1501:13-4-13 Underground mining permit application requirements for information on environmental resources.

 

 

 

1501:13-4-13               Underground  mining  permit  application  requirements  for information on environmental resources.

 

 

 

(A)  General requirements.

 

(1)  This rule applies only to underground mining operations. (2)

(a)   Each application shall describe and identify the nature of cultural, historic and archeological resources listed or eligible for listing on the "National Register of Historic Places" and known archeological sites within the proposed permit and adjacent areas. The description shall be based on all available information, including, but not limited to,  information from the state historic preservation officer and from local archeological, historical, and cultural preservation agencies.

 

(b)    The chief may require the applicant to identify and evaluate important historical and archeological resources that may be eligible for listing on the "National Register of Historic Places," through:

 

(i)   Collection of additional information;

 

(ii)   Conduct of field investigations; or

 

(iii)   Other appropriate analyses.

 

(3) Each application shall describe and identify the lands subject to coal mining operations over the estimated life of those operations and the size, sequence, and timing of the subareas for which it is anticipated that individual permits for mining will be sought.

 

(B)  Description of hydrology and geology: general requirements.

 

Each application shall contain a description of surface and ground water within the permit area, adjacent area, and general area, and any water which will flow into or receive discharges of water from the permit and adjacent area. The description shall be prepared in the manner required by paragraphs (B) to (G) of this rule and conform to the following:

 

(1)    Information on hydrology, water quality and quantity, and geology related to hydrology of areas outside the proposed permit area and within the adjacent area shall be provided by the chief, to the extent that this data is available

 

 

from an appropriate federal or state agency.

(2)     If this information is not available from those agencies, the applicant may gather and submit this information to the chief as part of the permit application.

(3)    The permit shall not be approved by the chief until this information is made available in the application.

(C)  Geology description.

(1)   Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail to assist in:

(a)   Determining the probable hydrologic consequences of the operation upon the quality and quantity of surface and ground water in the permit and adjacent areas, including the extent to which surface- and ground-water monitoring is necessary.

(b)     Determining all potentially acid- or toxic-forming strata down to and including the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined;

(c)     Determining whether reclamation as required by these rules can be accomplished and whether the proposed operation has been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area; and

(d)   Preparing the subsidence control plan required under paragraph (M) of rule 1501:13-4-14 of the Administrative Code.

(2)

(a)   The description shall include a general statement of the geology within the proposed permit and adjacent areas down to and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined or any aquifer below the lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely affected by mining. It shall also include the areal and structural geology of the permit and adjacent areas, and the other parameters which influence the required reclamation, and shall show how the areal and structural geology may affect the occurrence, availability,  movement,  quantity,  and  quality  of  potentially  affected

surface and ground waters. It shall also be based on:

(i)   The cross sections, maps and plans required by paragraph (K) of this rule;

(ii)   The information obtained under paragraphs (C)(2)(c) to (C)(2)(f) of this rule; and

(iii)   Geologic literature and practices.

(b)   The geology for all areas proposed to be affected by underground mining surface operations, those surface lands overlying coal to be mined, and the coal to be mined shall be separately described.

Geology of all the strata to be affected by underground mining operations shall be described. The description shall include, at a minimum, the lithologic characteristics and physical and chemical properties of each stratum.

(c)   For those areas to be affected by underground mining surface operations where removal of the overburden down to the level of the coal seam will occur, the geology of the strata down to and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below any coal seam to be mined, or any aquifer below the lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely affected by mining shall be described. This description shall include the following data resulting from analyses of test borings or core samplings down to and including the stratum immediately below any coal seam to be mined:

(i)   The location of areas where subsurface water will be exposed at the face-up area;

(ii)    The logs of drill holes showing the lithologic characteristics of the strata to be affected;

(iii)   The physical properties of each stratum within the overburden;

(iv)    Chemical analyses of each stratum to be affected, including the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined, to identify, at a minimum, those horizons which contain potential acid-forming, toxic-forming, or alkalinity-producing materials; and

(v)     Analyses of the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including, but not limited to, an analysis of the total sulfur and the sulfur present in pyrite, except that the chief may find that the analysis of sulfur present in pyrite is unnecessary.

