Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
350.020,
350.028,
350.085,
350.151,
350.465
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 350 in
pertinent part requires the cabinet to promulgate rules and 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. This administrative regulation
sets forth requirements for the location, design, construction, maintenance,
and removal or permanent retention of roads and associated drainage
structures.
Section 1. General.
(1) Each permittee shall design, construct,
utilize, and maintain roads and restore the area to meet the requirements of
this administrative regulation and to control or minimize erosion and
siltation, air and water pollution, and damage to public or private
property.
(2) To the extent
possible using the best technology currently available, roads shall not cause
damage to fish, wildlife and related environmental values and shall not cause
additional contributions of suspended solids to stream flow or to run off
outside the permit area. Any such contributions shall not be in excess of
limitations of state or federal law.
(3) The design and construction of roads
shall be certified by a qualified registered professional engineer as being in
accordance with Sections 2 through 5 of this administrative regulation, except
to the extent that alternative specifications are used. Alternative
specifications may be used only after approval by the cabinet upon a
demonstration by a qualified registered professional engineer that they will
result in performance, with regard to safety, stability and environmental
protection, equal to or better than that resulting from roads complying with
the specifications of this administrative regulation.
(4) All roads shall be removed and the
affected land regraded and revegetated in accordance with the requirements of
Section 7 of this administrative regulation unless:
(a) Retention of the road is approved as part
of the approved postmining land use or as being necessary to control erosion
adequately;
(b) The necessary
maintenance is assured; and
(c) All
drainage is controlled according to Section 4 of this administrative
regulation.
Section
2. Location.
(1) Roads shall be
located, insofar as possible, on ridges or on the most stable available slopes
to minimize erosion.
(2) No part of
any road shall be located in the channel of an intermittent or perennial stream
unless specifically approved by the cabinet.
(3) Stream fords are prohibited unless they
are specifically approved by the cabinet as temporary routes during periods of
construction. The fords shall not adversely affect stream sedimentation or
fish, wildlife, and related environmental values. All other stream crossings
shall be made using bridges, culverts, or other structures designed,
constructed, and maintained to meet the requirements of Section 4 of this
administrative regulation.
Section
3. Design and Construction. Roads shall be designed and
constructed in compliance with the following standards in order to control
subsequent erosion and disturbance of the hydrologic balance.
(1) The roadway width shall be appropriate
for the anticipated volume of traffic and the size, weight, and speed of
vehicles to be used.
(2) Vertical
alinement. Except where lesser grades are necessary to control site-specific
conditions, maximum road grades shall be as follows:
(a) The maximum grade shall not exceed
lv:6.5h (fifteen (15) percent).
(b)
There shall be not more than 300 feet of grade exceeding ten (10) percent
within any consecutive 1,000 feet of road.
(3) Horizontal alinement. Roads shall have
horizontal alinement as consistent with the existing topography as possible,
and shall provide the alinement required to meet the performance standards of
this administrative regulation. The alinement shall be determined in accordance
with the anticipated volume of traffic and weight and speed of vehicles to be
used. Horizontal and vertical alinement shall be coordinated to ensure that one
will not adversely affect the other and to ensure that the road will not cause
environmental damage.
(4) Temporary
erosion control measures shall be implemented during construction to minimize
sedimentation and erosion until permanent control measures can be
established.
(5) Excess or
unsuitable material from excavations shall be disposed of in accordance with
405 KAR
18:060, Section 4;
405 KAR
18:140, Section 1;
405 KAR
18:190, Section 3.
(6) Vegetation shall not be cleared for more
than the width necessary for road and associated ditch construction, to serve
traffic needs and for utilities.
(7) Road cuts.
(a) Cut slopes shall not be steeper than
specifically authorized by the cabinet, and shall not be steeper than lv:1.5h
in unconsolidated materials or lv:0.25h in rock, except that steeper slopes may
be specifically authorized by the cabinet if geotechnical analysis demonstrates
that a minimum safety factor of one and five-tenths (1.5) can be
maintained.
