Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
350.151,
350.410,
350.420,
350.465,
EO 2009-538
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 350.28 and
350.465
require the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations establishing
performance standards for protection of people and property, land, water and
other natural resources, and aesthetic values, during underground mining
activities and for restoration and reclamation of surface areas affected by
underground mining activities. EO 2009-538, effective June 12, 2009,
establishes the new Energy and Environment Cabinet. This administrative
regulation establishes forth requirements for the disposal of coal mine waste,
including design and construction requirements for coal mine waste banks, site
inspection requirements, water control measures, provisions for extinguishing
burning coal waste and utilization of burned coal waste, and the return of coal
mine waste to underground mine workings.
Section
1. General Requirements.
(1) All
coal mine waste shall be hauled and conveyed in a controlled manner approved by
the cabinet in disposal areas approved by the cabinet for this purpose. These
areas shall be within a permit area. The disposal area shall be designed,
constructed, and maintained:
(a) In accordance
with this administrative regulation and the criteria established in
405 KAR
18:130, Sections 1 and 2; and
(b) To prevent combustion.
(2) Coal mine waste materials from
activities located outside the permit area, such as those activities at other
mines or abandoned mine waste banks, may be disposed of in the permit area only
if approved by the cabinet. Approval shall be based on a showing by the
permittee, using hydro-logic, geologic, geotechnical, physical, and chemical
analyses, that disposal of these materials does not:
(a) Adversely affect water quality, water
flow, or vegetation;
(b) Create
public health hazards; or
(c) Cause
instability in the disposal areas.
Section 2. Site Inspection.
(1) All coal mine waste banks shall be
inspected on behalf of the permittee by a qualified professional engineer or
other qualified person under the direct supervision of the responsible
professional engineer.
(a) Inspections shall
occur at least quarterly, beginning within seven (7) days after preparation of
the disposal area begins.
1. The cabinet may
require more frequent inspections based upon an evaluation of the potential
danger to the health or safety of the public and the potential harm to land,
air, or water resources.
2.
Inspections shall terminate if the coal mine waste bank has:
a. Been graded;
b. Been covered in accordance with Section
4(4)(a) of this administrative regulation; or
c. Had topsoil distributed on the bank in
accordance with
405 KAR 18:050, Section
4.
(b)
Inspections shall include observations and tests as may be necessary to
evaluate the potential hazard to human life and property, ensure that all
organic material and topsoil have been removed and that proper construction and
maintenance are occurring in accordance with the plan submitted under
405 KAR
8:040, Section 34, and approved by the
cabinet.
(c) The engineer shall
consider:
1. Steepness of slopes;
2. Seepage;
3. Other visible factors that may indicate
potential failure; and
4. The
results of failure with respect to the threat to human life and
property.
(d)
1. The responsible professional engineer
shall certify to the cabinet within two (2) weeks after each inspection that
the coal mine waste bank has been constructed as specified in the design
approved by the cabinet.
2. Copies
of the inspection findings shall be maintained at the mine site.
(2) If an inspection
discloses that a potential hazard exists, the cabinet shall be informed within
twenty-four (24) hours promptly of the finding and of the emergency procedures
formulated for public protection and remedial action.
(a) If adequate procedures cannot be
formulated or implemented, the cabinet shall be notified immediately.
(b) The cabinet shall then notify the
appropriate emergency agencies that other emergency procedures shall be
required to protect the public from the coal mine waste area.
Section 3. Water
Control Measures.
(1) Unless the cabinet
approves alternative practices that ensure structural integrity of the waste
bank and protection of ground and surface water quality, a properly designed
subdrainage system shall be provided, which shall:
(a) Intercept all ground water
sources;
(b) Be protected by an
adequate filter; and
(c) Be covered
so as to protect against the entrance of surface water or leachate from the
coal mine waste.
(2)
During and after construction, surface drainage from the area above the coal
mine waste bank and from the crest and face of the waste disposal area shall be
diverted, in accordance with
405 KAR
18:130, Section 2(2).
(3)
(a)
Slope protection shall be provided to minimize surface erosion at the
site.
(b) Disturbed areas,
including diversion ditches that are not riprapped, shall be vegetated upon
completion of construction.
(4) Discharges of waters from a coal mine
waste bank shall comply with
405 KAR
18:060, Sections 1, 2, and 7; 18:070; 18:090; and
18:110.
Section 4.
Construction Requirements.
(1) Coal mine waste
banks shall be constructed in compliance with
405 KAR
18:130, Sections 1 and 2, except to the extent that
the requirements of those sections are specifically varied in this
section.
(2) Coal mine waste banks
shall have a minimum static factor of safety of one and five-tenths
(1.5).
(3) Compaction requirements
during construction or modification of a coal mine waste bank shall meet the
requirements of this subsection, instead of those specified in
405 KAR
18:130, 1(5)(b).
(a)
The coal mine waste shall be:
1. Spread in
horizontal layers no more than twenty-four (24) inches in thickness;
and
2. Compacted to attain ninety
(90) percent of the maximum dry density in order to prevent spontaneous
combustion and to provide the strength required for stability of the coal mine
waste bank. Dry densities shall be determined in accordance with the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
Specification T99-74 (12th Edition) (1974) as incorporated by reference in
405 KAR
7:015, Section 3(7), or an equivalent
method.
(b) Variations
may be allowed in these requirements for the disposal of dewatered fine coal
waste (minus twenty-eight (28) sieve size) with approval of the cabinet or an
equivalent method agreed upon by the cabinet and the permit
applicant.
(4)
(a) Following grading of the coal mine waste
bank, the site shall be covered with a minimum of four (4) feet of the best
available nontoxic and noncombustible material, in accordance with
405 KAR 18:050, Section
2(5), and in a manner that does not impede flow from subdrainage
systems.
(b) The coal mine waste
bank shall be revegetated in accordance with
405 KAR
18:200.
(c) The cabinet may allow less than four (4)
feet of cover material based on physical and chemical analyses that show that
the requirements of
405 KAR 18:200 shall
be met.
Section
5. Burning Coal Waste. Coal mine waste fires shall be extinguished
by the permittee, in accordance with a plan approved by the cabinet and the
MSHA. The plan shall contain, as a minimum, provisions to ensure that only
persons authorized by the permittee, and who have an understanding of the
procedures to be used, shall be involved in the extinguishing
operations.
Section 6. Burned Waste
Utilization.
(1) Before any burned coal mine
waste, other materials, or refuse is removed from a disposal area, approval
shall be obtained from the cabinet.
(2) A plan for the method of removal, with
maps and appropriate drawings to illustrate the proposed sequence of the
operation and methods of compliance with this chapter shall be submitted to the
cabinet.
(3) Consideration shall be
given in the plan to potential hazards that may be created by removal to
persons working or living in the vicinity of the disposal area. The plan shall
be prepared by a qualified professional engineer.
Section 7. Return to Underground Workings.
Coal mine waste may be returned to underground mine workings only in accordance
with the waste disposal program approved by the cabinet and MSHA pursuant to
405 KAR
8:040, Sections 27 and 28.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS 350.028,
350.151,
350.465,
EO 2009 538