Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION › Subchapter 17.24.1 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Montana Hard Rock Mining Reclamation Act › Rule 17.24.104 - EXPLORATION (TEMPORARY) ROADS

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) Insofar
				as possible, all roads must be located on benches, ridge tops and flatter
				slopes to minimize disturbance and enhance stability.
(2) Road widths may not exceed a 14 foot
				single lane standard. Turn-outs may be constructed according to the licensee's
				needs, but the turn-out area may not exceed 30 feet in total width.
(3) No road may be constructed up a stream
				channel proper or so close that material will spill into the channel. Minor
				alterations and relocations of streams may be permitted if the stream will not
				be blocked and if no damage is done to the stream or adjoining landowners. No
				alteration that affects more than 100 linear feet of the channel of a flowing
				stream may be approved by the department without advice from the Department of
				Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Any stream channel alterations must comply with Title
				75, chapter 5, MCA.
(4) Road
				gradients must be kept low except for short pitches to take advantage of
				topography. Maximum sustained grades may not exceed 8%. Pitch maximum may not
				exceed 12% and may not be over 300 feet in length.
(5) Insofar as possible, the licensee must
				keep road cuts reasonably steep to minimize surface disturbances. Cut slopes
				may not be steeper than 1:1 in soil, sand, gravel, or colluvium; 1/4:1 in lake
				silts, or more than 0:1 in rock. Where necessary to prevent significant
				sloughing or slumping, the top of road cuts must be rounded back to a more
				gentle slope. In selecting a slope angle, to prevent slope failure the licensee
				should consider at least the following factors: the nature of the material,
				compaction, slope height and moisture conditions.
(6) A ditch must be provided on both sides of
				a throughcut and, with the exception of outsloping roads, on the inside
				shoulder of a cut-fill section, with ditch relief cross drains (water bars)
				being spaced according to grade. Water must be intercepted before reaching a
				switchback or large fill, and be routed and released below the fill or
				switchback, not over it.
(7)
				Streams must be crossed at or near right angles unless contouring down to the
				stream bed will result in less potential stream bank erosion. Structure or ford
				entrances and exits must be constructed to prevent water from flowing down the
				roadway.
(8) Culverts must be
				installed at prominent drainage ways, small creeks and springs. Upon
				abandonment of the road, culverts must be removed and the drainage way
				reopened. Such culverts must be sufficient to handle runoff expected from a
				statistical five-year storm and, where necessary, the area adjoining the
				culvert must be protected from erosion by adequate, inert rock
				riprap.
(9) Trees and vegetation
				may be cleared for only the essential width necessary to maintain soil
				stability and to serve traffic needs. Trees must be felled prior to road
				construction. When sideslopes are 15% (8.5º) or less, trees and other
				vegetative debris from clearing operations must be completely disposed of,
				stockpiled at specified areas, or used as a sediment filter below the road cut.
				When sideslopes are steeper than 15% (8.5º), trees and vegetative debris
				shall be piled neatly below and parallel to the toe of the fill.
(10) Drainage facilities (such as culverts
				and water bars) must be installed as road construction progresses.
(11) Adequate diagonal drainage barriers
				(i.e., water bars, drain dips or similarly effective features) must be placed
				at the following specified intervals:
Grade (%)
Maximum Spacing (feet)
0 - 2
200
3 - 8
150
9 - 12
80
(12)
				Roads must be outsloped whenever possible. If roads are to be used during snow
				season, insloping with proper drainage consideration is acceptable for vehicle
				safety reasons.
(13) Snowplowing
				must be done in such a manner that runoff water will not be trapped between the
				snow berms and flow down the road.
(14) Materials which slough or slump onto the
				road bed or into the roadside drainage ditch before the licensee completes the
				exploration project must be disposed of on the road bed or on the fill material
				in a manner that will not obstruct any of the drainage facilities previously
				described.
(15) All fill and cut
				slopes, with the exception of rock faces, must be seeded or planted or both
				during the first appropriate season following construction of the
				road.
(16) The department may waive
				any of the criteria in this section if the applicant proposes methods or
				technologies that achieve the same or better environmental protection than that
				expected under the given criteria.
82-4-321, MCA; IMP,
					 82-4-332,
					 MCA;