Alabama Administrative Code › Title 880 - ALABAMA SURFACE MINING COMMISSION › Chapter 880-X-10D - PERFORMANCE STANDARDS UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES › Section 880-X-10D-.12 - Hydrologic Balance Protection

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) General. All underground mining and reclamation activities shall be conducted to minimize disturbance of the hydrologic balance within the permit and adjacent areas, to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area, and to support approved postmining land uses in accordance with the terms and conditions of the approved permit and the performance standards of this part. The Regulatory Authority may require additional preventative, remedial, or monitoring measures to assure that material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area is prevented. Mining and reclamation practices that minimize water pollution and changes in flow shall be used in preference to water treatment.
(2) Ground-water protection. In order to protect the hydrologic balance underground mining activities shall be conducted according to the plan approved under 880-X-8H-.06(1)(h) and the following:
(a) Ground-water quality shall be protected by handling earth materials and runoff in a manner that minimizes acidic, toxic, or other harmful infiltration to ground-water systems and by managing excavations and other disturbances to prevent or control the discharge of pollutants into the ground water.
(b) Ground-water monitoring.
1. Ground-water monitoring shall be conducted according to the ground-water monitoring plan approved under Section 880-X-8H of this chapter. The Regulatory Authority may require additional monitoring when necessary.
2. Ground-water monitoring data shall be submitted every three months to the Regulatory Authority or more frequently as prescribed by the Regulatory Authority. Monitoring reports shall include analytical results from each sample taken during the reporting period. When the analysis of any ground-water sample indicates noncompliance with the permit conditions, then the operator shall promptly notify the Regulatory Authority and immediately take the actions provided for in 880-X-8K-.11(5) and 880-X-8H-.06(1)(b).
(c) Ground-water monitoring shall proceed through mining and continue during reclamation until bond release. Consistent with the procedures of 880-X-8M-.06, the Regulatory Authority may modify the monitoring requirements including the parameters covered and the sampling frequency if the operator demonstrates, using the monitoring data obtained under this paragraph, that --
1. The operation has minimized disturbance to the prevailing hydrologic balance in the permit and adjacent areas and prevented material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area; water quantity and quality are suitable to support approved postmining land uses; or
2. Monitoring is no longer necessary to achieve the purposes set forth in the monitoring plan approved under Section 880-X-8H-.06(1)(i) of this chapter.
(d) Equipment, structures, and other devices used in conjunction with monitoring the quality and quantity of ground water onsite and offsite shall be properly installed, maintained, and operated and shall be removed by the operator when no longer needed.