Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 17.24 - RECLAMATION
Subchapter 17.24.2 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Opencut Mining Act
Rule 17.24.219 - PLAN OF OPERATION, RECLAMATION PLAN, AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Universal Citation: MT Admin Rules 17.24.219
Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) An application for a dryland permit or to amend a dryland permit does not require a plan of operation. An application for a standard permit or to amend a standard permit must include a plan of operation that complies with 82-4-434, MCA and the following:
(a) a postmining land
uses section that includes a description of the type, location, and size of
each postmining land use area in the permit area. Postmining land use types
include, but are not limited to, internal roads, material stockpile areas,
pond, wetland, riparian area, grassland, rangeland, shrubland, woodland,
pasture, hayland, cropland, wildlife habitat, recreation site, and residential,
commercial, and industrial building sites;
(b) a surface cleanup section that includes a
statement that the operator will:
(i) at the
conclusion of opencut operations, except as provided in (1)(b)(ii), use or haul
away from the permit area all excavated or processed material for backfill as
provided in (1)(c);
(ii) upon the
request by the landowner, on the landowner consultation form, segregate
specific types, grades, and quantities of material into stockpiles maintained
in one location, along with a separate stockpile of the quantity of soil
required to reclaim the area where the material is stockpiled, shaped, and
seeded and placed within 100 feet of a material stockpile;
(iii) a stockpile of materials for the
landowner as provided by (1)(b)(ii) must be free of excess fines or other waste
materials that would render the material unsuitable for commercial
use;
(iv) provide a description of
the types, grades, and quantities of material proposed to remain stockpiled as
provided by (1)(b)(ii) and (iii), and justify the quantities stockpiled for
landowner use based on current and expected demand for the materials;
(v) at the conclusion of opencut operations,
haul away and properly dispose of all refuse, oiled surfacing, contaminated
materials, concrete that is not clean-fill, and unused clean fill from affected
lands;
(vi) haul away all asphaltic
pavement from the permit area, except on-site-generated asphaltic pavement may
be used as mined-area backfill in accordance with (1)(b)(vii) and with the
consent of the landowner;
(vii)
place on-site-generated asphaltic pavement, coarse clean fill, and other clean
fill unsuitable for plant growth under at least three feet of material suitable
for sustaining the postmining vegetation;
(viii) place on-site-generated asphaltic
pavement in an unsaturated condition at least 25 feet above the seasonal high
water table; and
(ix) for the
purposes of (1)(b)(ii) and (iii), the operator remains responsible for
reclamation of the areas occupied and affected by material and soil stockpiles
until the department has approved phase II reclamation for the areas where the
stockpiles are located or assignment of the permit to the landowner or another
party;
(c) a backfill and
grading section that includes a statement that the operator will:
(i) use only overburden and materials from
the permit area, or otherwise only clean fill from any source, to reclaim
affected land to a stable condition with 5:1 or flatter slopes for hayland and
cropland, 4:1 or flatter slopes for sandy surfaces, and 3:1 or flatter slopes
for other sites and surfaces appropriate to the designated postmine land
use;
(ii) reclaim premine drainage
systems to blend into the surrounding topography and drainages;
(iii) drain off-site or concentrate water in
low areas identified in the permit;
(iv) backfill and grade to at least three
feet above the seasonal high water table level for dryland reclamation and at
approved depths below the seasonal low water table level for pond
reclamation;
(v) record the average
thickness of overburden replaced and never cover soil with
overburden;
(vi) if available, up
to 24 inches of soil and overburden must be stripped, salvaged, and replaced
for reclamation. If overburden is a mine material or will be used as binder, an
appropriate quantity must first be stripped and salvaged to satisfy the soil
plus overburden replacement thickness requirement (24 inches
cumulative);
(vii) for the purposes
of (1)(c)(i) and (ii), the department may consider steeper slopes for certain
postmining land uses based on a design or a slope stability analysis prepared
by a professional engineer licensed in accordance with Title 37, chapter 67,
part 3, MCA, or a geologist with five years of post-graduate academic or
professional work experience in the field of soil or rock mechanics;
(viii) if required by the department, conduct
postmining monitoring of ground water levels to ensure that appropriate
reclaimed surface elevations are established;
(d) a description of the locations and
designs for any special reclamation features such as ponds, waterways with
defined channels, and building sites. Reclaimed waterways with defined channels
