Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) An
application for a standard permit or standard permit amendment requires a plan
of operation that complies with
82-4-432,
MCA and includes the following:
(a) unless
otherwise approved in writing by the department, a markers section that
includes a statement that the operator clearly marked on the ground all
required boundaries and permitted access roads to be improved or constructed
and will maintain the markings as required by this rule. Boundary and road
markers must be placed so that no less than two consecutive markers are readily
visible in any direction from any point on a line. The following requirements
apply to marking boundaries and permitted access roads to be improved or
constructed:
(i) markers must be in place
prior to submitting an application for a permit or an amendment;
(ii) markers should be durable stout steel,
wood, or similar quality posts and painted or flagged to be readily visible,
except that a prominent, permanent feature such as a pole, tree, or large rock,
flagged or painted, may serve as a marker;
(iii) road markers may be removed as the road
is constructed, but each boundary marker must be maintained in place and
readily visible until the adjacent permit area is reclaimed and
released;
(iv) the following areas
and features must be marked according to this rule:
(A) proposed permit or proposed amended
permit boundaries;
(B) non-bonded
areas;
(C) proposed permitted
access roads to be improved or constructed;
(D) phase 1 release areas previously approved
by the department; and
(E) prior to
submission of an application for bond release, areas that are the subject of an
application for phase I or phase II bond release;
(v) the requirements of (1)(a) do not apply
to active hayland, cropland, or existing roads to be
permitted;
(b) an access
road construction and use section that is consistent with the landowner's
acknowledgements contained in the landowner consultation form required by ARM
17.24.206;
(c) a soil and
overburden characterization section that includes the average soil and
overburden thicknesses in the permit area determined on the basis of no less
than three test holes spaced representatively to describe proposed permit areas
of less than nine acres and one test hole per each three-acre area for proposed
permit areas of nine acres or more, with a maximum of 20 representatively
spaced test holes for proposed permit areas that exceed 60 acres, or as
otherwise approved by the department in the permit;
(i) for the purposes of this subsection:
(A) test holes must be of sufficient depth to
measure the thicknesses of soil and overburden;
(B) representative test holes must be located
in both bonded and non-bonded areas;
(C) exposures of the soil and overburden
profile, such as a roadcut, may be used in lieu of a test hole; and
(D) clearly labeled photos showing the top
three feet of the soil profile with a visible scale must be taken and provided
to the department for each test hole;
(d) a soil and overburden handling section
that includes a statement that the operator shall:
(i) upon commencing opencut operations, strip
and stockpile overlying soil to the depth specified in the permit before
excavating overburden and materials;
(ii) before mining, remove and stockpile
overburden separately from soil and designate soil and overburden stockpiles
with signage that is legible, readily visible, and placed so that equipment
operators and inspectors may readily identify the type of stockpile for the
life of the stockpile;
(iii) never
stockpile overburden or soil on slopes greater than 3:1 or in drainages or in a
manner that will cause pollution to state waters;
(iv) remove all soil and overburden from a
minimum ten-foot-wide strip along the crest of a highwall;
(v) haul soil and overburden directly to
areas prepared for backfill and grading or resoiling or to separate
stockpiles;
(vi) never stockpile
overburden or conduct any opencut operations on areas where soil has not been
stripped to the depth required by the permit; and
(vii) use best management practices to
prevent erosion, commingling, contamination, compaction, and unnecessary
disturbance of soil and overburden stockpiles including, but not limited to, at
the first seasonal opportunity, shape and seed, with approved perennial
species, the soil and overburden stockpiles that are capable of sustaining
plant growth, and that remain in place for more than two years and maintain the
accessibility of all overburden and soil stockpiles in the permit area prior to
reclamation in accordance with the plan of operation;
(viii) where required by
82-4-434,
MCA, berms constructed of soil and/or overburden, must be a minimum of 6 feet
high, protected from erosion, commingling, contamination, compaction, and
unnecessary disturbance. At the first seasonal opportunity, the operator must
shape and seed, with weed-free seed mix, any berm capable of sustaining plant
growth;
(e) a
construction, mining, processing, and hauling section that includes:
(i) a description of the materials to be sold
or used by the operation;
(ii) a
construction project plan that describes the locations and construction
schedules for all areas to be disturbed and location of all facilities
including offices, parking, vehicle staging areas, roads designated by the
landowner as affected land, and processing plants;
(iii) a description of the methods and
equipment to be used to mine, haul, and process material;
(iv) a description of the anticipated general
mining progression, including the location of the first stripping and
excavation, the direction of mining progress, and timing for the mobilization
and setup of processing facilities such as a screen, crusher, asphalt plant,
wash plant, batch plant, pug mill, and other facilities; and
(v) other information necessary to fully
describe the nature and progress of opencut operations;
(f) a water resources section that includes:
(i) identification of the sources of the
information reported, such as landowners, field observations, and water well
logs;
(ii) the estimated seasonal
high and seasonal low water table levels in the permit area and the information
sources used, such as landowners, field observations, nearby surface water, and
water well logs.
(g) a
statement by the operator that:
(i) opencut
operations may not occur within prohibited areas described in the
permit;
(ii) no opencut operations
will occur within an easement unless written permission to do so is obtained
from the holder of the dominant estate; and
(iii) before commencing opencut operations,
the operator, on a form provided by the department, notified the weed board in
the county or counties in which the proposed operation is located. A copy of
the form that the applicant submitted to the weed board must be attached to the
application;
(h) an
additional commitments section that includes a statement that the operator
will:
(i) inform key personnel and
subcontractors involved in opencut operations of the requirements of the plan
of operation;
(ii) promptly notify
the state historic preservation office archaeological or historical values are
found.
(2) An
application for a dryland permit or to amend a dryland permit does not require
submission of a plan of operation.
(3) Approval of an application does not
relieve the operator from the requirements of any applicable federal, state,
county, or local statute, regulation, rule, or ordinance, including
requirements to obtain any other permit, license, approval, or permission
necessary for the actions described in or required by the application and the
permit.
(4) Upon issuance of the
permit, the operator shall comply with all commitments required by this rule
and with the requirements for the conduct of operations contained in this
rule.
AUTH:
82-4-422,
MCA; IMP:
82-4-402,
82-4-422,
82-4-423,
82-4-431,
82-4-432,
82-4-434,
MCA