§ 784.22 - Geologic information.

§ 784.22 What information must I include in the hydrologic reclamation plan and what information must I provide on alternative water sources?Geologic information.

(a) Hydrologic reclamation plan. Your permit application must include a plan, with maps and descriptions, that demonstrates how the proposed operation will comply with the applicable provisions of this subchapter and subchapter K of this chapter that relate to protection of the hydrologic balance. The plan must -

(1) Be specific to local hydrologic conditions.

(2) Include preventive or remedial measures for any potential adverse hydrologic consequences identified in the PHC determination prepared under § 784.20 of this part. These measures must describe the steps that you will take during mining and reclamation through final bond release under §§ 800.40 through 800.43 of this chapter to -

(i) Minimize disturbances to the hydrologic balance within the proposed permit and adjacent areas. .

(ii) Prevent

General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail to assist in -

(1) Determining the probable hydrologic consequences of the operation upon the quality and quantity of surface and ground water in the permit and adjacent areas, including the extent to which surface- and ground-water monitoring is necessary;

(2) Determining all potentially acid- or toxic-forming strata down to and including the stratum immediately below the coal seam to be mined;

(3) Determining whether reclamation as required by this chapter can be accomplished and whether the proposed operation has been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the

proposed

permit area

. The plan must include remedial measures for any predicted diminution of streamflow or loss of wetlands as a result of subsidence. The application must discuss the results of past use of the proposed remedial measures in the vicinity of the proposed mining operation and under similar conditions elsewhere.

(iii) Meet applicable water quality laws and regulations.

(iv) Protect existing water users in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section and § 817.40 of this chapter.

(v) Avoid acid or toxic discharges to surface water and avoid or, if avoidance is not possible, minimize degradation of groundwater.

(vi) Prevent, to the extent possible using the best technology currently available, additional contributions of suspended solids to streamflow or to runoff outside the proposed permit area.

(vii) Provide water-treatment facilities when needed.

(viii) Control surface-water runoff in accordance with § 784.29 of this part.

(3) Address the impacts of any transfers of water among active and abandoned mines within the proposed permit and adjacent areas.

(4) Describe the steps that you will take during mining and reclamation through final bond release under §§ 800.40 through 800.43 of this chapter to protect and enhance aquatic life and related environmental values to the extent possible using the best technology currently available.

(b) Alternative water source information.

(1)

(i) If the PHC determination prepared under § 784.20 of this part indicates that underground mining activities conducted after October 24, 1992, may result in contamination, diminution, or interruption of a well or spring that is in existence at the time the permit application is submitted and that is used for domestic, drinking, or residential purposes, you must demonstrate that alternative water sources are both available and feasible to develop. The alternative water sources must be of suitable quality and sufficient in quantity to support all uses protected under § 817.40 of this chapter.

(ii) You must develop a water supply replacement plan for all uses protected under § 817.40 of this chapter that includes construction details, costs, and an implementation schedule.

(2) If you cannot identify an alternative water source that is both suitable and available, you must modify your application to prevent the proposed operation from contaminating, interrupting, or diminishing any water supply protected under § 817.40 of this chapter.

(3)

(i) When a suitable alternative water source is available, your operation plan must require that the alternative water supply be developed and installed on a permanent basis before your operation advances to the point at which it could adversely affect an existing water supply protected under § 817.40 of this chapter. This requirement applies only to those water supplies for which adverse impacts are probable.

(ii) Paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section will not apply immediately if you demonstrate, and the regulatory authority finds, that the proposed operation also would adversely affect the replacement supply. In that case, your plan must require provision of a temporary replacement water supply until it is safe to install the permanent replacement water supply required under paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section.

(4) Your application must describe how you will provide both temporary and permanent replacements for any unexpected losses of water supplies protected under § 817.40 of this chapter.

; and

(4) Preparing the subsidence control plan under § 784.20.

(b) Geologic information shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) A description of the geology of the proposed permit and adjacent areas down to and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined or any aquifer below the lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely impacted by mining. This description shall include the areal and structural geology of the permit and adjacent areas, and other parameters which influence the required reclamation and it shall also show how the areal and structural geology may affect the occurrence, availability, movement, quantity and quality of potentially impacted surface and ground water. It shall be based on -

(i) The cross sections, maps, and plans required by § 783.25 of this chapter;

(ii) The information obtained under paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(3), and (c) of this section; and

(iii) Geologic literature and practices.

(2) For any portion of a permit area in which the strata down to the coal seam to be mined will be removed or are already exposed, samples shall be collected and analyzed from test borings; drill cores; or fresh, unweathered, uncontaminated samples from rock outcrops down to and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined or any aquifer below the lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely impacted by mining. The analyses shall result in the following:

(i) Logs showing the lithologic characteristics including physical properties and thickness of each stratum and location of ground water where occurring;

(ii) Chemical analyses identifying those strata that may contain acid- or toxic-forming, or alkalinity-producing materials and to determine their content except that the regulatory authority may find that the analysis for alkalinity-producing material is unnecessary; and

(iii) Chemical analysis of the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the total sulfur and pyritic sulfur, except that the regulatory authority may find that the analysis of pyritic sulfur content is unnecessary.

(3) For lands within the permit and adjacent areas where the strata above the coal seam to be mined will not be removed, samples shall be collected and analyzed from test borings or drill cores to provide the following data:

(i) Logs of drill holes showing the lithologic characteristics, including physical properties and thickness of each stratum that may be impacted, and location of ground water where occurring;

(ii) Chemical analyses for acid- or toxic-forming or alkalinity-producing materials and their content in the strata immediately above and below the coal seam to be mined;

(iii) Chemical analyses of the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the total sulfur and pyritic sulfur, except that the regulatory authority may find that the analysis of pyrite sulfur content is unnecessary; and

(iv) For standard room and pillar mining operations, the thickness and engineering properties of clays or soft rock such as clay shale, if any, in the stratum immediately above and below each coal seam to be mined.

(c) If determined to be necessary to protect the hydrologic balance, to minimize or prevent subsidence, or to meet the performance standards of this chapter, the regulatory authority may require the collection, analysis and description of geologic information in addition to that required by paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) An applicant may request the regulatory authority to waive in whole or in part the requirements of paragraphs (b) (2) and (3) of this section. The waiver may be granted only if the regulatory authority finds in writing that the collection and analysis of such data is unnecessary because other information having equal value or effect is available to the regulatory authority in a satisfactory form.

[48 FR 43989, Sept. 26, 1983, as amended at 81 FR 93355, Dec. 20, 2016; 82 FR 54958, Nov. 17, 2017]