South Dakota Administrative Rules › Title 74 - Department of Environment And Natural Resources › Article 74:29 - Mined land reclamation › Chapter 74:29:07 - Minimum reclamation standards › Section 74:29:07:22 - Wildlife habitat

Current through Register Vol. 51, page 10, July 15, 2024
The following requirements apply to wildlife habitat as an approved
	 postmining land use:
(1) Reclamation
  shall be directed toward optimizing habitat diversity for game and nongame
  species. The surrounding unaffected land must be considered in determining
  habitat diversity goals;
(2) The
  applicant must identify the wildlife species to benefit from the proposed
  reclamation;
(3) The affected land
  must be revegetated with native trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses, or other
  approved alternative vegetation. Revegetation composition, spacing, and
  arrangement must be based on consultation with the department of game, fish and
  parks or on an approved reference area. Woody species and understory vegetation
  shall be planted at rates which can reasonably be expected to yield densities
  appropriate for the designated wildlife species;
(4) Alternative wildlife habitat reclamation
  objectives shall be developed in consultation with the department of game, fish
  and parks and approved by the board;
(5) Sites to be reclaimed for recreational
  fisheries must provide suitable habitat for the selected fish
  species;
(6) Surface impoundments
  to be reclaimed for recreational fisheries must have at least 25 percent of the
  bottom at a minimum depth of 20 feet to ensure sufficient water during drought,
  limit growth of undesirable weeds, and reduce the potential for
  winterkill;
(7) Streams to be
  reclaimed for recreational fisheries must have a baseline study prepared by an
  individual who is competent in the field of fisheries management which
  addresses faunal, floral, and channel characteristics and is approved by the
  department of game, fish, and parks. Streams to be reclaimed for recreational
  fisheries must be reconstructed so that they provide suitable habitat for the
  selected fish species. Reclamation must achieve to the extent possible the
  premining pool to riffle ratio, width-to-depth ratio, and stream bed particle
  sizing and sorting ratio, unless modifications to enhance the stream habitat
  are approved by the department of game, fish and parks and the department.
  Reclamation techniques such as stream bank stabilization and revegetation,
  construction of wing deflectors, k-dams, or other management techniques may be
  incorporated into the reclamation plan and must have the approval of the
  department, the department of game, fish and parks, and the board;
(8) Sites to be reclaimed for recreational
  fisheries must have safe bank access; and
(9) Reclamation is complete when the
  following conditions are met:
(a) The
  surviving vegetation species composition is capable of supporting the wildlife
  species identified as those to benefit from the proposed reclamation;
(b) The understory cover is adequate to
  control erosion;
(c) Stream
  fisheries approximate or exceed the baseline condition of the stream or that of
  the approved reference area; and