16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.363 - Disposal of Excess Spoil: General Requirements
(a) Spoil not required to achieve the
approximate original contour within the area where overburden has been removed
shall be hauled or conveyed to and placed in designated disposal areas within a
permit area, if the disposal areas are authorized for such purposes in the
approved permit application in accordance with this section and §§
12.364-12.366 of this title (relating to
Disposal of Excess Spoil: Valley Fills, Disposal of Excess Spoil:
Head-of-Hollow Fills, and to Disposal of Excess Spoil: Durable Rock Fills). The
spoil shall be placed in a controlled manner to ensure:
(1) that leachate and surface runoff from the
fill will not degrade surface or ground waters or exceed the effluent
limitations referenced in §
12.340 of this title (relating to
Hydrologic Balance: Water-Quality Standards and Effluent
Limitations);
(2) stability of the
fill; and
(3) that the land mass
designated as the disposal area is suitable for reclamation and revegetation
compatible with the natural surroundings.
(b) The fill shall be designed using
recognized professional standards, certified by a qualified professional
engineer, and approved by the Commission.
(c) All vegetative and organic materials
shall be removed from the disposal area and the topsoil shall be removed,
segregated, and stored or replaced under §§
12.334-12.338 of this title (relating to
Topsoil: General Requirements, to Topsoil: Removal, to Topsoil: Storage, to
Topsoil: Redistribution, and to Topsoil: Nutrients and Soil Amendments). If
approved by the Commission, organic material may be used as mulch or may be
included in the topsoil to control erosion, promote growth of vegetation, or
increase the moisture retention of the soil.
(d) Slope protection shall be provided to
minimize surface erosion at the site. Diversion design shall conform with the
requirements of §
12.341 of this title (relating to
Hydrologic Balance: Diversions). All disturbed areas, including diversion
ditches that are not riprapped, shall be vegetated upon completion of
construction.
(e) The disposal
areas shall be located on the most moderately sloping and naturally stable
areas available as approved by the Commission. If such placement provides
additional stability and prevents mass movement, fill materials suitable for
disposal shall be placed upon or above a natural terrace, bench, or
berm.
(f) The spoil shall be hauled
or conveyed and placed in horizontal lifts in a controlled manner, concurrently
compacted as necessary to ensure mass stability and prevent mass movement,
covered, and graded to allow surface and subsurface drainage to be compatible
with the natural surroundings and ensure a long-term static safety factor of
1.5.
(g) The final configuration of
the fill must be suitable for postmining land uses approved in accordance with
§
12.399 of this title (relating to
Postmining Land Use), except that no depressions or impoundments shall be
allowed on the completed fill.
(h)
Terraces may be utilized to control erosion and enhance stability if approved
by the Commission and consistent with §
12.385(b) of
this title (relating to Backfilling and Grading: General Grading
Requirements).
(i) Where the slope
in the disposal area exceeds 2.8h:1v (36%), or such lesser slope as may be
designated by the Commission based on local conditions, keyway cuts
(excavations to stable bedrock) or rock toe-buttresses shall be constructed to
stabilize the fill. Where the toe of the spoil rests on a downslope, stability
analyses shall be performed in accordance with §
12.153(c) of
this title (relating to Disposal of Excess Spoil) to determine the size of rock
toe-buttresses and key-way cuts.
(j) The fill shall be inspected for stability
by a qualified professional engineer, or other qualified professional
specialist under the direction of the professional engineer, experienced in the
construction of earth and rockfill embankments, at least quarterly throughout
construction and during the following critical construction periods:
(1) removal of all organic material and
topsoil;
(2) placement of
underdrainage systems and protective filter systems;
(3) installation of surface drainage
systems;
(4) placement and
compaction of fill materials; and
(5) revegetation.
(k) The qualified professional engineer shall
provide to the Commission a certified report, within 2 weeks after each
inspection, that the fill has been constructed as specified in the design
approved by the Commission. The certified report on the drainage system and
protective filters shall include color photographs taken during and after
construction, but before underdrains are covered with excess spoil. If the
underdrain system is constructed in phases, each phase shall be certified
separately. A copy of the report shall be retained at the minesite.
(l) Coal processing wastes shall not be
disposed of in head-of-hollow or valley fills, and may only be disposed of in
other excess spoil fills, if such waste is:
(1) placed in accordance with §
12.371 of this title (relating to
Coal Processing Waste Banks: General Requirements);
(2) demonstrated to be non-toxic and
non-acid-forming; and
(3)
demonstrated to be consistent with the design stability of the
fill.
(m) If the disposal
area contains springs, natural or manmade watercourses, or wet-weather seeps,
an underdrain system consisting of durable rock shall be constructed from the
wet areas in a manner that prevents infiltration of the water into the spoil
material. The underdrain system shall be protected by an adequate filter and
shall be designed and constructed using standard geotechnical engineering
methods. Where excess durable rock spoil is placed in single or multiple lifts
such that the underdrain system is constructed simultaneously with excess spoil
placement by the natural segregation of dumped materials, color photographs
shall be taken of the underdrain as the underdrain system is being
formed.
(n) The foundation and
abutments of the fill shall be stable under all conditions of construction and
operation. Sufficient foundation investigation and laboratory testing of
foundation materials shall be performed in order to determine the design
requirements for stability of the foundation. Analyses of foundation conditions
shall include the effect of underground mine workings, if any, upon the
stability of the structure.
(o)
Excess spoil may be returned to underground mine workings, but only in
accordance with a disposal program approved by the Commission and MSHA upon the
basis of a plan submitted under §
12.193 of this title (relating to
Underground Development Waste/Return of Coal Processing Waste to Abandoned
Underground Workings).
(p) Excess
spoil that is acid-forming or toxic-forming or combustible shall be adequately
covered with non-acid, non-toxic and noncombustible material, or treated, to
control the impact on surface and ground water in accordance with this chapter
(relating to Coal Mining Regulations), to prevent sustained combustion and to
minimize adverse effects on plant growth and the approved postmining land
use.
(q) The photographs required
by this section to accompany each certified report shall be taken in adequate
size and number with enough terrain or other physical features of the site
shown to provide a relative scale to the photographs and to specifically and
clearly identify the site.
Notes
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