A person who conducts underground mining activities
shall comply with the performance standards and design requirements of this
section. The following performance standards shall be met:
(1) Signs and markers shall comply with
§
89.51 (relating to signs and
markers).
(2) Closing of
underground
mine openings shall comply with §
89.83 (relating to closing of
underground
mine openings).
(3)
Erosion and sedimentation control shall comply with §§
89.11 and
89.21 (relating to general
requirements; and erosion and sedimentation control).
(4) Removal, storage and use of topsoil and
vegetation support material shall comply with §§
88.86-
88.90.
(7) Use of explosives
includes:
(i) A person who conducts surface
blasting activities incident to
underground mining activities, including, but
not limited to,
mine opening blasting shall conduct the activities in
compliance with §§
88.45 and
88.134-
88.137.
(ii) A person who conducts underground
blasting activities shall comply with this chapter and applicable State and
Federal laws and regulations in the use of explosives.
(8) Standards for determining success of
restoration on
prime farmland 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.
Soil
productivity for
prime farmland 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 §
88.491(k)
(relating to minimum requirements for information on environmental resources).
(i) 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
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:
(A) 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 according to
Chapter 86, Subchapter F (relating to bonding and insurance
requirements).
(B) Adjustments for
weather-induced variability in the annual crop production may be permitted by
the Department.
(C) 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.
(ii) 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 §
88.129(b)
(relating to revegetation: standards for successful revegetation). 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 erodibility, 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.
Notes
The
provisions of this § 88.493 adopted December 19, 1980,
10 Pa.B. 4789, effective 7/31/1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended March 30,
1984, 14 Pa.B. 1143, effective 8/10/1985, 15 Pa.B. 2872; amended January 4,
1985, effective immediately upon the approval by the Secretary of the United
States Department of the Interior and publication thereof in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin, 15 Pa.B. 13; amended June 25, 1993, effective
6/26/1993, 23 Pa.B. 3075;
amended August 8, 2008, effective 8/9/2008, 38 Pa.B. 4355; amended March 13, 2020,
effective 3/14/2020, 50 Pa.B.
1508.
The provisions of this § 88.493 amended under sections 4(a)
and 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §§
1396.4(a) and
1396.4b); section 11 of the
Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §
3311); sections 1917-A and 1920-A of The
Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §§
510-17 and
510-20); section 5 of The
Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §
691.5);
section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal
Control Act (52 P.S. §
30.53b); and
section 7(b) of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act
(52 P.S. §
1406.7(b)).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
86.37 (relating to criteria for
permit approval or denial); 25 Pa. Code §
86.159 (relating to self-bonding);
and 25 Pa. Code §
88.492 (relating to minimum
requirements for reclamation and operation
plan).
