25 Pa. Code § 89.122 - Prime farmlands
(a) This
section applies to a person who conducts or intends to conduct underground
mining activities on prime farmlands historically used for cropland except for
the following:
(1) A permit issued prior to
August 3, 1977.
(2) A renewal or
revision of a permit issued prior to August 3, 1977. For the purposes of this
paragraph, "renewal" of a permit means a decision by the Department to extend
the time by which the permittee may complete mining within the boundaries of
the original permit, and "revision" of the permit means a decision by the
Department to allow changes in the method of mining operations within the
original permit area, or a decision of the Department to allow incidental
boundary changes to the original permit.
(b) A person who conducts or intends to
conduct underground mining activities on prime farmlands historically used for
cropland, except those persons exempted under subsection (a), shall submit a
plan as part of the permit application for the mining and restoration of the
land. A plan shall contain, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A soil survey of the permit area
according to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and in
accordance with the procedures in United States Department of
Agriculture Handbooks 436 (Soil Taxonomy, 1975) and 18 (Soil Survey Manual,
1951). The soil survey shall include a map unit and representative
soil profile description as determined by the United States Natural Resources
Conservation Service for each prime farmland soil within the permit area unless
other representative descriptions from the locality, prepared in conjunction
with the National Cooperative Soil Survey, are available and their use is
approved by the State Conservationist, United States Natural Resources
Conservation Service. The soil profile description shall include, but not be
limited to, soil horizon depths, pH and range of soil densities for each prime
farmland soil unit within the proposed permit area. The Department may require
the applicant to provide information on other physical and chemical soil
properties as needed to make a determination that the operator has the
technological capability to restore the prime farmland within the permit area
to the soil reconstruction standards of §§
89.131-89.133 (relating to soil removal;
soil stockpiling; and soil replacement).
(2) The proposed method and type of equipment
to be used for removal, storage and replacement of the soil in accordance with
§§
89.131-89.133.
(3) The proposed measures to be taken during
soil reconstruction to prevent excessive compaction and achieve soil bulk
densities which will result in the restored area returned to equivalent or
higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area under
equivalent levels of management.
(4) The location of areas to be used for the
separate stockpiling of the soil and plans for soil stabilization before
redistribution.
(5) Documentation,
if applicable, such as agricultural school studies or other scientific data
from comparable areas, that supports the use of other suitable material,
instead of A, B or C soil horizon, to obtain on the restored area equivalent or
higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmlands in the surrounding area
under equivalent levels of management.
(6) Plans for seeding or cropping the final
graded disturbed land, and the conservation practices to be used to adequately
control erosion and sedimentation and restoration of an adequate soil moisture
regime during the period from completion of regrading until release of the
performance bond or equivalent guarantee under Chapter 86 Subchapter F
(relating to bonding and insurance requirements). Proper adjustments for
seasons must be proposed so that final graded land is not exposed to erosion
during seasons when vegetation or conservation practices cannot be established
due to weather conditions.
(7)
Available agricultural school studies or other scientific data for areas with
comparable soils, climate and management-including water management-that
demonstrate that the proposed method of reclamation will achieve, within a
reasonable time, equivalent or higher levels of yield after mining as existed
before mining.
(8) Standards for
determining success of revegetation 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. 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 Secretary of
Agriculture before approval of the permit application.
(c) Before a permit is issued for areas that
include prime farmlands, the Department will consult the Natural Resources
Conservation Service. The Natural Resources Conservation Service shall have the
opportunity for review and comment of the proposed method of soil
reconstruction in the plan submitted under subsection (b).
(d) When the underground mining activities
are being conducted on prime farmland, a permit for the mining and reclamation
operation may be granted by the Department, if it first finds, in writing,
that:
(1) The approved postmining land use of
these prime farmlands will be cropland.
(2) The applicant has the technological
capability to restore the prime farmland, within a reasonable time, to
equivalent or higher levels of yield as nonmined prime farmland in surrounding
areas under equivalent levels of management.
(3) The proposed operations will be conducted
in compliance with the requirements of §§
89.131-89.134 (relating to performance
standards).
(4) The permit
incorporates as specific conditions the contents of the plan submitted under
subsection (b), after consideration of any revisions to the plan suggested by
the Natural Resources Conservation Service under subsection
(c).
(e) 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 subsection
(b).
Notes
The provisions of this § 89.122 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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