must be located in their approximate premine locations and have channel and
floodplain dimensions and gradients that approximate premine conditions, unless
otherwise approved by the department. Reclaimed waterways with defined channels
must connect to undisturbed waterways in a manner that avoids disruption or
accelerated erosion of the reclaimed waterway or adjoining areas;
(e) an access road reclamation section
describing:
(i) reclamation of access,
haulage, or other roads included on affected land with the landowner's consent;
and
(ii) for private roads to
remain open at the request of the landowner, reclamation of the road to a width
appropriate to the landowner's anticipated use or as may otherwise be required
by applicable land use regulations;
(f) a section that explains how the operator
will reclaim water diversion, retention, discharge, and outflow structures
constructed for opencut operations;
(g) an overburden and soil conditioning
section that includes a statement that the operator will:
(i) till replaced overburden, graded
surfaces, and other compacted surfaces:
(A) to
a depth of at least 12 inches, or to another depth required by the department
prior to replacing soil, except that:
(I)
tillage is not required for relatively non-compactible materials such as sands,
materials with a rock fragment content of 35 percent or more by volume, or
bedrock; and
(II) tilling deeper
than the soil thickness is not required when cobbly material or bedrock
underlies the soil;
(B)
on the contour and when the overburden and soil are dry enough to shatter;
and
(C) in a manner that protects
tilled areas from recompaction;
(ii) record the thicknesses of soil replaced
on the permit areas as required by the permit;
(iii) till through replaced soil and into the
surface of the underlying backfill prior to seeding or planting unless
otherwise required by the department; and
(iv) the soil surface must be free of rocks
that are not characteristic of the soil prior to
disturbance;
(h) a
revegetation section that:
(i) describes the
types and rates of fertilizer and other soil amendment applications, methods of
seedbed preparation, and methods, species, and rates of seeding or planting;
and
(ii) includes a statement that
the operator will:
(A) establish vegetation
to protect the soils from erosion and that is capable of sustaining the
designated postmining land uses;
(B) seed all affected land for vegetation
species that are consistent with the premining species composition, cover,
production, density, and diversity, or otherwise as appropriate for the
designated postmining land use;
(C)
ensure that areas seeded or planted to perennial species are adequately
protected and managed from the time of seeding or planting through two
consecutive growing seasons or until the vegetation is established, whichever
is longer;
(D) use seed that is as
weed free as is reasonably possible;
(E) ensure that seedbed preparation and drill
seeding is done on the contour;
(F)
apply drill seeding at the rate of no less than ten pounds per acre or at
another rate approved by the department;
(G) apply broadcast seeding at a rate that is
at least 100 percent higher than drill seeding rates and drag or press the
surface to cover the seed unless otherwise required by the
department;
(H) provide seeding
rates as pounds of pure live seed per acre;
(I) seed during the late fall or early spring
seeding seasons;
(J) apply cover
crop seeding and mulch as needed to help stabilize an area or establish
vegetation;
(K) achieve
revegetation of a non-cropland area by establishing vegetation capable of
sustaining the designated postmining land use;
(L) achieve revegetation of a cropland area
when a crop has been harvested from the entire area and the yield is comparable
to those of crops grown on similar sites under similar growing conditions;
and
(M) agree that reclamation for
cropland areas will be considered complete upon inspection by the department or
notification by the landowner to the department in writing that the crop yield
on the reclaimed land is acceptable;
(i) a reclamation schedule section that
includes:
(i) a statement that the operator
will complete phase I and phase II reclamation on an area no longer needed for
opencut operations, or on areas that the operator no longer has the right to
use for opencut operations, within one year after the cessation of such
operations or termination of such right. If it is not practical for the
operator to reclaim a certain area until other areas are also available for
reclamation, the operator may propose an alternate reclamation schedule for
that area; and
(ii) a reasonable
estimate of the month and year by which phase II reclamation will be completed
considering the estimated demand for material, expected rate of production,
accessible material reserves, and the time required to complete revegetation as
required by (1)(g) and (h). Final reclamation must be completed by the date
given.
(2) 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
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Montana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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