R647-2-109. Reclamation Practices

The operator shall conform to the following practices while conducting reclamation unless the Division grants a variance in writing:

1. Public Safety and Welfare - The operator shall minimize hazards to the public safety and welfare following completion of operations. Methods to minimize hazards shall include but not be limited to:

1.11. The permanent sealing of shafts and tunnels;

1.12. Appropriate disposal of trash, scrap metal and wood, buildings, extraneous debris, and other materials incident to mining;

1.13. The plugging of drill, core, or other exploratory holes as set forth in Rule R647-2-108;

1.14. The posting of appropriate warning signs in locations where public access to operations is readily available;

1.15. The construction of berms, fences and/or barriers above highwalls or other excavations when required by the Division.

2. Drainages - If natural channels have been affected by exploration, then reclamation must be performed such that the channels will be left in a stable condition with respect to actual and reasonably expected water flow so as to avoid or minimize future damage to the hydrologic system.

3. Erosion Control - Reclamation shall be conducted in a manner such that sediment from disturbed areas is adequately controlled. The degree of erosion control shall be appropriate for the site-specific and regional conditions of topography, soil, drainage, water quality or other characteristics.

4. Deleterious Materials - All deleterious or potentially deleterious material shall be safely removed from the site or left in an isolated or neutralized condition such that adverse environmental effects are eliminated or controlled.

5. Land Use - The operator shall leave the on-site area in a condition which is capable of supporting the postmining land use.

6. Slopes - Waste piles, spoil piles and fills shall be regraded to a stable configuration and shall be sloped to minimize safety hazards and erosion while providing for successful revegetation.

7. Highwalls - In surface mining and in open cuts for pads or roadways, highwalls shall be reclaimed and stabilized by backfilling against them or by cutting the wall back to achieve a slope angle of 45 degrees or less.

8. Roads and Pads - On-site roads and pads shall be reclaimed when they are no longer needed for operations. When a road or pad is to be turned over to the property owner or managing agency for continuing use, the operator shall turn over the property with adequate surface drainage structures and in a condition suitable for continued use.

9. Dams and Impoundments - Water impounding structures shall be reclaimed so as to be self-draining and mechanically stable unless shown to have sound hydrologic design and to be beneficial to the postmining land use.

10. Trenches and Pits - Trenches and small pits shall be reclaimed.

11. Structures and Equipment - Structures, rail lines, utility connections, equipment, and debris shall be buried or removed.

12. Topsoil Redistribution - After final grading, soil materials shall be redistributed on a stable surface so as to minimize erosion, prevent undue compaction and promote revegetation.

13. Revegetation - The species seeded shall include adaptable perennial species that will grow on the site, provide basic soil and watershed protection, and support the postmining land use.

Revegetation shall be considered accomplished when:

13.11. The revegetation has achieved 70 percent of the premining vegetative ground cover. If the premining vegetative ground cover is unknown, the ground cover of an adjacent undisturbed area that is representative of the premining ground cover will be used as a standard. Also, the vegetation has survived three growing seasons following the last seeding, fertilization or irrigation, unless such practices are to continue as part of the postmining land use; or

13.12. the Division determines that the revegetation work has been satisfactorily completed within practical limits; where reseeding has occurred and the vegetation has survived one growing season, the reseeded area shall not be included for purposes of determining whether future exploration or mining operations involve a disturbed area of five acres or less.