Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 405 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET - DEPARTMENT FOR NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 30 - Oil Shale Operations › Section 405 KAR 30:390 - Backfilling and grading

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				350.600
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				350.600 requires the Environmental and Public
				Protection Cabinet to develop administrative regulations for oil shale
				operations to minimize and prevent their adverse effects on the citizens and
				the environment of the Commonwealth. This administrative regulation sets forth
				requirements relating to the backfilling and grading of areas affected by oil
				shale operations.
Section 1.
			 Postmining final graded slopes need not be uniform nor does the mined area have
			 to be backfilled to achieve the approximate original contour of the land
			 surface.
Section 2. Spoil, spent
			 shale and other wastes may be disposed of in the mined area provided it is
			 demonstrated to the satisfaction of the cabinet by hydrological means and
			 chemical and physical analyses that these waste materials are suitable for use
			 as fill material and that use of these materials will not adversely affect
			 water quality, water flow, and vegetation; will not present hazards for public
			 health and safety; and will not cause instability in the backfilled
			 area.
Section 3. Covering and
			 Stabilizing.
(1) Any acid-forming or
			 toxic-forming materials, combustible materials, or any other mining waste
			 materials that are exposed, used, or produced during mining shall be covered
			 with a minimum of four (4) feet of nontoxic and nonacid forming material; or,
			 if necessary, treated in order to prevent water pollution and sustained
			 combustion, and to minimize adverse effects on plant growth and land uses.
			 These four (4) feet of nontoxic, nonacid forming material do not include the
			 topsoil or topsoil substitute material required in
			 405 KAR 30:290 relating
			 to topsoil and
			 405 KAR 30:280
			 covering prime farmland. Acid-forming or toxic-forming material shall not be
			 buried or stored in proximity to a drainage course so as to pose a threat of
			 water pollution or otherwise adversely affect the hydrologic balance.
(2) Backfilled materials shall be selectively
			 placed and compacted as necessary to prevent leaching of acid-forming and
			 toxic-forming materials into surface or subsurface waters and wherever
			 necessary to ensure the stability of the backfilled materials. The method of
			 compacting backfill material and the design specifications shall be approved by
			 the cabinet before the acid-forming or toxic-forming materials are
			 covered.
(3) Where highwalls are
			 created during mining which contain various geologic zones with substantially
			 different weathering rate, the permittee shall, at a minimum, backfill all
			 zones which are overlain by a formation with a much slower weathering
			 rate.
(4) All backfilling shall be
			 placed and compacted to achieve a minimum static safety factor of one and
			 three-tenths (1.3) or higher if deemed necessary by the cabinet based on
			 specific site conditions.
(5) Spent
			 shale shall be disposed of in mined areas in accordance with the requirements
			 of
			 405 KAR
			 30:370, Sections 1(1) and 2 of this administrative
			 regulation.