West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 38 - Mining And Reclamation › Title 38 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MINING AND RECLAMATION › Series 38-02 - West Virginia Surface Mining Reclamation Rule › Section 38-2-23 - Performance Standards Applicable Only to Remining Operations

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
23.1. Backfilling,
				Remining, and Grading of Previously Mined Areas.
23.1.a. Remining operations on previously
				mined areas that contain a pre-existing highwall shall comply with the
				applicable performance standards of the Act and this rule unless otherwise
				exempted in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
23.1.b. The requirement of highwall
				elimination shall not apply to remining operations where the operator can
				demonstrate in writing that the volume of all reasonably available spoil
				located in the vicinity of the remining operation is insufficient to completely
				backfill the reaffected or enlarged highwall. The highwall shall be reduced to
				the maximum extent technically practical. All spoil generated by the remining
				operation and any other reasonably available spoil in the vicinity of the
				operation shall be included in the permit area. For purposes of this paragraph,
				the term reasonably available spoil means spoil and suitable coal mine waste
				material generated by the remining operation or other spoil or suitable coal
				mine waste material located in the permit area that is accessible and available
				for use and that when rehandled will not cause a hazard to public safety or
				significant damage to the environment.
23.1.c. Achieve a postmining slope that does
				not exceed either the angle of repose or such lesser slope as is necessary to
				achieve a minimum long-term static safety factor of 1.3 and to prevent
				slides.
23.1.d. Minimize erosion
				and water pollution both on and off the site.
23.1.e. Support the approved postmining land
				use.
23.1.f. Spoil and waste
				materials shall be compacted where advisable to ensure stability or to prevent
				leaching of toxic materials.
23.1.g. Disposal of coal processing waste and
				underground development waste in the mined-out area shall be in accordance with
				section 22 of this, rule except that a long-term static safety factor of 1.3
				shall be achieved.
23.1.h. Exposed
				coal seams, acid- and toxic-forming materials, and combustible materials
				exposed, used, or produced during mining shall be adequately covered with
				nontoxic and noncombustible material, or treated, to control the impact on
				surface and ground water in accordance with subsection 14.5 of this section, to
				prevent sustained combustion, and to minimize adverse effects on plant growth
				and the approved postmining land use.
23.1.i. Cut-and-fill terraces may be allowed
				where:
23.1.i.1. Needed to conserve soil
				moisture, ensure stability, and control erosion on final-graded slopes, if the
				terraces are compatible with the approved postmining land use; or
23.1.i.2. Specialized grading, foundation
				conditions, or roads are required for the approved postmining land use, in
				which case the final grading may include a terrace of adequate width to ensure
				the safety, stability, and erosion control necessary to implement the
				postmining land use plan.
23.1.j. Small depressions may be constructed
				if they are needed to retain moisture, minimize erosion, create and enhance
				wildlife habitat, or assist revegetation.
23.l.k. Spoil placed on the outslope during
				previous mining operations shall not be disturbed if such disturbance will
				cause instability of the remaining spoil or otherwise increase the hazard to
				the public health and safety or to the environment.
23.1.l. Any highwall remnant left after
				remining must be demonstrated by the operator to be stable and not pose a
				hazard to the public health and safety or the environment.