| (22) provide, prior to creating a cut for a surface mining operation, a drainage system adequate to prevent storm water runoff from coming into contact with the surface mining operation in quantities which would cause significant degradation of area surface and groundwaters; (23) provide that runoff water from areas disturbed by mining activities be impounded, drained, diverted, or treated prior to discharge, to reduce soil erosion, damage to unmined lands, or the pollution of streams and other waters. These objectives shall be accomplished as follows: (A) Runoff from any uranium pad and all water pumped from an ore zone shall be retained in a holding pond located in the mine site area and may not be discharged unless such discharge will not adversely affect the receiving waters. (B) After completion of ore removal, rainfall runoff from the overburden shall be drained into the cut or otherwise controlled until erosion control is established. Techniques that the operator may utilize to accomplish the requirements of this paragraph include, but are not limited to: (i) grading of the overburden; (ii) reliance upon the existence of natural drainage in the area; and (iii) the construction of ditches, dams, or berms. (C) If a permanent water impoundment results from surface mining operations, it banks from the top down to 10 feet below the mean water level shall be established as a slope of not greater than one foot vertical to four feet horizontal. (24) provide that toxic-forming materials present in spoil ridges or in the exposed face of a mined ore deposit be covered with nontoxic materials. Final cuts or other depressed areas no longer in use in mining operations which accumulate toxic material are prohibited; (25) unless otherwise specified by the commission, planting shall be done when the season, local weather conditions, and soil conditions are suitable for seed germination and plant survival; (26) revegetation shall be considered successful as required under §131.102(b)(18) of the Act when it is: (A) capable of self-regeneration and plant succession; and (B) generally at least equal in extent of cover to the natural vegetation of the area; (27) provide that slopes of overburden piles be shaped to minimize runoff and to provide a surface to be seeded; (28) in implementing the standards enumerated in this section, the following guidelines will apply: (A) The applicant's declared anticipated land use following reclamation will be considered unacceptable to the commission unless such land following reclamation will be returned to the same condition as it enjoyed prior to mining or to a condition determined by the commission to be substantially beneficial. In determining whether the anticipated postmining land use is substantially beneficial, the commission may consider, although not exclusively, practicable uses to which the land may be put; the past and present market value of the land; its productivity, past and present; its support of habitat for wildlife, past and present; and its provision for recreational utility, past and present. (B) Except where the land will be inundated by a permanent water impoundment or unless the value and/or usefulness of the land will be reasonably comparable to or enhanced by an alternative procedure, the operator will restore the surface of the land to its approximate original contour and where necessary compact its overburden and topsoil to prevent erosion. (29) with respect to pipelines transmitting crude oil, liquid petroleum, natural gas, toxic, or flammable substances: (A) identify and describe pipelines located in the permit area and within 100 feet thereof in the application for a surface mining permit; (B) visibly mark the location of pipelines at 200-foot intervals throughout the permit area; (C) insure a minimum of six feet of compacted material between the pipeline and any haul road or access road within the permit area which crosses over it; (D) not create a cut within 100 feet or one times the depth of the cut (whichever is greater) of any pipeline; (E) conduct blasting operations in accordance with state and federal laws; but, in no case shall blasting be conducted within 200 feet of a pipeline; (F) comply with the requirements of Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 117; Texas Utilities Code, Chapter 121; Commission pipeline safety rules in Chapter 8 of this title; federal pipeline safety requirements in 49 USC §§60101, et seq.; and federal pipeline safety rules in 49 CFR Part 191, Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline: Annual Reports, Incident Reports, and Safety-Related Condition Reports; 49 CFR Part 192, Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline: Minimum Federal Safety Standards; and 49 CFR Part 193, Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities: Federal Safety Standards; and (G) at the discretion of the commission, variances to subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) of this paragraph may be granted by the commission. Variances to subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of this paragraph will be granted if in the opinion of the commission the structural integrity of the pipeline will be maintained and if agreed to by the owner of the pipeline. |
| Source Note: The provisions of this §11.152 adopted to be effective March 24, 1976, 1 TexReg 502, amended to be effective January 20, 1978, 3 TexReg 128; amended to be effective March 15, 1978, 3 TexReg 745; amended to be effective October 31, 1980, 5 TexReg 4175; amended to be effective December 5, 1980, 5 TexReg 4728; amended to be effective November 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 9724 |
