Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 020 - Environmental Quality, Dept. of › Sub-Agency 0006 - Land Quality - Coal › Chapter 2 - PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS › Section 2-4 - Other Baseline Requirements

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) A description
				of the lands to be affected within the permit area, how these lands will be
				affected, for what purpose these areas will be used during the course of the
				mining operation, and a time schedule for affecting these lands. This
				description shall include:
(i) The major past
				and present uses of the proposed permit area and adjacent lands. Previous uses
				of affected lands must be ranked on an individual basis according to the
				overall economic or social value of the land use to the landowner, community,
				or area in which these lands are found. The Administrator shall bear the
				responsibility of making the final decision on the ranking of land uses in a
				particular area. This decision must be based on information concerning the
				economy, historical use of the area
,
and the needs
				and desires of the landowner. The Administrator may consult the Land Quality
				Advisory Board for suggestions or recommendations on the ranking of land uses
				in a given area. The present land uses shall be listed using the definitions of
				Chapter 1, and the vegetation communities which comprise each land use shall be
				presented.
(ii) The capability of
				the land prior to mining to support a variety of uses, giving consideration to
				soil and foundation characteristics, topography, vegetative cover, and the
				land's history of previous mining, if any, and the uses of the land preceding
				mining; as well as the land use classification under local law, if any, of the
				proposed permit area and adjacent areas.
(iii) Annual precipitation - the operator
				shall submit an estimated total annual precipitation for the proposed permit
				area. Data from the nearest official weather reporting station may be used.
				Operations more than 50 miles from an official weather station that are
				permanently staffed may be required to keep precipitation records.
(iv) Average wind direction and velocity -
				the operator shall submit the average wind direction and velocity recorded at
				the nearest official weather station or as measured at the site.
(v) Prime farmland information, which shall
				include, after a preapplication investigation of the proposed permit area,
				either:
(A) A request for a determination
				that the land not be considered prime farmland on the basis that either the
				land has not had a history of intensive agricultural use or there are no soil
				map units that have been designated prime farmland by the Natural Resource
				Conservation Service in accordance with 7 CFR 657 (Federal Register Vol. 43,
				No. 21) and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conservation Districts
				and the Soil Conservation Service, or
(B) Where prime farmland occurs on proposed
				affected land, an application which shall be submitted in accordance with
				Chapter 3.
(vi) Studies
				of fish, wildlife, and their habitats, in the level of detail and for those
				areas as determined by the Administrator, after consultation with the Wyoming
				Game and Fish Department in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding
				between the two agencies; and Federal agencies having responsibilities for the
				management or conservation of such environmental values, including:
(A) A list of indigenous vertebrate wildlife
				species within and adjacent to the permit area by common and scientific names.
				The area of survey for the possible presence of threatened or endangered
				species shall be on or within one mile of the permit area.
(B) If critical habitat disruption is likely,
				the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish Department shall
				be contacted by the Administrator. If crucial or important habitat or migration
				route disruption is likely, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department shall be
				contacted by the Administrator. Contacting the appropriate agency(ies) is
				required in order to determine the types and numbers of wildlife likely to be
				disturbed or displaced.
(vii) A detailed description, prepared or
				certified by a licensed professional geologist, or other qualified professional
				(as required by W.S. §§
										
											33-41-101
				through 121), of the geology within the proposed permit area down to and
				including any aquifer to be adversely affected by mining below the lowest coal
				seam to be mined. The description shall include the aerial and structural
				geology of the permit area and, by extrapolation, adjacent areas, including
				geologic parameters which influence the required reclamation, and the
				occurrence, availability, movement, quantity, and quality of potentially
				affected surface and groundwaters.
(viii) For the proposed permit area and, by
				extrapolation, adjacent areas, characterization of the geologic strata down to
				and including the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest
				coal seam to be mined, or any aquifer below the lowest coal seam to be mined
				which may be adversely impacted by mining. This information shall include a
				statement of the results of test borings or core samples which have been
				collected and analyzed to show:
(A) Location
				of any groundwater;
(B) Lithologic
				characteristics and thickness of each stratum and each coal seam;
(C) Physical and chemical properties
				including the toxic and acidforming properties of each stratum within the
				overburden; and
(D) Chemical
				analyses for acid or toxic-forming substances of the coal seam, including the
				total sulphur and pyritic sulphur content. The Administrator may waive in whole
				or in part the requirements of these paragraphs if he makes a written finding
				that the testing is unnecessary because other equivalent information is
				available to him in a satisfactory form.
(ix) Maps and cross-sections of the area,
				certified by a registered professional engineer, licensed professional
				geologist, or other qualified professional (as required by W.S. §§
										
