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 12.624 - Prime Farmland: Soil Replacement

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 Soil reconstruction specifications established by the U.S. Natural Resources
					 Conservation Service are based upon the standards of the National Cooperative
					 Soil Survey and include, as a minimum, physical and chemical characteristics of
					 reconstructed soils and soil descriptions containing soil-horizon depths, soil
					 densities, soil pH, and other specifications such that reconstructed soils will
					 have the capability of achieving levels of yield equal to, or higher than,
					 those of nonmined prime farmland in the surrounding area.
(b) The minimum depth of soil and substitute
					 soil material to be reconstructed for prime farmland shall be 48 inches, or a
					 lesser depth equal to the depth to a subsurface horizon in the natural soil
					 that inhibits or prevents root penetration, or a greater depth if determined
					 necessary to restore the original soil productive capacity. Soil horizons shall
					 be considered as inhibiting or preventing root penetration if their physical or
					 chemical properties or water-supplying capacities cause them to restrict or
					 prevent penetration by roots of plants common to the vicinity of the permit
					 area and if these properties or capacities have little or no beneficial effect
					 on soil productive capacity.
(c)
					 The operator shall replace soil material only on land which has been first
					 returned to final grade and scarified according to §§
											RSA
					 12.384-RSA
					 12.388 of this title (relating to Backfilling
					 and Grading: General Requirements, to Backfilling and Grading: General Grading
					 Requirements, to Backfilling and Grading: Covering Coal and Acid- and
					 Toxic-Forming Materials, to Backfilling and Grading: Thin Overburden, and to
					 Backfilling and Grading: Thick Overburden) or §§
											RSA
					 12.551-RSA
					 12.553 of this title (relating to Backfilling
					 and Grading: General Requirements, to Backfilling and Grading: General Grading
					 Requirements, and to Backfilling and Grading: Covering Coal and Acid- and
					 Toxic-Forming Materials), unless site-specific evidence is provided and
					 approved by the Commission showing that scarification will not enhance the
					 capability of the reconstructed soil to achieve equivalent or higher levels of
					 yield.
(d) The operator shall
					 replace and regrade the soil horizons or other root-zone material with proper
					 compaction and uniform depth.
(e)
					 The operator shall replace the B horizon, C horizon, or other suitable material
					 specified in §
											RSA
					 12.621<subdiv>(a)(2)</subdiv> of
					 this title (relating to Prime Farmland: Soil Removal) to the thickness needed
					 to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.
(f) The operator shall replace the topsoil or
					 other suitable soil materials specified in §
											RSA
					 12.621<subdiv>(a)(1)</subdiv> of
					 this title (relating to Prime Farmland: Soil Removal) as the final surface soil
					 layer. This surface soil layer shall equal or exceed the thickness of the
					 original surface soil layer, as determined by the soil survey in §
											RSA
					 12.201<subdiv>(b)(1)</subdiv> of
					 this title (relating to Prime Farmland), and be replaced in a manner that
					 protects the surface layer from wind and water erosion before it is seeded or
					 planted.
(g) Apply nutrients and
					 soil amendments as needed to quickly establish vegetative growth.