16 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.568 - Postmining Land Use
(a) General.
Surface land areas affected by mining activities shall be restored in a timely
manner:
(1) to conditions that are capable of
supporting the uses which they were capable of supporting before any mining;
or
(2) to higher or better uses
achievable under criteria and procedures of this section.
(b) Determining premining use of land. The
premining uses of land to which the postmining land use is compared shall be
those uses which the land previously supported, if the land had not been
previously mined and had been properly managed.
(1) The postmining land use for land that has
been previously mined and not reclaimed shall be judged on the basis of the
highest and best use that can be achieved and is compatible with surrounding
areas.
(2) The postmining land use
for land that has received improper management shall be judged on the basis of
the premining use of surrounding lands that have received proper
management.
(3) If the premining
use of the land was changed within 5 years of the beginning of mining, the
comparison of postmining use to premining use shall include a comparison with
the historic use of the land as well as its use immediately preceding
mining.
(c) Prior to the
release of lands from the permit area in accordance with §
12.313 of this title (relating to
Criteria and Schedule for Release of Performance Bond), the permit area shall
be restored in a timely manner, either to conditions capable of supporting the
uses they were capable of supporting before any mining or to conditions capable
of supporting approved alternative land uses. Alternative land uses may be
approved by the Commission after consultation with the landowner or the land
management agency having jurisdiction over the lands, if the following criteria
are met:
(1) the proposed postmining land use
is compatible with adjacent land use and, where applicable, with existing
local, state, or federal land-use policies and plans; a written statement of
the views of the authorities with statutory responsibilities for land-use
policies and plans shall have been submitted to the Commission within 60 days
of notice by the Commission before underground mining activities begin. Any
required approval of local, state, or federal land-management agencies,
including any necessary zoning or other changes required for the land use,
shall have been obtained and shall remain valid throughout the underground
mining activities;
(2) specific
plans shall be prepared and submitted to the Commission which show the
feasibility of the postmining land use as related to projected land-use trends
and markets, and that include a schedule showing how the proposed use will be
developed and achieved within a reasonable time after mining and be sustained.
The Commission may require appropriate demonstrations to show that the planned
procedures are feasible, reasonable, and integrated with mining and
reclamation, and that the plans will result in successful
reclamation;
(3) provision of any
necessary public facilities shall be ensured as evidenced by letters of
commitment from parties other than the person who conducts underground mining
activities, as appropriate, to provide them in a manner compatible with the
plans submitted under §
12.189 of this title (relating to
Reclamation Plan: Postmining Land Uses). The letters shall be submitted to the
Commission before underground mining activities begin;
(4) specific and feasible plans are submitted
to the Commission which show that financing and attainment and maintenance of
the postmining land use are feasible and, if appropriate, are supported by
letters of commitment from parties other than the person who conducts the
underground mining activities;
(5)
plans for the postmining land use shall have been designed under the general
supervision of a qualified professional engineer, or other appropriate
professional, who will ensure that the plans conform to applicable accepted
standards for adequate land stability, drainage, vegetative cover, and
aesthetic design appropriate for the postmining use of the site;
(6) the proposed use or uses will present
neither actual nor probable hazard to public health or safety, nor will they
pose any actual or probable threat of water flow-diminution or
pollution;
(7) the use or uses will
not involve unreasonable delays in reclamation;
(8) necessary approval of measures to prevent
or mitigate adverse effects on fish, wildlife, and related environmental values
and threatened or endangered plants shall have been obtained from the
Commission, and appropriate state and federal fish and wildlife management
agencies have been provided a 60-day period in which to review the plan before
underground mining activities begin; and
(9) proposals to change premining land uses
of range, fish and wildlife habitat, forestland, hayland, or pasture to a
postmining cropland use, where the cropland would require continuous
maintenance such as seeding, plowing, cultivation, fertilization, or other
similar practices to be practicable or to comply with applicable federal,
state, and local laws, have been reviewed by the Commission to ensure that:
(A) there is a firm written commitment by the
person who conducts underground mining activities or by the landowner or land
manager to provide sufficient crop management after release of applicable
performance bonds under Subchapter J of this Chapter (relating to Bond and
Insurance Requirements for Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations) and
§§
12.555-12.560 of this title (relating to
Revegetation: General Requirements, to Revegetation: Use of Introduced Species,
to Revegetation: Timing, to Revegetation: Mulching and Other Soil Stabilizing
Practices, to Revegetation: Grazing, and to Revegetation: Standards for
Success), to assure that the proposed postmining cropland use remains practical
and reasonable;
(B) there is
sufficient water available and committed to maintain crop production;
and
(C) topsoil quality and depth
are sufficient to support the proposed use.
Notes
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