Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 4 - SUBTITLES 19-30 › Subtitle 20 - SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION UNDER FEDERALLY APPROVED PROGRAM › Chapter 26.20.29 - Revegetation › Section 26.20.29.07 - Standards for Success

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. Success
				  of revegetation shall be judged on the effectiveness of the vegetation for the
				  approved postmining land use, the extent of the cover compared to the cover
				  occurring in natural vegetation of the area, and the general requirements of
				  Regulation .01 of this chapter. Ground cover, production, or stocking of trees
				  and shrubs shall be considered equal to the success standard when they are not
				  less than 90 percent of the success standard using a 90 percent statistical
				  confidence interval. A one-sided test with a 0.10 alpha error is an example of
				  this.
B. Standards for success
				  shall be applied in accordance with the approved postmining land use and, at a
				  minimum, meet the following conditions:
(1)
				  For areas developed for use as pastureland or hay land, the ground cover and
				  production of living plants on the revegetated area shall be at least equal to
				  that of the approved reference area, or the revegetated area shall sustain a
				  vegetative ground cover of 90 percent for the last 2 years of the
				  responsibility period, with at least 10 percent of the area consisting of
				  legumes well distributed, and contain no bare areas in excess of 300 square
				  feet;
(2) For areas developed for
				  use as cropland, crop production on the revegetated area shall be at least
				  equal to that of a reference area approved by the Bureau, or the crop
				  production on the area shall be at least 90 percent of a production/yield
				  standard recommended by the appropriate soil conservation district for the area
				  and approved by the Bureau as part of the revegetation plan;
(3) For areas to be developed for wildlife
				  habitat, recreation, commercial forestry, or forest land, when a combination of
				  herbaceous cover and woody plants is to be used, the success of the vegetation
				  shall be determined on the basis of tree and shrub stocking and vegetative
				  ground cover, and the following standards of success apply:
(a) At the time of bond release the trees and
				  shrubs shall be healthy, and at least 80 percent shall have been in place for
				  at least 3 growing seasons,
(b)
				  Trees and shrubs may not be in place for less than 2 growing seasons and shall
				  be counted in determining stocking adequacy,
(c) On areas planted to woody species, there
				  shall be at least 400 woody plants per acre on slopes less than 12 degrees, and
				  600 woody plants per acre on slopes greater than 12 degrees,
(d) The herbaceous ground cover may not be
				  less than that required to control erosion, and shall sustain a vegetative
				  ground cover of 70 percent for the last 2 years of the responsibility period,
				  and
(e) For areas within the plan
				  which are planted with herbaceous cover only, the success standards of §B(1) of
				  this regulation apply;
(4) For areas to be developed for industrial,
				  commercial, or residential use less than 2 years after regrading is complete,
				  the vegetative ground cover may not be less than that required to control
				  erosion;
(5) For areas classified
				  as undeveloped land for which no specific postmining land use is specified, the
				  success standards of §B(3) of this regulation apply unless another success
				  standard is developed for §B(3)(b) of this regulation in consultation with the
				  Forest, Park and Wildlife Service and approved by the Bureau;
(6) The period of extended responsibility for
				  successful revegetation shall begin after the last year of augmented seeding,
				  fertilizing, or other work, excluding normal conservation and management
				  practices approved by the Bureau;
(7) Approved practices shall be normal
				  conservation and management practices within the area for unmined lands having
				  land uses similar to the approved postmining land use of the disturbed
				  area;
(8) The period of
				  responsibility shall continue for a period of not less than 5 full years,
				  except on lands eligible for remining as provided in §B(9) of this regulation;
				  and
(9) On lands eligible for
				  remining included in permits issued before September 30, 2004, or on any later
				  date authorized by the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, or
				  any renewal thereof, the period of responsibility shall continue for a period
				  of not less than 2 full years.