(d)   For lands within the permit and adjacent areas where the strata above the coal seam to be mined will not be removed, samples shall be collected and analyzed from test borings or drill cores to provide the following data:

(i)    Logs of drill holes showing the lithologic characteristics, including physical properties and thickness of each stratum that may be affected and location of ground water where occurring;

(ii)          Chemical analyses for acid- or toxic-forming or alkalinity-producing materials and their content in the strata immediately above and below the coal seam to be mined;

(iii)     Chemical analyses of the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including but not limited to an analysis of the total sulfur and the sulfur present in pyrite, except that the chief may find that the analysis of pyritic sulfur content is unnecessary; and

(iv)    For standard room and pillar mining operations, the thickness and engineering properties of clays or soft rock such as clay shale, if any, in the stratum immediately above and below each coal seam to be mined.

(e)   Each application shall contain the results from test holes bored or drilled on lands above the underground workings:

(i)   At a minimum of three points, not in a straight line, spaced so as to indicate the strike and dip of the coal seam; and

(ii)   At a minimum of one test hole per one hundred sixty acres.

(f)    Additional test hole data or test holes may be required by the chief at specific sites when necessary to describe localized conditions or variations in geology which may affect the ability of the underground coal mining operation to be conducted in accordance with these rules.

(g)   If more precise information than can be provided by drilling techniques is warranted by potentially adverse site conditions, the chief may require that the test hole information required in paragraph (C) of this rule be obtained by core drilling.

(3) Prior to submission of an application, an applicant may request that the requirements of paragraphs (C)(2)(c) to (C)(2)(e) of this rule be waived by the chief. The waiver may be granted only if the chief makes a written determination that the statement required is unnecessary because other equivalent information is accessible to him/her in a satisfactory form. If the chief grants a waiver, the waiver shall be submitted with the permit application.

(D)  Ground water information.

(1)    The application shall contain a description of the ground-water hydrology for the proposed permit and adjacent areas and the area above the underground workings, including, at a minimum:

(a)    The depth below the surface and the horizontal extent of the water table and aquifers;

(b)   The lithology and thickness of the aquifers;

(c)   Known uses of the water in the aquifers and water table;

(d)  The quality of subsurface water, if encountered;

(e)    The depth to the water in the coal seam if the seam is a water-bearing stratum, and each water-bearing stratum above and potentially affected water-bearing stratum below the coal seam; and

(f)       Additional information which describes the recharge and storage characteristics of aquifers, the approximate rate of discharge or usage, and the quality and quantity of ground water.

(2)      The application shall contain a water supply inventory to include, at a minimum:

(a)   A list of existing water wells on the proposed permit and adjacent areas to

describe the quality and quantity of the ground water to include:

(i)   The identification number of each well;

(ii)   Surface elevation of the well;

(iii)   Depth of the well in feet below the land surface;

(iv)   Static water level of the well in feet below the land surface;

(v)   The lithology of the aquifer in which each well is developed; and

(vi)   Name of owner of the well;

(b)     A  list  of  existing  springs  on  the  proposed  permit  area  and  existing developed springs on the adjacent area to include:

(i)   The identification number of each spring;

(ii)    Name of owner of any spring that is developed for use as a water supply;

(iii)   The surface elevation of the spring; and

(iv)   The aquifer each spring flows from; and

(c)   A list of the location and type of any public water supply sources on the permit and adjacent areas.

(3)   Where information required in the water supply inventory of paragraph (D)(2) of this rule is unobtainable, a statement to that effect shall be made, giving the reasons therefor.

(4)      The application shall contain the results of water quality analyses and measurements of static water level or discharge, conducted on at least ten (or all if less than ten) of the wells and springs identified in paragraphs (D)(2)(a) and (D)(2)(b) of this rule or twenty-five per cent of such wells and springs, whichever number is greater.

(a)   Wells and springs chosen for analysis and measurement shall, as a group,

represent all known aquifers present in the permit and adjacent areas.

(b)   Sampling for water quality analysis shall be conducted at a minimum one time prior to submission of an application for a permit.

(c)   The measurement of the static water level or discharge shall be conducted for each well and spring identified in paragraph (D)(4) of this rule at a minimum one time prior to submission of an application for a permit.

(d)   Water samples collected at the sites prescribed in this paragraph shall be analyzed for the following parameters according to the methodology specified in 40 C.F.R. parts 136 and 434:

(i)   pH in standard units;

(ii)   Total acidity in milligrams per liter of CaCO ;

3

(iii)   Total alkalinity in milligrams per liter of CaCO ;

3

(iv)   Total manganese in milligrams per liter;

(v)   Total iron in milligrams per liter;

(vi)   Total hardness in milligrams per liter of CaCO ;

3

(vii)      Total  dissolved  solids  or  specific  conductance  corrected  to twenty-five degrees centigrade; and

(viii)   Other such information as the chief determines relevant.

