upon a finding of no adverse environmental or health and safety effects, or unless approved for transfer as a water well under § 12.520 of this title (relating to Hydrologic Balance: Transfer of Wells), …

(a) Each mine entry which is temporarily inactive, but has a further projected useful service under the approved permit application, shall be protected by barricades or other covering devices, fenced, and posted with signs, to prevent access into the entry and to identify the haz…

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

(a) Specifications. Signs and markers required under this section and §§ 12.501 - 12.572 of this title (relating to Permanent Program Performance Standards--Underground Mining Activities) shall: (1) be posted, maintained, and removed by the person who conducts the underground min…

(a) A person who intends to initiate a civil action on his or her own behalf under §§134.182-134.187 of the Act shall give notice of intent to do so, in accordance with this section. (b) Notice shall be given by certified mail to the Commission, the Secretary of the U.S. Departme…

(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) A notice required to be sent to a complainant under chapter 571 of the Government Code shall be sent to the address most recently provided to the commission by the complainant. (b) A notice required to be sent to a respondent under chapter 571 of the Government Code shall be …

(a) The commission has no jurisdiction over an alleged violation: (1) if the alleged violation is also a criminal offense, and if, at the time the complaint is filed or at the time the commission would vote to initiate a preliminary review of a matter, the allegation would be bar…

If commission staff proposes to a respondent an agreement to settle a complaint that would be effective upon approval by the commission and the respondent, the 120-day deadline for the commission to propose an agreement to the respondent or dismiss the complaint (provided in sect…

(a) A subpoena issued under § 571.137 of the Government Code shall specify the date, time, place, and manner for execution of the subpoena. (b) A subpoena issued under section 571.137 of the Government Code that requires a person to provide testimony shall be served on that perso…

(a) This section applies only to subpoenas issued by a respondent's counsel under section 571.125(f) (concerning the issuance of a subpoena for a witness in a preliminary review hearing) or 571.130(f) (concerning the issuance of a subpoena for a witness in a formal hearing) of th…

Neither commission enforcement staff nor respondents may communicate with commissioners or the general counsel outside the presence of the other party for the purpose of influencing a decision on a pending sworn complaint after the commission accepts jurisdiction over an allegati…