N.M. Admin. Code § 19.8.24.2404 - PRIME FARMLAND: REVEGETATION

Each person who conducts surface coal mining and reclamation operations on prime farmland shall meet the following revegetation requirements during reclamation:

A. following soil replacement, that person shall establish a vegetative cover capable of stabilizing the soil surface with respect to erosion; all vegetation shall be in compliance with the plan approved by the director under 19.8.10.1004 NMAC and carried out in a manner that encourages prompt vegetative cover and recovery of productive capacity; the timing and mulching provisions of 19.8.20.2062 and 2063 NMAC shall be met;

B. within a time period specified in the permit, but not to exceed 10 years after completion of backfilling and rough grading, any portion of the permit area which is prime farmland must be used for crops commonly grown, such as corn, alfalfa, permanent pasture grain, sorghum, wheat, oats, barley, or other crops on surrounding prime farmland; the crops may be grown in rotation with any or pasture crops as defined for cropland; the director may approve a crop use of perennial plants for hay, where this is a common long-term use of prime farmland soils in the surrounding area; the level of management shall be equivalent to that on which the target yields are based;

C. measurement of success in prime farmland revegetation will be determined based upon the techniques approved in the permit by the director under 19.8.10.1004 NMAC; as a minimum, the following standards shall be met:

(1) average annual crop production shall be determined based upon a minimum of 3 years data; crop production shall be measured for the three years immediately prior to release of bond according to 19.8.14 NMAC;

(2) revegetation on prime farmland shall be considered achieved when the average yield during the measurement period equals or exceeds the average yield of the reference crop established for the same period for non-mined soils of the same or similar texture or slope phase of the soil series in the surrounding area under equivalent management practices;

(3) the reference crop on which restoration of soil productivity is proven shall be selected from the crops most commonly produced on the surrounding prime farmland; where row crops are the dominant crops grown on prime farmland in the area, the row crop requiring the greatest rooting depth shall be chosen as one of the reference crops;

(4) reference crop yields for a given crop season are to be determined from:

(a) the current yield records of representative local farms in the surrounding area, with concurrence by the U.S. natural resources conservation service; or

(b) the average county yields recognized by the U.S. department of agriculture, which have been adjusted by the U.S. natural resources conservation service for local yield variation within the county that is associated with differences between non-mined prime farmland soil and all other soils that produce the reference crop.

(5) under either procedure in Paragraph (4) of Subsection C of 19.8.24.2404 NMAC, the average reference crop yield may be adjusted, with the concurrence of the U.S. natural resources conservation service for:

(a) disease, pest, and weather-induced seasonal variations; or

(b) differences in specific management practices where the overall management practices of the crops being compared are equivalent;

(6) a statistically valid sampling technique at a 90-percent or greater statistical confidence level shall be used as approved by the director in consultation with U.S. natural resources conservation service.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 19.8.24.2404

11-29-97; 19.8.24.2404 NMAC- Rn, 19 NMAC 8.2.24.2404, 9-29-2000; A, 12-31-2007