New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE › Chapter 8 - COAL MINING › Part 20 - PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS › Section 19.8.20.2065 - REVEGETATION: STANDARDS FOR SUCCESS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. Success of revegetation shall be measured
				by techniques identified in the director's "coal mine reclamation program
				vegetation standards"
,
as approved by the director after
				consultation with appropriate state and federal agencies. Comparison of ground
				cover and productivity shall be made on the basis of reference areas or
				technical standards developed using an historic record of premining
				conditions.
B. Liability period,
				ground cover and productivity standards, and normal husbandry practices.
(1) Ground cover and productivity of living
				plants on the revegetated area within the permit area shall be equal to the
				ground cover and productivity of living plants on the approved reference area
				or to technical standards developed in accordance with the "coal mine
				reclamation program vegetation standards", as approved by the director. The
				period of extended responsibility under the performance bond requirements of
				19.8.14 NMAC begins after the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing,
				irrigation, or other work, excluding husbandry practices that are approved by
				the director in accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065
				NMAC.
(2) In areas of more than
				26.0 inches average annual precipitation, the period of liability under the
				performance bond requirements of 19.8.14 NMAC shall continue for not less than
				five full years. Ground cover and productivity shall equal or exceed the
				approved standard for two of the last four years of the responsibility
				period.
(3) In areas of less than
				or equal to 26.0 inches average annual precipitation, the period of liability
				under the performance bond requirements of 19.8.14 NMAC shall continue for not
				less than 10 full years. Ground cover and productivity shall equal the approved
				standard for at least two of the last four years, starting no sooner than year
				eight of the responsibility period.
(4) For purposes of Paragraphs (1), (2) and
				(3) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065 NMAC, the average annual precipitation can
				be determined either:
(a) by interpolation,
				using standard techniques, from mean annual precipitation map, page 97, "the
				national atlas of the United States", U.S. department of the interior,
				geological survey, 1970; or from "climatic atlas of the United States", U.S.
				department of commerce, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, 1974;
				or from long-term precipitation averages from climatological data, U.S.
				department of commerce, national oceanic and atmospheric administration; or
				from other official records; or
(b)
				based on at least 10 years of continuous and reliable precipitation records
				from stations located in or adjacent to the permit area.
(5) The ground cover and productivity of the
				revegetated area shall be considered equal if they are at least 90 percent of
				the ground cover and productivity of the reference area with 90 percent
				statistical confidence, or ground cover, productivity, or shrubland stocking
				are at least 90 percent of the standards developed under Subsection A of
				19.8.20.2065 NMAC for an historic record. Exceptions may be authorized by the
				director under the following standards:
(a)
				for previously mined areas that were not reclaimed to the requirements of
				19.8.20 NMAC, as a minimum the ground cover of living plants shall not be less
				than can be supported by the best available topdressing in the reaffected area,
				shall not be less that the ground cover existing before redisturbance, and
				shall be adequate to control erosion;
(b) for areas to be developed for industrial
				or residential use less than 2 years after regrading is completed, the ground
				cover of living plants shall not be less than required to control erosion;
				and
(c) for areas to be used for
				cropland, success in revegetation of cropland shall be determined on the basis
				of crop production from the mined area as compared to approved reference areas
				or other technical guidance procedures; crop production from the mined area
				shall be equal to or greater than that of the approved standard for two of the
				last four growing seasons of the 5 or 10 year liability period established in
				Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065 NMAC, starting no
				sooner than year eight of the 10-year liability period; the applicable 5 or 10
				year period of responsibility for revegetation shall commence at the date of
				initial planting of the crop being grown;
(d) on areas to be developed for fish and
				wildlife management, recreation, shelterbelts or forestland, success of
				vegetation shall be determined on the basis of tree, shrub, or half-shrub
				stocking and ground cover; the tree, shrub, or half-shrub stocking shall meet
				the standards described in 19.8.20.2066 NMAC; vegetative ground cover shall not
				be less than that required by the director under Subsections A and B of
				19.8.20.2065 NMAC to meet the post mining land use; 19.8.20.2065 NMAC shall
				determine the responsibility period and the frequency of ground cover
				measurement.
(6) The
				director has the discretion to approve selective husbandry practices without
				extending the period of responsibility for revegetation success or bond
				liability. Husbandry practices are those activities that can be expected to
				continue as part of the post mining land use, and are employed within the
				region for unmined lands having land uses similar to the approved postmining
				land use of the disturbed area, to control disease, pest and vermin and
				appropriate pruning, reseeding, and transplanting activities. Practices may
				also be allowed that will not reduce the probability of permanent revegetative
				success if they are discontinued after the liability period expires. Any
				practice the director determines to be augmented seeding, fertilization or
				irrigation shall not be considered a husbandry practice.