(b) All cut slopes
except solid rock cut slopes shall be revegetated as soon as possible to
minimize erosion.
(8)
Road embankments. Embankment sections shall be constructed in accordance with
the following provisions:
(a) All vegetative
material and topsoil shall be removed from the embankment foundation during
construction to increase stability, and no vegetative material or topsoil shall
be placed beneath or in any road embankment.
(b) Where an embankment is to be placed on
side slopes exceeding lv:5h (twenty (20) percent), the existing ground shall be
plowed, stepped, or, if in bedrock, keyed in a manner which increases the
stability of the fill. The keyway shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet in width
and shall extend a minimum of two (2) feet below the toe of the fill.
(c) Embankment shall be placed in horizontal
layers and shall be compacted as necessary to ensure that the embankment is
adequate to support the anticipated volume of traffic and weight and speed of
vehicles to be used. In selecting the method to be used for placing embankment
material, consideration shall be given in the design to such factors as the
foundation, geological structure, soils, type of construction, and equipment to
be used.
(d) Embankment slopes
shall not be steeper than lv:2h, except that where the embankment material is a
minimum of eighty-five (85) percent rock, slopes shall not be steeper than
lv:1.35h if it has been demonstrated to the cabinet that embankment stability
will result.
(e) The minimum safety
factor for all embankments shall be 1.25, or such higher factor as the cabinet
may specify.
(f) The road surface
shall be sloped to prevent ponding of water on the surface.
(g) All material used in embankments shall be
reasonably free of organic material, coal or coal blossom, frozen or
excessively wet materials, peat material, natural soils containing organic
matter, or any other material considered unsuitable by the cabinet for use in
embankment construction.
(h)
Acid-producing materials shall be permitted for constructing embankments for
only those roads constructed on coal processing waste banks and only if it has
been demonstrated to the cabinet that no additional acid will leave the
confines of the coal processing waste bank. In no case shall acid-bearing
refuse material be used outside the confines of the coal processing waste bank.
Restoration of the road shall be in accordance with the requirements of
405 KAR
18:190, Sections 3 and 4; and
405 KAR
18:200.
(i) All embankment slopes shall be
revegetated as soon as possible to minimize erosion.
Section 4. Drainage.
(1) General. Each road shall be designed,
constructed, and maintained to have adequate drainage, using structures such
as, but not limited to, ditches, cross drains, and ditch relief drains. The
water-control system shall be designed to safely pass, at a minimum, the peak
runoff from a ten (10) year, twenty-four (24) hour precipitation event or a
greater event if required by the cabinet.
(2) Natural drainage. Natural channel
drainageways shall not be altered or relocated for road construction without
the prior approval of the cabinet in accordance with
405 KAR 18:080. The
cabinet may approve alterations and relocations only if the natural channel
drainage is not blocked and there is no adverse impact on adjoining
landowners.
(3) Stream crossings.
Drainage structures are required for stream channel crossings. Drainage
structures shall not adversely affect fish migration and aquatic habitat or
related environmental values, and shall not adversely affect the normal flow or
gradient of the stream or cause increased flow depths which would adversely
affect upstream properties outside the permit area.
(4) Ditches.
(a) Drainage ditches shall be placed at the
toe of all cut slopes. A ditch shall be provided on both sides of a through-cut
and on the inside shoulder of a cut-and-fill section, with ditch relief cross
drains spaced according to grade. Water shall be intercepted before reaching a
switchback or large fill and drained safely away in accordance with this
section. Water from a fill or switchback shall be released below the fill,
through conduits or in riprapped channels, and shall not be discharged onto the
fill.
(b) Trash racks and debris
basins shall be installed in drainage ditches wherever debris from the drainage
area is likely to impair the functions of drainage and sediment control
structures.
(5) Culverts
and bridges.
