Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart C - Protection of Natural Resources › Article I - Land Resources › Chapter 87 - SURFACE MINING OF COAL › Subchapter E - SURFACE COAL MINES: MINIMUM ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PERFORMANCE STANDARDS › Section 87.108 - Hydrologic balance: sedimentation ponds

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) All surface drainage from the disturbed
						area, including areas which have been graded, seeded or planted, shall be
						passed through a sedimentation pond or a series of sedimentation ponds before
						leaving the permit area. The Department may waive the required use of
						sedimentation ponds when the person who conducts surface mining activities
						demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that sediment ponds are not
						necessary to meet the effluent limitation under §
												87.102 (relating to hydrologic
						balance: effluent standards).
(b)
						Sedimentation ponds shall be constructed in accordance with this section and
						§
												87.112 (relating to hydrologic
						balance: dams, ponds, embankments and impoundments-design, construction and
						maintenance) in appropriate locations before any disturbance of the area to be
						drained into the pond. Sedimentation ponds may not be located in a perennial
						stream and the Department will not authorize the location or placement of a
						sedimentation pond in an intermittent stream unless the requirements of
						Chapters 93, 102 and 105 and §§
												86.37 and
						86.102(5) are met
						and the pond is approved as part of the postmining land use in accordance with
						§§
												87.111 and
						87.159 (relating to hydrologic
						balance: impoundments; and postmining land use), or will be removed during
						times of the year that will not cause pollution.
(c) Sedimentation ponds shall be maintained
						until the disturbed area has been stabilized and revegetated and removal of the
						ponds is approved by the Department. The ponds may not be removed sooner than 2
						years after the last augmented seeding, unless the Department finds that the
						disturbed area has been sufficiently revegetated and stabilized.
(d) At a minimum, sedimentation ponds shall
						meet the requirements of Chapter 102 (relating to erosion control).
(e) The pond shall include a nonclogging
						dewatering device approved by the Department that will permit thedraining of
						the water from inflow. The dewatering device may not be located at a lower
						elevation than the maximum elevation of the sedimentation storage
						volume.
(f) The ponds shall be
						designed, constructed and maintained to prevent short circuiting to the extent
						possible.
(g) The design,
						construction and maintenance of a sediment pond in accordance with this section
						does not relieve the person who conducts surface mining activities of the
						person's responsibility for complying with the applicable treatment
						requirements and effluent limitations established under §
						87.102.
(h) At a minimum, the pond
						shall be capable of treating the runoff resulting from a 10-year, 24-hour
						precipitation event.
(i) When the
						sedimentation pond is to be removed, the affected land shall be regraded and
						revegetated in accordance with §§ 87.147-87.153, 87.155 and
						87.156.
The provisions of this §
														87.108 amended under the Surface
							 Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P. S.
							 §§
															1396.1-1396.19a); The Clean
							 Streams Law (35 P. S. §§
															691.1-691.1001); and section 1920-A of The
							 Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. §
															510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
														87.73 (relating to dams, ponds,
							 embankments and impoundments).