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 3 - PERMANENT PROGRAM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES › Section 12.511 - Hydrologic Balance: Diversions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 General Requirements.
(1) With the approval
					 of the Commission, any flow from mined areas abandoned before May 3, 1978, and
					 any flow from undisturbed areas or reclaimed areas, after meeting the criteria
					 of §
												RSA
					 12.514 of this title (relating to Hydrologic
					 Balance: Siltation Structures) for siltation-structure removal, may be diverted
					 from disturbed areas by means of temporary or permanent diversions. All
					 diversions shall be designed to minimize adverse impacts to the hydrologic
					 balance within the permit and adjacent areas, to prevent material damage
					 outside the permit area and to assure the safety of the public. Diversions
					 shall not be used to divert water into underground mines without approval of
					 the Commission under §
												RSA
					 12.522 of this title (relating to Hydrologic
					 Balance: Discharge of Water Into an Underground Mine).
(2) The diversion and its appurtenant
					 structures shall be designed, located, constructed, maintained and used to:
(A) be stable;
(B) provide protection against flooding and
					 resultant damage to life and property;
(C) prevent, to the extent possible using the
					 best technology currently available, additional contributions of suspended
					 solids to streamflow outside the permit area; and
(D) comply with all applicable local, state,
					 and federal laws and regulations.
(3) Temporary diversions shall be removed
					 when no longer needed to achieve the purpose for which they were authorized.
					 The land disturbed by the removal process shall be restored in accordance with
					 §§12.500-12.510, this section, and §§
												RSA
					 12.513-RSA 12.572 of
					 this title (relating to Permanent Program Performance Standards--Underground
					 Mining Activities). Before diversions are removed, downstream water-treatment
					 facilities previously protected by the diversion shall be modified or removed,
					 as necessary, to prevent overtopping or failure of the facilities. This
					 requirement shall not relieve the operator from maintaining water-treatment
					 facilities as otherwise required. A permanent diversion or a stream channel
					 reclaimed after the removal of a temporary diversion shall be designed and
					 constructed so as to restore or approximate the premining characteristics of
					 the original stream channel, including the natural riparian vegetation to
					 promote the recovery and the enhancement of aquatic habitat.
(4) Diversion designs shall incorporate the
					 following:
(A) be constructed with gentle
					 sloping banks that are stabilized by vegetation. Asphalt, concrete or other
					 similar linings shall be used only when approved by the Commission to prevent
					 seepage or to provide stability. Channel linings shall be designed using
					 standard engineering practices to pass safely the design velocities and shall
					 be approved for permanent diversions only where they are stable and will
					 require infrequent maintenance;
(B)
					 erosion protection shall be provided for transition of flows and for critical
					 areas such as swales and curves;
(C) energy dissipators shall be installed
					 when necessary at discharge points, where diversions intersect with natural
					 streams and exit velocities of the diversion ditch flow is greater than that of
					 the receiving stream;
(D) excess
					 excavated material not necessary for diversion channel geometry or regrading of
					 the channel shall be disposed of in accordance with §§
													RSA
					 12.531-RSA
					 12.534 of this title (relating to Disposal of
					 Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements, to
					 Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Valley Fills, to
					 Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Head-of-Hollow
					 Fills, and to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil:
					 Durable Rock Fills); and
(E)
					 topsoil shall be handled in compliance with §§
													RSA
					 12.504-RSA
					 12.508 of this title (relating to Topsoil:
					 General Requirements, to Topsoil: Removal, to Topsoil: Storage, to Topsoil:
					 Redistribution, and to Topsoil: Nutrients and Soil
					 Amendments).