Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 460 - Department of Mines › Chapter 20 - The Permanent Regulations Governing the Coal Reclamation Act of 1979 › Subchapter 49 - Special Permanent Program Performance Standards: Operations on Prime Farmland › Section 460:20-49-8 - Prime farmland: revegetation

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) Following prime farmland soil
				replacement, the soil surface shall be stabilized with a vegetative cover or
				other means that effectively controls soil loss by wind and water
				erosion.
(b) Prime farmland soil
				productivity shall be restored in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) Measurement of soil productivity shall be
				initiated within 10 years after completion of soil replacement.
(2) Soil productivity shall be measured on a
				representative sample or on all of the mined and reclaimed prime farmland area
				using the reference crop determined under Paragraph (b) (6) of this Section. A
				statistically valid sampling technique at a 90-percent or greater statistical
				confidence level shall be used as approved by the Department in consultation
				with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.
(3) The measurement period for determining
				average annual crop production (yield) shall be a minimum of 3 crop years prior
				to release of the operator's performance bond.
(4) The level of management applied during
				the measurement period shall be the same as the level of management used on
				nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area.
(5) Restoration of soil productivity shall be
				considered achieved when the average yield during the measurement period equals
				or exceeds the average yield of the reference crop established for the same
				period for nonmined soils of the same or similar texture or slope phase of the
				soil series in the surrounding area under equivalent management
				practices.
(6) The reference crop
				on which restoration of soil productivity is proven shall be selected from the
				crops most commonly produced on the surrounding prime farmland. Where row crops
				are the dominant crops grown on prime farmland in the area, the row crop
				requiring the greatest rooting depth shall be chosen as one of the reference
				crops.
(7) Reference crop yields
				for a given crop season are to be determined from:
(A) The current yield records of
				representative local farms in the surrounding area, with concurrence by the
				U.S. Soil Conservation Service; or
(B) The average county yields recognized by
				the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which have been adjusted by the U.S. Soil
				Conservation Service for local yield variation within the county that is
				associated with differences between nonmined prime farmland soil and all other
				soils that produce the reference crop.
(8) Under either procedure in Paragraph(b)
				(7) of this Section, the average reference crop yield may be adjusted, with the
				concurrence of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, for:
(A) Disease, pest, and weather-induced
				seasonal variations; or
(B)
				Differences in specific management practices where the overall management
				practices of the crops being compared are equivalent.