Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION › Subchapter 17.24.3 - Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act: Definitions and Strip Mine Permit Application Requirements › Rule 17.24.304 - BASELINE INFORMATION: ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) The following environmental resources
				information must also be included as part of an application for a strip or
				underground mining permit:
(a) the size,
				sequence, and timing of the subareas of the mine plan area for which it is
				anticipated that individual permits for mining will be requested over the
				estimated total life of the proposed mining activities;
(b) a listing, location and description of
				all archaeological, historical, ethnological and cultural resources and values
				of the proposed mine plan and adjacent area. Such resources and values must be
				located and identified on accompanying maps. Sites listed on, eligible for, or
				potentially eligible for the national register of historic places must be so
				identified. Published research or other information must be referenced and
				copies of referenced reports must be made available to the department upon
				request. The department may require the applicant to identify and evaluate
				important historic and archeological resources that may be eligible for listing
				on the national register of historic places through collection of additional
				information, conduct field investigations, or other appropriate
				analyses;
(c) a comprehensive
				listing, location and description of significant or unique scenic and/or
				geological formations or sites;
(d)
				a narrative explanation or other data showing whether the permit area possesses
				special, exceptional, critical, or unique characteristics as defined in
				82-4-227, MCA, and whether
				surrounding land possesses special, exceptional, critical or unique
				characteristics that would be adversely affected by mining;
(e) all hydrologic and geologic data
				necessary to evaluate baseline conditions, to evaluate the probable hydrologic
				consequences and cumulative hydrologic impacts of mining, pursuant to ARM
				17.24.314(3) and
				(5) and
				82-4-222, MCA, and to develop a
				plan to monitor water quality and quantity to address the requirements of ARM
				17.24.314;
(f) hydrologic and
				geologic descriptions pursuant to (1)(e) including:
(i) a narrative and graphic account of ground
				water hydrology including, but not limited to:
(A) the lithology, thickness, structural
				controls, hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, recharge, storage and
				discharge characteristics, extent of aquifer, production data, water quality
				analyses and other relevant aquifer characteristics for each aquifer within the
				mine plan area and adjacent areas;
(B) the results of a minimum of one year of
				quarterly monitoring of ground water for total dissolved solids, specific
				conductance corrected to 25oC, pH, major dissolved
				cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K), major dissolved anions (SO4,
				HCO3, CO3, Cl,
				NO3), concentrations of dissolved metals as prescribed
				by the department, and water levels. These data must be generated in accordance
				with the standards contained in ARM
				17.24.645(2),
				(3), and (6); and
(C) a listing of all known or readily
				discoverable wells and springs and their uses located within three miles
				downgradient from the proposed permit area and within one mile in all other
				directions unless hydrologic conditions justify different distances;
(ii) a narrative and graphic
				account of surface water hydrology within the mine plan area and adjacent areas
				including, but not limited to:
(A) the name,
				location, use, and description of all surface water bodies such as streams,
				lakes, ponds, springs, and impoundments; and
(B) descriptions of surface drainage systems
				sufficient to identify, in detail, the seasonal variations in water quantity
				and quality including, but not limited to:
(I) minimum, maximum, and average discharge
				conditions which identify critical low flow and peak discharge rates of streams
				and springs; and
(II) water quality
				data to identify the characteristics of surface waters discharging into or
				receiving flows from the proposed mine plan area, including total suspended
				solids, total dissolved solids, specific conductance corrected to 25°C, pH,
				major dissolved cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K), major dissolved anions
				(SO4, CO3,
				HCO3, NO3, Cl), and
				concentrations of metals as prescribed by the department. Such data must be
				generated in accordance with the standards contained in ARM
				17.24.646(1), (1)(a), (3),
				(5), and (6);
(iii) a description of alternative water
				supplies, not to be disturbed by mining, that could be developed to replace
				water supplies diminished or otherwise adversely impacted in quality or
				quantity by mining activities so as not to be suitable for the approved
				postmining land uses; and
(iv) such
				other information that the department determines is
				relevant;
(g) a detailed
				description of all overburden and mineral materials (all materials other than
				soil) that will be handled during mining or backfilling operations. The
				description must include:
(i) those materials
				down to and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the
				lowest seam to be mined or any aquifer below the lowest seam to be mined that
				may be adversely impacted by mining;
(ii) all physical, chemical, water
				infiltration, artificial weathering, and plant growth data necessary to
				identify those materials that are potentially acid, acid-forming, sodic,
				saline, toxic, toxic-forming, unstable, erodible or otherwise undesirable with
				respect to use as plant rooting media, landscape stability, aquifer
				reestablishment, postmining ground and surface water quantity and quality both
				on and off site, and postmining land use;
(iii) lithologic and geophysical logs showing
				the lithologic characteristics including physical properties and thickness of
				each stratum and location of ground water where occurring. The requirement for
				geophysical logs may be waived if the applicant demonstrates, and the
				department finds in writing, that other equivalent information is available in
				an acceptable form and has been provided by the applicant;
