Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
Measures to prevent or minimize damage.
1) The
permittee shall either adopt measures consistent with known technology which
prevent subsidence from causing material damage to the extent technologically
and economically feasible, maximize mine stability, and maintain the value and
reasonably foreseeable use of surface lands; or adopt mining technology that
provides for planned subsidence in a predictable and controlled
manner.
2) Based on the
requirements of 62 Ill. Adm. Code
1784.20(b)(7) and
(b)(8), the permittee shall perform a survey
of the condition of all structures and facilities that may be materially
damaged or for which the reasonably foreseeable use may be diminished by
subsidence, as well as a survey of the quantity and quality of all drinking,
domestic, and residential water supplies within the permit area, subsidence
shadow area, and adjacent area that could be contaminated, diminished, or
interrupted by subsidence. The applicant must pay for any technical assessment
or engineering evaluation used to determine the pre-mining condition or value
of such structures and facilities and the quantity and quality of drinking,
domestic, or residential water supplies. The applicant must provide copies of
the survey and any technical assessment or engineering evaluation to the
property owner.
A) The condition survey of
structures and facilities shall be performed or scheduled to be performed a
minimum of 120 days prior to undermining. A lesser time may be approved by the
Department if justified by the permittee in writing. The permittee shall
provide a copy of the condition survey to the property owner and maintain a
copy to be provided to the Department upon request. The permittee shall provide
the Department with verification that the survey has been completed and
forwarded to the property owner.
B)
The survey of drinking, domestic and residential water supplies shall be
completed and submitted 120 days prior to the water delivery system being
undermined. A lesser time may be approved by the Department if justified by the
permittee in writing. The permittee must provide a copy of the water survey to
the property owner and to the Department.
3) If a permittee employs mining technology
that provides for planned subsidence in a predictable and controlled manner,
the permittee must take necessary and prudent measures, consistent with the
mining method employed, to minimize material damage to the extent
technologically and economically feasible to structures and facilities, except
that measures required to minimize material damage to such structures are not
required if:
A) The permittee has the written
consent of their owners; or
B)
Unless the anticipated damage would constitute a threat to health or safety,
the costs of such measures exceed the anticipated costs of repair.
4) Nothing in this Part prohibits
the standard method of room-and-pillar mining.
b) The permittee shall comply with all
provisions of the subsidence control plan prepared pursuant to the requirements
of 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1784.20, and as approved by the Department.
c) Repair of damage. The requirements of this
subsection apply only to subsidence-related damage caused by underground coal
extraction conducted after February 1, 1983, except as noted in Section
1817.41(j).
1) Repair of damage to surface land. The
permittee must correct any material damage resulting from subsidence caused to
surface lands, to the extent technologically and economically feasible, by
restoring the land to a condition capable of maintaining the value and
reasonably foreseeable uses which it was capable of supporting before
subsidence damage.
2) Repair or
compensation for damage to structures and facilities. The permittee must
promptly repair or compensate the owner for material damage resulting from
subsidence caused to any structure or facility that existed at the time of the
coal extraction under or adjacent to the materially damaged structure. If
repair option is selected, the permittee must fully rehabilitate, restore or
replace the damaged structure. If compensation is selected, the permittee must
compensate the owner of the damaged structure for the full amount of the
decrease in value resulting from the subsidence related damage. The permittee
may provide compensation by the purchase, before mining, of a non-cancelable
premium-prepaid insurance policy.
3) Adjustment of bond amount for subsidence
damage. When subsidence-related material damage to land, structures or
facilities protected under subsections (c)(1) and (c)(2) occurs, or when
contamination, diminution, or interruption to a water supply protected under
Section
1817.41(j)
of this Part occurs, the Department must require the permittee to obtain
additional performance bond in the amount of the estimated cost of the repairs
if the permittee will be repairing, or in the amount of the decrease in value
if the permittee will be compensating the owner, or in the amount of the
estimated cost to replace the protected water supply if the permittee will be
replacing the water supply, until the repair, compensation, or replacement is
completed. If repair, compensation, or replacement is completed within 90 days
after the occurrence of damage, no additional bond is required. The Department
may extend the 90-day time frame, but not to exceed one year, if the permittee
demonstrates and the Department finds in writing that subsidence is not
complete, that not all probable subsidence-related material damage has occurred
to lands or protected structures, or that not all reasonably anticipated
changes have occurred affecting the protected water supply, and that therefore
it would be unreasonable to complete within 90 days the repair of the
subsidence-related material damage to lands or protected structures, or the
replacement of protected water supply. The permittee may also utilize
appropriate terms and conditions for liability insurance required under 62 Ill.
Adm. Code
1800.60 to
assure the financial responsibility to comply with subsection (c) is in
place.
d) Underground
mining activities shall not be conducted beneath or adjacent to public
buildings and facilities; churches, schools, and hospitals; impoundments with a
storage capacity of 20 acre-feet or more or bodies of water with a volume of 20
acre-feet or more, unless the subsidence control plan demonstrates that
subsidence will not cause material damage to, or reduce the reasonably
foreseeable use of such features or facilities. If the Department determines
that it is necessary in order to minimize the potential for material damage to
the features or facilities described above or to any aquifer or body of water
that serves as a significant water source for any public water supply system,
it may limit the percentage of coal extracted under or adjacent
thereto.
e) If subsidence causes
material damage to any of the features or facilities covered by subsection (d),
the Department may suspend mining under or adjacent to such features or
facilities until the subsidence control plan is modified to ensure prevention
of further material damage to such features of facilities.
f) The Department shall suspend underground
mining activities under urbanized areas, cities, towns, and communities, and
adjacent to industrial or commercial buildings, major impoundments, or
perennial streams, if imminent danger is found to inhabitants of the urbanized
areas, cities, towns, or communities.
g) All underground permittees shall on or
before April 1 of each year submit three mine maps of underground workings to
the Department. The mine maps shall indicate the actual extent of mining for
the calender year prior to the submittal date. Mine maps and descriptions shall
include the size, configuration, and approximate location of pillars and
entries, extraction ratios, measures taken to prevent or minimize subsidence
and related damage and areas of full extraction. The mine maps shall also
project the anticipated extent of mining for at least the calendar year at the
time of the submittal. Mine maps shall also include, at a minimum, all features
identified in subsection (d), public roads and all Township and Range
designations and section corners. The map shall be sealed by an engineer
registered in the State of Illinois. The maps shall be planned as a continuous
map so that areas mined each year may be added and indicated by the dates
mining occurred. Maps shall include the name of the mine and the permittee;
address of the permittee; scale, including both written and bar scales; and by
whom the map was drawn. Maps submitted shall be at a scale approved by the
Department as necessary to provide sufficient detail for the information
required by this subsection.