Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 12 - COAL MINING REGULATIONS › Subchapter K - PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS › Division 6 - SPECIAL PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - OPERATIONS ON PRIME FARMLAND › Section 12.625 - Prime Farmland: Revegetation and Restoration of Soil Productivity

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Following 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. All
					 vegetation shall be in compliance with the plan approved by the Commission
					 under §
											RSA
					 12.201 of this title (relating to Prime
					 Farmland) and carried out in a manner that encourages prompt vegetative cover
					 and recovery of productive capacity. The timing and mulching provisions of
					 §12.392 and §12.393 (relating to Revegetation: Timing, and to
					 Revegetation: Mulching and Other Soil Stabilizing Practices) or §
											RSA
					 12.557 and §
											RSA
					 12.558 of this title (relating to
					 Revegetation: Timing, and to Revegetation: Mulching and Other Soil Stabilizing
					 Practices) shall be met.
(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
					 subsection (b)(6) of this section. A statistically valid sampling technique at
					 a 90% or greater statistical confidence level shall be used as approved by the
					 Commission in consultation with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation
					 Service;
(3) the measurement period
					 for determining average annual crop production shall be a minimum of three crop
					 years prior to release of the operator's performance bond according to §
												RSA
					 12.312 and §
												RSA
					 12.313 of this title (relating to Procedures,
					 Criteria, and Schedule for Release of 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. Natural Resources Conservation Service; or
(B) the average county yields recognized by
					 the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which have been adjusted by the U.S.
					 Natural Resources Conservation Service for local yield variation within the
					 county that is associated with differences between nonmined prime farmland and
					 all other soils that produce the reference crop; and
(8) under either procedure in subsection
					 (b)(7) of this section, the average reference crop yield may be adjusted, with
					 the concurrence of the U.S. Natural Resources 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.