(e)     The results of water quality analyses and measurements required in paragraph (D) of this rule shall be reported on a form to be provided by the chief.

(5)   Water quality and quantity data sufficient to identify seasonal variations shall be submitted with an application for a permit.

(E)  Surface-water information.

(1)   Within the proposed permit and adjacent areas, all surface-water bodies such as

streams, lakes and impoundments and all discharges from the permit area into surface-water bodies shall be described and sampled for analysis under paragraph (E) of this rule. The description shall include the name of any watershed that will receive water discharges, the name, ownership and location of all surface-water bodies and the known uses of the water in these water bodies.

(2)    Water samples collected under paragraph (E) of this rule shall be analyzed according to the methodology specified in 40 C.F.R. parts 136 and 434. Surface-water information shall include:

(a)    Minimum, maximum, and average discharge conditions, which identify critical low flows and peak discharge rates of streams; and

(b)   The following water quality data to identify the characteristics of surface waters within the proposed permit and adjacent areas:

(i)   Total suspended solids in milligrams per liter;

(ii)   Total acidity in milligrams per liter of CaCO ;

3

(iii)   Total alkalinity in milligrams per liter of CaCO ;

3

(iv)   pH in standard units;

(v)   Total iron in milligrams per liter;

(vi)   Total manganese in milligrams per liter;

(vii)      Total  dissolved  solids  or  specific  conductance  corrected  to twenty-five degrees centigrade; and

(viii)   Other such information as the chief determines relevant.

(3)   Water quality and quantity data sufficient to identify seasonal variations shall be submitted with an application for a permit.

(4)   The results of water quality analyses and measurements prescribed in paragraph

(E)   of this rule shall be reported on a form to be provided by the chief.

(F)    Alternative water supply information. The application shall identify the extent to which the proposed underground mining operations, including subsidence impacts, may proximately result in contamination, diminution, or interruption of an underground or surface source of water that is for domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other legitimate use. If contamination, diminution, or interruption may result, then the description shall contain information on water availability and alternative sources of water, including the suitability of alternative water sources for existing premining uses and approved postmining land uses.

(G)       Supplemental information. If the determination of the probable hydrologic consequences required by paragraph (E)(2) of rule 1501:13-4-14 of the Administrative Code indicates that adverse impacts on or off the proposed permit area may occur to the hydrologic balance, or that acid-forming or toxic-forming material is present that may result in the contamination of ground-water or surface-water supplies, then information supplemental to that required under paragraphs (D) and (E) of this rule shall be provided to evaluate such probable hydrologic consequences and to plan remedial and reclamation activities. Such supplemental information may be based upon drilling, aquifer tests, hydrogeologic analysis of the water-bearing strata, flood flows, or analyses of other water quality or quantity characteristics.

(H)  Climatological information.

(1)     If required by the chief, the application shall contain a statement of the climatological factors that are representative of the proposed permit and adjacent areas, including:

(a)   The average seasonal precipitation;

(b)   The average direction and velocity of prevailing winds; and

(c)   Seasonal temperature ranges.

(2)     The chief may request such additional data as deemed necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of these rules.

(I)  Land-use information.

(1)     The application shall contain a statement of the condition, capability, and productivity of the land within the proposed permit area, including:

(a)   A map and supporting narrative of the uses of the land existing at the time of the filing of the application. If the premining use of the land was changed within five years before the anticipated date of beginning the proposed operations, the historic use of the land shall also be described.

(b)    A narrative of the land capability and productivity, which analyzes the land use described under paragraph (I)(1)(a) of this rule in conjunction with other environmental resources information required under these rules. The narrative shall provide analyses of:

(i)   The capability of the land before any mining to support a variety of uses, giving consideration to soil and foundation characteristics, topography, vegetative cover and the hydrology of the area proposed to be affected by underground mining surface operations or facilities; and

(ii)   The productivity of the area proposed to be affected by underground mining surface operations or facilities before mining, including appropriate classification as prime farmlands, as well as the average yield of food, fiber, forage or wood products from the land obtained under high levels of management. The productivity shall be determined by yield data or estimates for similar sites based on current data from the United States department of agriculture, state agricultural universities, or appropriate state natural resources or agricultural agencies.

