Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION › Subchapter 17.24.2 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Opencut Mining Act › Rule 17.24.219 - PLAN OF OPERATION, RECLAMATION PLAN, AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) An application for a dryland permit or to
				amend a dryland permit does not require a plan of operation. An application for
				a standard permit or to amend a standard permit must include a plan of
				operation that complies with
				82-4-434,
				MCA and the following:
(a) a postmining land
				uses section that includes a description of the type, location, and size of
				each postmining land use area in the permit area. Postmining land use types
				include, but are not limited to, internal roads, material stockpile areas,
				pond, wetland, riparian area, grassland, rangeland, shrubland, woodland,
				pasture, hayland, cropland, wildlife habitat, recreation site, and residential,
				commercial, and industrial building sites;
(b) a surface cleanup section that includes a
				statement that the operator will:
(i) at the
				conclusion of opencut operations, except as provided in (1)(b)(ii), use or haul
				away from the permit area all excavated or processed material for backfill as
				provided in (1)(c);
(ii) upon the
				request by the landowner, on the landowner consultation form, segregate
				specific types, grades, and quantities of material into stockpiles maintained
				in one location, along with a separate stockpile of the quantity of soil
				required to reclaim the area where the material is stockpiled, shaped, and
				seeded and placed within 100 feet of a material stockpile;
(iii) a stockpile of materials for the
				landowner as provided by (1)(b)(ii) must be free of excess fines or other waste
				materials that would render the material unsuitable for commercial
				use;
(iv) provide a description of
				the types, grades, and quantities of material proposed to remain stockpiled as
				provided by (1)(b)(ii) and (iii), and justify the quantities stockpiled for
				landowner use based on current and expected demand for the materials;
(v) at the conclusion of opencut operations,
				haul away and properly dispose of all refuse, oiled surfacing, contaminated
				materials, concrete that is not clean-fill, and unused clean fill from affected
				lands;
(vi) haul away all asphaltic
				pavement from the permit area, except on-site-generated asphaltic pavement may
				be used as mined-area backfill in accordance with (1)(b)(vii) and with the
				consent of the landowner;
(vii)
				place on-site-generated asphaltic pavement, coarse clean fill, and other clean
				fill unsuitable for plant growth under at least three feet of material suitable
				for sustaining the postmining vegetation;
(viii) place on-site-generated asphaltic
				pavement in an unsaturated condition at least 25 feet above the seasonal high
				water table; and
(ix) for the
				purposes of (1)(b)(ii) and (iii), the operator remains responsible for
				reclamation of the areas occupied and affected by material and soil stockpiles
				until the department has approved phase II reclamation for the areas where the
				stockpiles are located or assignment of the permit to the landowner or another
				party;
(c) a backfill and
				grading section that includes a statement that the operator will:
(i) use only overburden and materials from
				the permit area, or otherwise only clean fill from any source, to reclaim
				affected land to a stable condition with 5:1 or flatter slopes for hayland and
				cropland, 4:1 or flatter slopes for sandy surfaces, and 3:1 or flatter slopes
				for other sites and surfaces appropriate to the designated postmine land
				use;
(ii) reclaim premine drainage
				systems to blend into the surrounding topography and drainages;
(iii) drain off-site or concentrate water in
				low areas identified in the permit;
(iv) backfill and grade to at least three
				feet above the seasonal high water table level for dryland reclamation and at
				approved depths below the seasonal low water table level for pond
				reclamation;
(v) record the average
				thickness of overburden replaced and never cover soil with
				overburden;
(vi) if available, up
				to 24 inches of soil and overburden must be stripped, salvaged, and replaced
				for reclamation. If overburden is a mine material or will be used as binder, an
				appropriate quantity must first be stripped and salvaged to satisfy the soil
				plus overburden replacement thickness requirement (24 inches
				cumulative);
(vii) for the purposes
				of (1)(c)(i) and (ii), the department may consider steeper slopes for certain
				postmining land uses based on a design or a slope stability analysis prepared
				by a professional engineer licensed in accordance with Title 37, chapter 67,
				part 3, MCA, or a geologist with five years of post-graduate academic or
				professional work experience in the field of soil or rock mechanics;
(viii) if required by the department, conduct
				postmining monitoring of ground water levels to ensure that appropriate
				reclaimed surface elevations are established;
(d) a description of the locations and
				designs for any special reclamation features such as ponds, waterways with