											33-29-401 through 406 and W.S. §§
										
											33-41-101
				through 121), showing:
(A) Nature, depth and
				thickness of any coal seams to be mined or above those to be mined, each
				stratum of the overburden, and the stratum below the lowest coal seam to be
				mined;
(B) All coal crop lines and
				the strike and dip of the coal to be mined within the proposed permit
				area;
(C) Location and extent of
				existing or previously surface mined or underground mined areas within the
				proposed permit area and adjacent areas;
(D) Sufficient slope measurements of the
				proposed permit area measured and recorded at such distances as the
				Administrator determines to be representative of the premining configuration
				and reflect geomorphic differences of the land to be mined;
(E) The location of water supply intakes for
				current users of surface water flowing into, out of and within a hydrologic
				area defined by the Administrator, and those surface waters which will receive
				discharges from affected areas in the proposed permit area;
(F) The location of areas on which mining is
				limited or prohibited within or adjacent to the permit area, pursuant to
				Chapter 12, Section
				1(a)(v), Land Quality -Coal
				Rules;
(G) Elevations and locations
				of test borings and core samplings;
(H) Elevations and locations of monitoring
				stations used to gather data for water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife,
				and air quality in preparation of the application; and
(I) Other relevant information required by
				the Administrator.
(x)
				Overburden, topsoil, subsoil, mineral seams or other deposits.
(A) Overburden - the operator shall submit a
				description including the thickness, geological nature (rock type, orientation,
				etc.), the presence of toxic, acid-forming, or vegetative-retarding substances,
				or any other factor that will influence the mining or reclamation
				activities.
(B) Topsoil and subsoil
				information including a soil survey of the affected lands conducted in
				accordance with the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the
				U.S. Department of Agriculture. If alternative materials are proposed to be
				used as a supplement to or substitute for topsoil, their suitability shall be
				demonstrated in accordance with Chapter 4, Section
				2(c)(ix).
(I) Topsoil - the operator shall submit a
				description of the thickness and nature of the topsoil, if any, over the
				proposed affected lands. A soils survey and soil analyses conducted in
				accordance with standard methods acceptable to the Administratormay be required
				to show variations in topsoil depth and suitability.
(II) Subsoil - the operator shall submit a
				description of the nature, thickness and distribution of the subsoil, if any,
				over the proposed affected lands. Detailed analyses of the subsoil may be
				required, if there is reason to suspect it may be of better quality for
				revegetation than the topsoil, or if it is to function as a topsoil supplement
				in reclamation efforts. If the subsoil is suspected of containing substances
				that might cause pollution or hinder reclamation, analyses will provide a basis
				for determining how to handle this material during reclamation.
(C) Mineral seams or other
				deposits - the operator shall submit a description of the mineral seams in the
				proposed permit area, including, but not limited to, their depth, thickness,
				orientation (strike and dip), and rock or mineral type. Maps or geologic
				crosssections may be used to illustrate the description of the mineral
				seams.
(xi) Complete
				information on surface water for the permit area and adjacent areas. This shall
				include the following:
(A) The operator shall
				list and describe the name and location for the present surface waters in and
				adjacent to the proposed permit area. The list shall include, but not be
				limited to, rivers, creeks, lakes, reservoirs, springs and marshes. Streams
				shall be classified as ephemeral, intermittent or perennial;
(B) The operator shall submit a description
				of the immediate drainage area which includes the proposed permit area. Surface
				water use shall be identified as to domestic, municipal, industrial,
				agricultural, and wildlife;
(C)
				Baseline monitoring information of surface water quantity within the permit
				area which is representative of the surface hydrologic system. Water quantity
				descriptions shall include, at a minimum, baseline information on seasonal flow
				rates and identification of drainage area acreage; and
(D) Water quality data sufficient to identify
				seasonal variation. All surface water-quality sampling and analyses performed
				to meet the requirements of this Section shall be conducted according to the
				methodology in the 20th edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of
				Water and Wastewater," or the methodology in 40 CFR Part 136 -"Guidelines
				Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants," as amended on