(2)      The  application  shall  state  whether  the  proposed  permit  area  has  been previously mined, and if so, the following information, if available:

(a)   The type of mining method used;

(b)   The coal seams or other mineral strata mined;

(c)   The extent of coal or other minerals removed;

(d)  The approximate dates of past mining; and

(e)   The uses of the land preceding mining.

(3)   The application shall contain a description of the existing land uses and land-use classifications under local law, if any, of the proposed permit and adjacent

areas.

(J)    Maps: general requirements. The permit application shall include an application map prepared by or under the direction of and certified by an engineer or a surveyor or jointly by an engineer and a surveyor, to the extent such certification is required by state law, showing:

(1)    All boundaries of land and names of present owners of record of those lands, both surface and subsurface, included in or contiguous to the permit area; noting the boundaries of land within the proposed permit area upon which the applicant has the legal right to enter and begin coal mining operations and which areas the applicant does not yet have this right;

(2)    The location of all buildings on and within one thousand feet of the proposed permit area, with identification of the current use of the buildings using the map symbols set forth in rule 1501:13-4-10 of the Administrative Code;

(3)     The location of surface and subsurface man-made features within, passing through, or passing over the proposed permit area;

(4)   The locations of water supply intakes for current users of surface water flowing into, out of, and within a hydrologic area defined by the chief, those surface waters which will receive discharges from affected areas in the proposed permit area and the location of any discharges to any surface body of water on or adjacent to the land to be affected;

(5)   Each public road located in or within one hundred feet of the proposed permit area;

(6)    The boundaries of any public park and locations of any cultural or historical resources listed or eligible for listing on the "National Register of Historic Places" and known archeological sites within the proposed permit and adjacent areas;

(7)    Each cemetery, that is located in or within one hundred feet of the proposed permit area;

(8)    Any land within the proposed permit and adjacent areas which is within the boundaries of any units of the national system of trails or the wild and scenic rivers system, including study rivers designated under section (5)(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act or study rivers or study river corridors as established in any guidelines to that act;

(9)     The boundaries and names of counties, municipal corporations, townships, section and lot lines within the permit and within five hundred feet of the permit;

(10)    The names, locations, and directions of flow of all perennial and intermittent streams within the permit area and within five hundred feet of the permit area;

(11)   The name of the drainage basin in which the permit area is located as listed in the "Gazetteer of Ohio Streams," published by the Ohio department of natural resources;

(12)   That part of the permit area that is prime farmland;

(13)    The areas of land to be permitted on which steep slope mining, mountaintop removal, and augering will be performed;

(14)   The drainage control system to include the location of:

(a)   Each sediment pond and the pond identification number;

(b)   Any diversion; and

(c)   Any treatment facilities.

(15)   All haul roads and access roads proposed to be constructed in conjunction with the operations, and all existing haul roads and access roads to be used in conjunction with the operation;

(16)   The location of the proposed final highwall for each coal seam to be mined;

(17)   The point at which mining operations will begin and the point at which mining operations will end on the permit area;

(18)      Elevations and locations of test borings and core samplings within the proposed permit area;

(19)   Elevations and locations of monitoring stations within the permit area used to gather data for water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife, and air quality, if required, in preparation of the application;

(20)    All coal crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal to be mined in the proposed permit area;

(21)   Location and extent of known workings of inactive or abandoned underground mines, including mine openings to the surface within the proposed permit and adjacent areas;

(22)    Location and extent of subsurface water, if encountered, within the proposed permit and adjacent areas;

(23)     Location of surface water bodies such as streams, lakes, ponds, springs, constructed or natural drains, and irrigation ditches within the proposed permit and adjacent areas;

(24)    Location and extent of existing or previously surface-mined areas within the proposed permit area;

(25)     Location and extent of existing areas of spoil, waste, and refuse, dams, embankments, other impoundments, and water treatment and air pollution control facilities within the proposed permit area;

(26)   Location of gas and oil wells within the proposed permit area and water wells in the permit and adjacent areas;

(27)   The location and start and end points of all submitted cross sections;

(28)   Sufficient slope measurements, in degrees, to adequately represent the existing land surface configuration of the proposed permit area;

(29)   The boundaries of all areas proposed to be affected over the estimated total life of the proposed mining operation, with a description of size, sequence, and timing of the mining of sub-areas for which it is anticipated that additional permits will be sought;

(30)   Buildings, utility corridors within the permit area;

(31)   Each coal storage, cleaning and loading area;

(32)   Each topsoil, spoil, coal waste, and noncoal waste storage area;

(33)   Each air pollution collection and control facility within the permit area;

(34)    Each facility to be used to protect and enhance fish and wildlife and related environmental values within the permit area;

(35)   Each explosive storage and handling facility within the permit area;

(36)   The location of each facility that will remain on the proposed permit area as a permanent feature, after the completion of underground mining operations;

(37)   The location of each water and subsidence monitoring point; and

(38)   Other relevant information required by the chief.

