New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 8 - COAL MINING
Part 20 - PERFORMANCE STANDARDS - SURFACE COAL MINING OPERATIONS
Section 19.8.20.2065 - REVEGETATION: STANDARDS FOR SUCCESS
Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.8.20.2065
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Success of revegetation shall be measured by techniques identified in the director's "coal mine reclamation program vegetation standards", as approved by the director after consultation with appropriate state and federal agencies. Comparison of ground cover and productivity shall be made on the basis of reference areas or technical standards developed using an historic record of premining conditions.
B. Liability period, ground cover and productivity standards, and normal husbandry practices.
(1) Ground cover and productivity of living
plants on the revegetated area within the permit area shall be equal to the
ground cover and productivity of living plants on the approved reference area
or to technical standards developed in accordance with the "coal mine
reclamation program vegetation standards", as approved by the director. The
period of extended responsibility under the performance bond requirements of
19.8.14 NMAC begins after the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing,
irrigation, or other work, excluding husbandry practices that are approved by
the director in accordance with Paragraph (6) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065
NMAC.
(2) In areas of more than
26.0 inches average annual precipitation, the period of liability under the
performance bond requirements of 19.8.14 NMAC shall continue for not less than
five full years. Ground cover and productivity shall equal or exceed the
approved standard for two of the last four years of the responsibility
period.
(3) In areas of less than
or equal to 26.0 inches average annual precipitation, the period of liability
under the performance bond requirements of 19.8.14 NMAC shall continue for not
less than 10 full years. Ground cover and productivity shall equal the approved
standard for at least two of the last four years, starting no sooner than year
eight of the responsibility period.
(4) For purposes of Paragraphs (1), (2) and
(3) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065 NMAC, the average annual precipitation can
be determined either:
(a) by interpolation,
using standard techniques, from mean annual precipitation map, page 97, "the
national atlas of the United States", U.S. department of the interior,
geological survey, 1970; or from "climatic atlas of the United States", U.S.
department of commerce, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, 1974;
or from long-term precipitation averages from climatological data, U.S.
department of commerce, national oceanic and atmospheric administration; or
from other official records; or
(b)
based on at least 10 years of continuous and reliable precipitation records
from stations located in or adjacent to the permit area.
(5) The ground cover and productivity of the
revegetated area shall be considered equal if they are at least 90 percent of
the ground cover and productivity of the reference area with 90 percent
statistical confidence, or ground cover, productivity, or shrubland stocking
are at least 90 percent of the standards developed under Subsection A of
19.8.20.2065 NMAC for an historic record. Exceptions may be authorized by the
director under the following standards:
(a)
for previously mined areas that were not reclaimed to the requirements of
19.8.20 NMAC, as a minimum the ground cover of living plants shall not be less
than can be supported by the best available topdressing in the reaffected area,
shall not be less that the ground cover existing before redisturbance, and
shall be adequate to control erosion;
(b) for areas to be developed for industrial
or residential use less than 2 years after regrading is completed, the ground
cover of living plants shall not be less than required to control erosion;
and
(c) for areas to be used for
cropland, success in revegetation of cropland shall be determined on the basis
of crop production from the mined area as compared to approved reference areas
or other technical guidance procedures; crop production from the mined area
shall be equal to or greater than that of the approved standard for two of the
last four growing seasons of the 5 or 10 year liability period established in
Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065 NMAC, starting no
sooner than year eight of the 10-year liability period; the applicable 5 or 10
year period of responsibility for revegetation shall commence at the date of
initial planting of the crop being grown;
(d) on areas to be developed for fish and
wildlife management, recreation, shelterbelts or forestland, success of
vegetation shall be determined on the basis of tree, shrub, or half-shrub
stocking and ground cover; the tree, shrub, or half-shrub stocking shall meet
the standards described in 19.8.20.2066 NMAC; vegetative ground cover shall not
be less than that required by the director under Subsections A and B of
19.8.20.2065 NMAC to meet the post mining land use; 19.8.20.2065 NMAC shall
determine the responsibility period and the frequency of ground cover
measurement.
(6) The
director has the discretion to approve selective husbandry practices without
extending the period of responsibility for revegetation success or bond
liability. Husbandry practices are those activities that can be expected to
continue as part of the post mining land use, and are employed within the
region for unmined lands having land uses similar to the approved postmining
land use of the disturbed area, to control disease, pest and vermin and
appropriate pruning, reseeding, and transplanting activities. Practices may
also be allowed that will not reduce the probability of permanent revegetative
success if they are discontinued after the liability period expires. Any
practice the director determines to be augmented seeding, fertilization or
irrigation shall not be considered a husbandry practice.
C. The person who conducts surface coal mining operations shall:
(1) maintain any
necessary fences and proper management practices; and
(2) conduct periodic measurements of
vegetation, soils, and water prescribed or approved by the director, to
identify conditions during the applicable period of liability specified in
Subsection B of 19.8.20.2065 NMAC.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico 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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