(a)
1. Culverts shall pass the ten (10) year,
twenty-four (24) hour precipitation event without causing overtopping of the
road and without causing adverse effects upon upstream properties outside the
permit area. Bridges and approach fills shall pass the 100 year flood event or
where appropriate the 100 year, twenty-four (24) hour precipitation event, or a
larger event as specified by the cabinet, without causing increases in flow
depths which would adversely affect upstream properties outside the permit
area.
2. Drainage pipes and
culverts shall be constructed to avoid plugging or collapse and erosion at
inlets and outlets.
3. All culverts
shall be covered by compacted fill to a minimum depth of one (1)
foot.
4. Culverts shall be
designed, constructed, and maintained to sustain the structural load from the
fill and the weight of vehicles to be used.
(b) Culverts for road-surface drainage only
shall be constructed in accordance with the following:
1. Unless otherwise authorized or required
under subparagraphs 2 or 3 of this paragraph, culverts shall be spaced as
follows: spacing shall not exceed 1,000 feet on grades of zero to three (3)
percent; spacing shall not exceed 800 feet on grades of three (3) to six (6)
percent; spacing shall not exceed 500 feet on grades of six (6) to ten (10)
percent; spacing shall not exceed 300 feet on grades of ten (10) percent or
greater.
2. Culverts at closer
intervals than the maximum in subparagraph 1 of this paragraph shall be
installed if required by the cabinet as appropriate for the erosive properties
of the soil or to accommodate flow from small intersecting drainages.
3. Culverts may be constructed at greater
intervals than the maximum indicated in subparagraph 1 of this paragraph if
authorized by the cabinet upon a finding that greater spacing will not increase
erosion.
4. The inlet end shall be
protected by a rock headwall or other protection approved by the cabinet as
adequate protection against erosion at the inlet. The water shall be discharged
below the toe of the fill through conduits or in riprapped channels and shall
not be discharged onto the fill.
Section 5. Surfacing.
(1) Roads shall be surfaced with rock,
crushed gravel, asphalt, or other material approved by the cabinet as
sufficiently durable for the anticipated volume of traffic and weight and speed
of vehicles to be used.
(2) Acid-
or toxic-forming substances shall not be used in road surfacing.
Section 6. Maintenance.
(1) Roads shall be maintained in such a
manner that the required or approved design standards are met throughout the
life of the road.
(2) Road
maintenance shall include repairs to the road surface such as grading, filling
of potholes, and replacement of surfacing. It shall include revegetating of cut
and fill slopes, watering for dust control, and minor reconstruction as
necessary.
(3) Roads damaged by
events such as floods or landslides, or by structural failures such as sliding
or slumping of the embankment, shall be repaired as soon as practicable after
the damage has occurred.
Section
7. Restoration.
(1) As soon as
practicable after a road is no longer needed for mining and reclamation
operations or monitoring, unless the cabinet approves retention of a road as
suitable for the approved postmining land use:
(a) The road shall be closed to vehicular
traffic;
(b) The natural-drainage
patterns shall be restored;
(c) All
bridges and culverts shall be removed;
(d) Roadbeds shall be ripped, plowed, and
scarified;
(e) Fill slopes shall be
rounded or reduced and shaped to conform the site to adjacent terrain and to
meet natural-drainage restoration standards;
(f) Cut slopes shall be shaped to blend with
the natural contour;
(g) Cross
drains, dikes, and water bars shall be constructed to minimize
erosion;
(h) Terraces shall be
constructed as necessary to prevent excessive erosion and to provide long-term
stability in cut-and-fill slopes; and
(i) Road surfaces shall be topsoiled in
accordance with
405 KAR 18:050, Section
4(2) and revegetated in accordance with
405 KAR 18:200,
Sections 1 through 6.
(2) Unless otherwise authorized by the
cabinet, all road surfacing materials shall be removed and disposed of under
405 KAR
18:150, Section 1.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
350.020,
350.028,
350.151,
350.465