(iv) a narrative addressing the suitability
				or unsuitability of the materials to be handled for reclamation purposes. This
				narrative must address or reference the data, characteristics of materials, and
				aspects of reclamation described in (1)(f), (1)(g)(ii) and (iii), and ARM
				17.24.322(2)(a)(iii);
				and
(v) additional studies or
				information determined by the department to be useful or necessary to evaluate
				the application. All laboratory work conducted under (g) must be conducted in
				accordance with ARM
				17.24.302(3);
(h) climatological information, including:
(i) the average seasonal
				precipitation;
(ii) the average
				direction and velocity of prevailing winds;
(iii) seasonal temperature ranges;
				and
(iv) such additional data as
				the department deems necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of
				this subchapter;
(i)
				vegetation surveys as described in
				82-4-222(2), MCA,
				of the Act, which must include:
(i) a
				vegetation map at a scale of 1" = 400' or as otherwise approved by the
				department, which delineates community types based on dominant species which by
				their structure, density, or coverage, have the greatest functional influence
				on the type. Other methods for delineating community types may be used with
				prior approval by the department; and
(ii) a narrative describing the community
				types within the proposed permit area and within any proposed reference areas,
				and listing associated species and discussing environmental factors controlling
				or limiting the distribution of species;
(j) a narrative of the results of a wildlife
				survey. The operator shall contact the department at least three months before
				planning the wildlife survey to allow the department to consult state and
				federal agencies with fish and wildlife responsibilities to determine the scope
				and level of detail of information required in the survey to help design a
				wildlife protection and enhancement plan. At a minimum, the wildlife survey
				must include:
(i) a listing of all fish and
				wildlife species;
(ii) population
				density estimates of each species insofar as practicable;
(iii) a description of season or seasons of
				use and habitat use by each species along with a description of habitats of
				unusually high value for fish and wildlife such as important streams, wetlands,
				riparian areas, cliffs supporting raptors, areas offering special shelter or
				protection, migration routes, reproduction and wintering areas, and other
				habitats identified through agency consultation as requiring special protection
				under state or federal law;
(iv) a
				wildlife habitat map for the entire wildlife survey area including habitat
				types that are discussed in (c), and ARM
				17.24.751(2)(f) and
				(g); and
(v) coverage of the proposed permit area plus
				an area around it. The extent of the total area to be surveyed must be
				determined through consultation with the department and must be large enough to
				include those species whose home ranges extend beyond the permit
				boundary;
(k) a soil
				survey according to standards of the national cooperative soil survey and the
				department describing all soils on the proposed permit area and their
				suitability for reclamation purposes. The soil survey must include the
				following information:
(i) description,
				sampling, and analysis of soils in sufficient detail to identify the soil
				series, phases, and mapping units present including:
(A) series and phase descriptions;
(B) mapping unit (complex and consociation)
				descriptions;
(C) descriptions of
				representative soil pedons; and
(D)
				results of chemical and physical analyses of soil horizon samples. Each horizon
				sample must be analyzed in accordance with ARM
				17.24.302(3) for
				pH, particle size distribution (texture), and other parameters that must be
				determined in consultation with the department;
(ii) a soils map acceptable to the
				department. The scale must be 1" = 400' unless otherwise altered or approved by
				the department. Enlarged aerial photographs may be used as a map base. The map
				or photograph must include:
(A) the soil
				mapping units, their boundaries, a legend of the soil mapping units and the
				estimated salvage depths of soils within each mapping unit, consistent with the
				information submitted under ARM
				17.24.313(1)(f);
(B) soil sampling locations;
				and
(iii) further soil
				studies or information determined by the department to be useful or necessary
				to evaluate the application;
(l) the condition, capability, productivity,
				and history of use of the land and vegetation within the proposed permit area,
				including:
(i) a map and supporting narrative
				of the uses of the land existing at the time of the filing of the application.
				If the premining use of the land was changed within five years before the
				anticipated date of beginning the proposed operations, the historic use of the
				land must also be described;
(ii) a
				narrative of land capability and productivity that analyzes the land-use
				description under (a) in conjunction with other environmental resources
				information required under this subsection. The narrative must provide analyses
				of:
(A) the capability of the land before any
				mining to support a variety of uses, giving consideration to soil and
				foundation characteristics, topography, vegetative cover and the hydrology of
				the proposed permit area;
(B) the
				productivity of the proposed permit area before mining, expressed as average
				yield of food, fiber, forage, or wood products from such lands obtained under
				high levels of management. The productivity must be determined by yield data or
				estimates for similar sites based on current data from the U.S. department of
				agriculture, state agricultural universities, or appropriate state natural
				resources or agricultural agencies;
(C) a statement of whether the proposed
				permit area has been previously mined, and, if so, the following information,
				if available:
(I) the type of mining method
				used;
(II) the coal seams or other
				mineral strata mined;
(III) the
				extent of coal or other minerals removed;
(IV) the approximate dates of past mining;
				and
(V) the uses of the
				land;
(D) the existing
				land uses and land use classifications under local law, if any, of the proposed
				mine plan and adjacent areas.