				January 16, 2001. Contact the Land Quality Division for information on how to
				obtain a copy of either reference materials. The data shall include at a
				minimum:
(I) Total dissolved solids
				(mg/l);
(II) Total suspended solids
				(mg/l);
(III) pH (standards
				units);
(IV) Total and dissolved
				iron (mg/l); and
(V) Total
				manganese (mg/l).
(E)
				Baseline alkalinity and acidity information shall be provided if there is a
				potential for acid drainage from the proposed mining operation.
(xii) Complete information on
				groundwater which may be affected in the permit area and adjacent areas. This
				shall include the following:
(A) The operator
				shall submit an estimate of the depth and quantity of any groundwater existing
				in the proposed permit area down to and including the strata immediately below
				the lowest mineral seam to be mined. The Administrator may require the operator
				to conduct test drilling and monitoring in order to determine the exact depth,
				quantity and quality of groundwater in geological formations affected by the
				mining operations. Such drilling will require permits from the State Engineer's
				Office;
(B) The lithology and
				thickness of all known aquifers;
(C) All water-quality sampling and analyses
				performed to meet the requirements of this Section shall be conducted according
				to the methodology in the 20th edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination
				of Water and Wastewater" or the methodology in 40 CFR Part 136 - "Guidelines
				Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants," as amended on
				January 16, 2001. Contact the Land Quality Division for information on how to
				obtain a copy of either reference materials. The data shall include at a
				minimum:
(I) Total dissolved solids
				(mg/l);
(II) Total and dissolved
				iron (mg/l);
(III) Total manganese
				(mg/l); and
(IV) pH (standard
				units).
(D) According to
				the parameters and in the detail required by the Administrator, the recharge,
				storage, and discharge characteristics of the groundwater.
(xiii) Water rights.
(A) The operator shall list by name and owner
				all known adjudicated and permitted water rights on the proposed permit area
				and adjacent lands.
(B) The
				operator shall submit a list by name and owner of all existing water wells on
				the proposed permit area and adjacent lands, including all wells filed with the
				State Engineer's Office within three miles of the proposed permit area. The
				Administrator may require a survey of the premining water levels in the above
				wells.
(xiv) A
				description of the surface water and groundwater and related geology in the
				permit area and general area sufficient to assess the probable hydrologic
				consequences (PHC). If the determination of the PHC required by Chapter 19,
				Section
				2(a)(i) indicates that
				adverse impacts on or off the proposed permit area may occur to the hydrologic
				balance, or that acid-forming or toxic material is present that may result in
				the contamination of groundwater or surface water supplies, then information
				supplemental to that required under (a)(xi) and (a)(xii) of this Section shall
				be provided to evaluate such PHC and to plan remedial and reclamation
				activities. Such supplemental information may be based upon drilling, aquifer
				tests, hydrogeologic analysis of the water-bearing strata, flood flows, or
				analysis of other water-quality or quantity characteristics.
(xv) Information concerning the presence or
				absence of an alluvial valley floor within the permit area or on adjacent areas
				in accordance with Chapter 3.
(xvi)
				The location of existing man-made features to include roads, railroads,
				reservoirs, public or private rights-of-way and easements, utility lines,
				pipelines, oil wells, gas wells, and water wells.
(xvii) Boundaries and descriptions of all
				cultural, historic and archaeological resources listed on, or eligible for
				listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. In compliance with the
				Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (P.L. 96-95), this information
				shall not be placed on display at the county clerk's office (as required by
				W.S. §
										
											35-11-406(d) ) where such
				resources occur on lands owned by the United States. This information shall be
				clearly labeled as "Confidential" and submitted separately from the remainder
				of the application materials. Requests to disclose confidential information
				shall be administered under the Department's Rules of Practice and Procedure,
				the Wyoming Public Records Act (W.S. §§
										
											16-4-201 through 205) and the Environmental
				Quality Act.
(xviii) A description
				of any significant artifacts, fossil or other article of cultural, historical,
				archaeological or paleontological value. Upon recommendation by a qualified
				archaeologist or a qualified paleontologist, the Administrator may require an
				evaluation of the proposed permit area prior to the time that a permit or
				license is issued.