Opinion ID: 501787
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Temporary (but Long-Term) Storage of Top Soil.

Text: 371 Coal mining involves removing large volumes of top soil from the mine site; if the site is to be effectively reclaimed later, that topsoil must be stored in some fashion that will not destroy its productive properties. Congress took care to require that operators 372 remove the topsoil from the land in a separate layer, replace it on the backfill area, or if not utilized immediately, segregate it in a separate pile from other spoil and when the topsoil is not replaced on a backfill area within a time short enough to avoid deterioration of the topsoil, maintain a successful cover by quick growing plant or other means thereafter so that the topsoil is preserved from wind and water erosion, remains free of any contamination by other acid or toxic material, and is in a usable condition for sustaining vegetation when restored during reclamation. 373 SMCRA Sec. 515(b)(5). In 1983, the Secretary promulgated regulations permitting the use of host soils--undisturbed lands within a permit area--for the long-term storage of topsoil. The regulations, challenged by NWF as inadequately supported by technical data or analysis in the record or generally in agricultural science, provide an alternative to stockpiling topsoil under certain conditions: 374 Where long-term surface disturbances will result from facilities such as support facilities and preparation plants and where stockpiling of materials removed under paragraph (a)(1) of this section would be detrimental to the quality or quantity of those materials, the regulatory authority may approve the temporary distribution of the soil materials so removed to an approved site within the permit area to enhance the current use of the site until needed for later reclamation, provided that-- 375 (i) Such action will not permanently diminish the capability of the topsoil of the host site; and 376 (ii) The material will be retained in a condition more suitable for redistribution than if stockpiled. 377 30 C.F.R. Secs. 816.22(c)(3), 817.22(c)(3). 378 NWF's challenge in the district court and again on appeal revolves around its claim that there is no evidence that such topsoil distribution will not damage either the topsoil, the host soil, or both. Therefore, it argues, a nationwide program of host soil storage should not have been undertaken; instead, an experimental pilot program should have implemented under Sec. 711. 106 The district court rejected NWF's challenge, finding that the Secretary had indeed relied on some technical studies establishing certain related, if not directly controlling, premises. PSMRL (Round II) 21 E.R.C. at 1747. 379 No one disputes that this is a highly technical issue. The Secretary, on the basis of studies of the relationship between soil depth and productivity, made a determination that under certain conditions, distribution of topsoil over a broad area was preferable to stockpiling, which is known to adversely affect soil productivity. The Secretary promulgated these regulations on the basis of technical reports, and comments on a proposed version which he ultimately modified. 48 FED.REG. 22096 (1983). There is no requirement in the SMCRA, or elsewhere, that the Secretary institute pilot programs prior to implementing regulatory schemes. Moreover, the challenged regulations do not mandate host soil storage, but merely make it available under limited circumstances. NWF's arguments that there are no studies actually proving that such a form of storage will not do any harm are unavailing. This is precisely the sort of issue on which a court should defer to agency expertise. 107 The judgment of the district court is affirmed. 380