				defined channels, and building sites. Reclaimed waterways with defined channels
				must be located in their approximate premine locations and have channel and
				floodplain dimensions and gradients that approximate premine conditions, unless
				otherwise approved by the department. Reclaimed waterways with defined channels
				must connect to undisturbed waterways in a manner that avoids disruption or
				accelerated erosion of the reclaimed waterway or adjoining areas;
(e) an access road reclamation section
				describing:
(i) reclamation of access,
				haulage, or other roads included on affected land with the landowner's consent;
				and
(ii) for private roads to
				remain open at the request of the landowner, reclamation of the road to a width
				appropriate to the landowner's anticipated use or as may otherwise be required
				by applicable land use regulations;
(f) a section that explains how the operator
				will reclaim water diversion, retention, discharge, and outflow structures
				constructed for opencut operations;
(g) an overburden and soil conditioning
				section that includes a statement that the operator will:
(i) till replaced overburden, graded
				surfaces, and other compacted surfaces:
(A) to
				a depth of at least 12 inches, or to another depth required by the department
				prior to replacing soil, except that:
(I)
				tillage is not required for relatively non-compactible materials such as sands,
				materials with a rock fragment content of 35 percent or more by volume, or
				bedrock; and
(II) tilling deeper
				than the soil thickness is not required when cobbly material or bedrock
				underlies the soil;
(B)
				on the contour and when the overburden and soil are dry enough to shatter;
				and
(C) in a manner that protects
				tilled areas from recompaction;
(ii) record the thicknesses of soil replaced
				on the permit areas as required by the permit;
(iii) till through replaced soil and into the
				surface of the underlying backfill prior to seeding or planting unless
				otherwise required by the department; and
(iv) the soil surface must be free of rocks
				that are not characteristic of the soil prior to
				disturbance;
(h) a
				revegetation section that:
(i) describes the
				types and rates of fertilizer and other soil amendment applications, methods of
				seedbed preparation, and methods, species, and rates of seeding or planting;
				and
(ii) includes a statement that
				the operator will:
(A) establish vegetation
				to protect the soils from erosion and that is capable of sustaining the
				designated postmining land uses;
(B) seed all affected land for vegetation
				species that are consistent with the premining species composition, cover,
				production, density, and diversity, or otherwise as appropriate for the
				designated postmining land use;
(C)
				ensure that areas seeded or planted to perennial species are adequately
				protected and managed from the time of seeding or planting through two
				consecutive growing seasons or until the vegetation is established, whichever
				is longer;
(D) use seed that is as
				weed free as is reasonably possible;
(E) ensure that seedbed preparation and drill
				seeding is done on the contour;
(F)
				apply drill seeding at the rate of no less than ten pounds per acre or at
				another rate approved by the department;
(G) apply broadcast seeding at a rate that is
				at least 100 percent higher than drill seeding rates and drag or press the
				surface to cover the seed unless otherwise required by the
				department;
(H) provide seeding
				rates as pounds of pure live seed per acre;
(I) seed during the late fall or early spring
				seeding seasons;
(J) apply cover
				crop seeding and mulch as needed to help stabilize an area or establish
				vegetation;
(K) achieve
				revegetation of a non-cropland area by establishing vegetation capable of
				sustaining the designated postmining land use;
(L) achieve revegetation of a cropland area
				when a crop has been harvested from the entire area and the yield is comparable
				to those of crops grown on similar sites under similar growing conditions;
				and
(M) agree that reclamation for
				cropland areas will be considered complete upon inspection by the department or
				notification by the landowner to the department in writing that the crop yield
				on the reclaimed land is acceptable;
(i) a reclamation schedule section that
				includes:
(i) a statement that the operator
				will complete phase I and phase II reclamation on an area no longer needed for
				opencut operations, or on areas that the operator no longer has the right to
				use for opencut operations, within one year after the cessation of such
				operations or termination of such right. If it is not practical for the
				operator to reclaim a certain area until other areas are also available for
				reclamation, the operator may propose an alternate reclamation schedule for
				that area; and
(ii) a reasonable
				estimate of the month and year by which phase II reclamation will be completed
				considering the estimated demand for material, expected rate of production,
				accessible material reserves, and the time required to complete revegetation as
				required by (1)(g) and (h). Final reclamation must be completed by the date
				given.