West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 38 - Mining And Reclamation › Title 38 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MINING AND RECLAMATION › Series 38-03 - Rules For Quarrying And Reclamation › Section 38-3-2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different
				  meaning, as used in this rule or as referred to in W. Va. Code §22-4 as
				  amended:
2.1. Acid-producing materials
				means mineral compounds which will, when acted upon by water and air, cause
				acids to form.
2.2. Acid-producing
				overburden or spoil means material that may cause spoil which upon chemical
				analysis, shows a pH of 5.5 or less.
2.3. Active operation means an operation
				where land is being disturbed or mineral is being removed or
				processed.
2.4. Approved person
				means any person approved by the Secretary in accordance with subsection 11.6.
				of this rule.
2.5. Backfilling
				means to place spoil material back into an excavation.
2.6. Buffer Zone means an undisturbed border
				along or around a public road, stream, lake, public park, or public or private
				property.
2.7. Cut means an
				excavation made by excavating equipment to remove overburden or
				mineral.
2.8. Cut-fill means
				overburden removed from an elevated portion of a road or bench and deposited in
				a depressed portion in order to maintain a desired width or grade.
2.9. Deep mining or underground mining means
				quarrying where, except for the face-up and ancillary areas, mineral extraction
				occurs primarily underground using deep mining techniques and causing minimal
				disturbance of the surface.
2.10.
				Diversion ditch means a machine-made or natural waterway used for collecting
				water or a ditch designed to change the actual or normal course of
				water.
2.11. Downslope means that
				area between the lowest proposed mining related construction or excavation area
				and the adjacent valley floor.
2.12. Drainage plan or system means the
				proposed method of diversion, collection, treatment, and discharge of all
				waters within the affected drainage area, as defined by the approved
				permit.
2.13. Excess spoil means
				overburden or spoil not used for reclamation and placed in a location other
				than the pit.
2.14. Groundwater
				means the water occurring in the zone of saturation beneath the seasonal high
				water table, or any perched water zones.
2.15. Haulageway or haulroad means any road
				constructed, improved, or maintained by the operator which is used to transport
				mineral, overburden, equipment or spoil and is located within the permit
				area.
2.16. Highwall means the
				vertical or near vertical wall consisting of the exposed strata after
				excavating operations.
2.17.
				Infiltration means the flow or movement of surface water into the subsurface or
				ground water system.
2.18.
				Infrequently used access road means any road that is constructed for and used
				only to provide infrequent service to facilities used in support of quarrying,
				reclamation activities, or other limited use activities and is not required for
				the post-quarrying land use.
2.19.
				Monument means a permanent marker consisting of metal, concrete, or wood used
				to identify the boundary or entrance to the permit area.
2.20. Natural drainway means any watercourse
				or channel which carries water to the tributaries and rivers of the watershed.
				The United States Geological Survey classification of perennial or intermittent
				streams shall be considered as natural drainways.
2.21. Operation means the area where
				quarrying is being conducted.
2.22.
				Outer slope means the disturbed area extending from the outer edge of the
				quarry bench to the extreme lower limit of the disturbed land.
2.23. Overburden means the earth, rock and
				other materials lying in the natural state above a mineral deposit being
				quarried or removed.
2.24. Pit
				means that part of the quarrying operation from which the mineral is being
				actively removed or has been removed.
2.25. Pollution means any water discharge in
				violation of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit or
				permit standards, or any other applicable water quality standards.
2.26. Processing means the crushing, sizing,
				screening, or washing of the mineral.
2.27. Regrade or grade means to change the
				contour of any surface by the use of leveling or grading equipment.
2.28. Screening means measures taken to
				minimize adverse impacts a quarry operation may have on aesthetics, the
				environment or the health, safety and welfare of the public.
2.29. Seepage water means any water entering
				the ground from the surface through capillary action, cracks, faults or any
				other natural modes of entry, and finding its way to the surface
				again.
2.30. Serious violation
				means a violation, that after an informal conference on the assessment has been
				held, is rated at a seriousness level of eight (8) or higher.
2.31. Slope means the angle of repose from
				the horizontal plane of spoil banks or ridges of overburden material made in
				the quarrying operation; the angle of a hill or mountain. A gentle slope shall
				mean zero percent (0%) to ten percent (10%); moderate to steep slope shall mean
				ten percent (10%) to forty-five (45%); extremely steep slope shall mean
				forty-five (45%) and over.
2.32.
				Spoil means material of any nature other than topsoil which overlays the
				mineral being mined which is removed or displaced by excavating equipment,
				blasting or any other means; or material of any kind which is separated from
				the mineral being mined as undesirable to the current product.
2.33. Stabilize means to fix in place by
				mechanical or vegetative means, including, but not limited to, the planting of
				trees, grasses, vines, shrubs, or legumes.
2.34. Storm water means any water flowing
				over, around, or through the permitted area in response to a precipitation
				event. This includes all surface run off.
2.35. Surface water means that water, from
				whatever source, which is flowing on the surface of the ground.
2.36. Suspension of permit means an act of
				the Secretary temporarily nullifying the validity of a permit insofar as the
				quarrying, processing and removal of minerals are concerned.
2.37. Technical Handbook means "The Technical
				Handbook of Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control,
				Excess Spoil Disposal, Haulageways" for mining operations in West
				Virginia.
2.38. Water analyses
				means any water tests or analyses performed using the analytical procedures set
				forth in the most current edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of
				Water and Wastewater".