25 Pa. Code § 88.217 - Vegetation: standards for successful vegetation
(a) The standards for successful vegetation
shall be determined by ground cover, unless the approved postmining land use is
cropland, in which case the standards shall be based upon crop productivity or
yield. The standards for successful vegetation of pastureland shall be
determined by ground cover.
(b) The
approved standard shall be a minimum of 70% ground cover of permanent plant
species with not more than 1.0% of the area having less than 30% ground cover
of permanent plant species. When woody species are planted in mixture with
permanent plant species, the standards in this subsection shall be met, and 400
woody plants per acre shall be established except:
(1) On slopes greater than 20 degrees, the
minimum number of woody plants shall be 600 per acre.
(2) When the approved postmining land use is
commercial forest land, the minimum number of woody plants shall be 450 living
commercial trees per acre.
(3) When
the approved postmining land use is wildlife habitat, the requirements of
§
88.213(b)
(relating to vegetation: tree and shrub species and seedling standards) apply
and the areas approved for woody plant species shall have a minimum of 400
woody plants per acre.
(c)
For purposes of measuring the stocking standards for woody species, the
following apply:
(1) Root crown or root
sprouts over 1 foot in height shall count as one toward meeting the stocking
requirements. Where multiple stems occur, only the tallest stem shall be
counted.
(2) A tree or shrub shall
count as one toward meeting the stocking requirements if the tree or shrub has
been in place at least two growing seasons and is alive and healthy with at
least one-third of its length in live crown.
(d) For purposes of this section, herbaceous
species means grasses, legumes and nonleguminous forbs; woody plants means
woody shrubs, trees and vines; and ground cover means the area of ground
covered by the combined aerial parts of vegetation and the litter that is
produced naturally on site, expressed as a percentage of the total area of
measurement.
(e) When the approved
postmining land use is cropland, the approved standard shall be the average
yields per acre for the crop and soil type as specified in the Soil Surveys of
the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service. The productivity or yield of the mined area shall be equal to or
greater than the approved standard for the last two consecutive growing seasons
of the extended period of responsibility established in §
86.151 (relating to period of
liability). Productivity or yield shall be considered equal if production or
yield is at least 90% of the approved standard.
(f) Standards for determining success of
restoration on prime farmlands soils shall be based upon the soil surveys and
soil interpretations and the latest yield data available from the United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
(1) If crops are grown, standards for
determining success of restoration shall be based on crop yields. The current
estimated yields under equivalent levels of management for each soil map unit
and for each crop shall be used by the Department as the predetermined target
level for determining success of revegetation. The target yields may be
adjusted by the Department in consultation with the United States Secretary of
the Department of Agriculture before approval of the permit application. The
crop productivity or yield of the mined area shall be compared to the
predetermined target level. As a minimum, the following standards shall be met:
(i) The average annual crop production shall
be determined based upon a minimum of 3 years of data. Crop production shall be
measured for the 3 years immediately prior to release of bonding under Chapter
86 Subchapter F (relating to bonding and insurance requirements).
(ii) Adjustment for weather-induced
variability in the annual crop production may be permitted by the
Department.
(iii) Restoration of
prime farmland shall be considered a success when the adjusted 3-year average
annual crop production is equivalent to, or higher than, the predetermined
target level of crop production.
(2) If crops are not grown, standards for
determining success of restoration shall be based on a soil survey, in addition
to meeting the standards of subsection (b). The permittee shall demonstrate to
the Department that the prime farmland soil has been restored to a capability
of equivalent or higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmland of the same
soil type in the surrounding area. The demonstration shall include erodability,
moisture holding capacity, permeability, depth, texture, pH and other analysis
deemed relevant by the Department for determining quality of the restored soils
as prime farmland.
(g) In
all cases, soil productivity for prime farmlands shall be returned to
equivalent levels of yield as nonmined land of the same soil type in the
surrounding area under equivalent management practices as determined from the
soil survey performed under §
88.32 (relating to prime farmland
investigation).
Notes
The provisions of this § 88.217 amended under section 5 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. § 691.5); sections 4(a) and 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §§ 1396.4(a) and 1396.4b); section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. § 30.53b); section 7(b) of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P.S. § 1406.7(b)); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-20).
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