Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 020 - Environmental Quality, Dept. of › Sub-Agency 0007 - Land Quality - Non Coal › Chapter 13 - NONCOAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BENTONITE MINING OPERATIONS › Section 13-3 - Environmental Protection Performance Standards

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) For
				permitted bentonite mining operations, the requirements of Chapter 3, Sections
				1 and
				2, Land Quality Division Rules and
				Regulations shall apply only to lands affected after August 31, 1981, with the
				following exceptions:
(i) Subsoil suitability
				tests shall be conducted, if required by the Administrator, in accordance with
				standard methods.
(ii) Standards
				for the success of revegetation shall consist of a combination of scientific
				(objective) and visual (subjective) methods of determining if revegetation is
				complete. For these methods, the operator may select, upon the Administrator's
				approval, one of the following techniques:
(A) Control Areas. A control area is defined
				as an area of at least one acre, which will not be disturbed by mining
				activities, and which is managed in a fashion equivalent to non-affected lands
				within the permit area, and which is to be used to adjust the vegetation data
				for climatic changes which is collected on affected areas prior to
				mining.
(B) Reference Areas. A
				reference area is a land unit of at least one acre, managed in a fashion
				equivalent to non-affected lands within the permit area, to be used for the
				purpose of judging reclamation success. Reference areas must be representative
				of geology, slope and vegetation that was present on the affected areas prior
				to mining. Locations of reference areas shall be mutually agreed upon by the
				Administrator and the operator. The location of reference areas shall be
				illustrated on a map, and metes and bounds description of their location will
				be provided. Reference areas will be sampled in accordance with standard
				techniques at the time the operator requests bond release. The operator, with
				the Administrator's prior approval, may employ the reference area concept
				without premining vegetation sampling.
(iii) The Department will consult with the
				landowners prior to bond release.
(iv) There is no requirement to divert all
				unchannelized surface water or ephemeral streams except as required to meet
				State laws.
(v) Road regulations
				shall only apply to those roads constructed or improved by the permittee or
				licensee.
(vi) The time schedule
				for reclamation shall require that reclamation begin within two years and be
				completed within four years of the date the land is affected, except where
				field drying is to take place, in which case reclamation must begin within
				three years and be completed within five years of the date the land is
				affected. The time schedule shall:
(A) Apply
				to reclamation of all lands to be affected in the permit area;
(B) Designate times for backfilling, grading,
				contouring and reseeding;
(C) Be
				coordinated with a map indicating the areas of progressive mining and
				reclamation; and
(D) Establish
				reclamation concurrently with mining operations, whenever possible.