(K)   Supplementary maps, cross sections, designs and plans. When necessary under these rules, the application shall include:

(1)   Designs and plans prepared and certified by an engineer for the following:

(a)    Sedimentation ponds, impoundments, coal mine waste banks, and coal mine waste dams;

(b)   Spoil disposal facilities;

(c)   The sealing or managing of any mine openings within the proposed permit area;

(d)   Stream channel diversions and other diversions to be constructed within the proposed permit area to achieve compliance with paragraphs (D) and (F) of rule 1501:13-9-04 of the Administrative Code; and

(e)     Road stream crossings, bridges, culverts, drainages, ditches, drainage structures, road cuts, and fill embankments.

(2)    Supplementary maps and cross sections, prepared by or under the direction of and certified by an engineer or a surveyor or jointly by a an engineer and a surveyor to the extent such joint certification is required by state law, showing:

(a)     Each sedimentation pond, permanent water impoundment, coal mine waste bank, and coal mine waste dam;

(b)   The fill area for the disposal of excess spoil;

(c)    The nature, depth, and thickness of the coal seams to be mined, each stratum of the overburden, and the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined;

(d)   The permit area, the original surface topography and the proposed final surface contour of the permit area;

(e)   The location of the proposed final highwall;

(f)  The location of any mine openings within the proposed permit area;

(g)    Stream channel diversions and other diversions to be constructed within the proposed permit area to achieve compliance with paragraphs (D) and (F) of rule 1501:13-9-04 of the Administrative Code; and

(h)    Road widths, road gradients, road surface, road cuts, fill embankments, culverts, bridges, drainages, ditches, and drainage structures.

(L)  Prime farmland investigation.

(1)   The applicant shall conduct a pre-application investigation of the area proposed to be affected by surface operations or facilities to determine whether lands within the area may be prime farmland. The chief, in consultation with the

U.S. soil conservation service, shall determine the nature and extent of this investigation.

(2)    Land shall not be considered prime farmland if the applicant can demonstrate that:

(a)   The land has not been historically used for cropland; or

(b)   On the basis of a soil survey of lands within the permit area, there are no soil map units that have been designated prime farmland by the U.S. soil conservation service.

(3)     If the investigation establishes that the lands are not prime farmland, the applicant shall submit with the permit application a request for a negative determination which shows that the land for which the negative determination is sought meets one of the criteria of paragraph (L)(2) of this rule.

(4)   If the investigation indicates that lands within the area proposed to be affected by surface operations and facilities may be prime farmlands, the applicant shall contact the U.S. soil conservation service to determine if a soil survey exists for those lands and whether the applicable soil map units have been designated as prime farmlands. If no soil survey has been made for these lands, the applicant shall cause a survey to be made that is of the detail of a second order soil survey used by the U.S. soil conservation service for operational conservation planning. This survey shall be used to identify and locate prime farmland soils.

(a)     When a soil survey made pursuant to paragraph (L)(4) of this rule indicates that the land contains soil map units which have been designated as prime farmlands, the applicant shall submit an application, in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (F) of rule 1501:13-4-12 of the Administrative Code, for such designated land.

(b)     When a soil survey made pursuant to paragraph (L)(4) of this rule indicates that the land contains soil map units which have not been designated as prime farmland after review by the U.S. soil conservation service, the applicant shall submit a request for negative determination for non-designated land with the permit application establishing compliance with paragraph (L)(2) of this rule.

Effective:                                04/15/2004

R.C. 119.032 review dates:    01/27/2004 and 04/15/2009

CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY

Certification

04/05/2004

Date

Promulgated Under:   119.03

Statutory Authority:   1513.02, 1513.07

Rule Amplifies:           1513.07

Prior Effective Dates: 11/23/83 (Emer.), 3/12/84,

8/12/85 (Emer.), 13/30/85 (Emer.), 3/29/86, 10/21/88