Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) General.
(1) Auger mining operations shall be
conducted in accordance with the requirements of Chapters 1501:13-9 to
1501:13-11 of the Administrative Code, except as provided in this
rule.
(2) The chief may prohibit
auger mining, if necessary, to:
(a) Maximize
the utilization, recoverability, or conservation of the solid-fuel resource;
or
(b) Protect against adverse
water-quality impacts.
(B) Coal recovery.
(1) Auger mining shall be conducted so as to
maximize the utilization and conservation of the coal in accordance with rule
1501:13-9-05 of the
Administrative Code.
(2) Auger
mining shall be planned and conducted to maximize recoverability of mineral
reserves remaining after the operation and reclamation are complete.
(3) Each person who conducts auger mining
operations shall leave areas of undisturbed coal, as approved by the chief, to
provide access for future underground mining operations to coal reserves
remaining after augering is complete, unless it is established that the coal
reserves have been depleted or are so limited in thickness or extent that it
will not be practicable to recover the remaining coal. This determination shall
be made by the chief upon presentation of appropriate technical evidence by the
operator.
(C) Hydrologic
balance.
(1) Auger mining shall be planned and
conducted to minimize disturbances of the prevailing hydrologic balance in
accordance with the requirements of rule
1501:13-9-04
of the Administrative Code.
(2) All
auger holes, except as provided in paragraph (C)(3) of this rule, shall be:
(a) Sealed within seventy-two hours after
completion with an impervious and noncombustible material, if the holes are
discharging water containing acid- or toxic-forming material. If sealing is not
possible within seventy-two hours, the discharge shall be treated commencing
within seventy-two hours after completion to meet applicable effluent
limitations and water-quality standards until the holes are sealed;
and
(b) Sealed with an impervious
noncombustible material, as contemporaneously as practicable with the augering
operation, as approved by the chief, if the holes are not discharging water
containing acid- or toxic-forming material.
(3) Auger holes need not be sealed with an
impervious material so as to prevent drainage if the chief determines that:
(a) The resulting impoundment of water may
create a hazard to the environment or public health or safety; and
(b) The drainage from the auger holes will:
(i) Not pose a threat of pollution of surface
water; and
(ii) Comply with the
requirements of rule
1501:13-9-04
of the Administrative Code.
(D) Subsidence protection. Auger mining shall
be conducted in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs (A) and (D) of
rule
1501:13-12-03
of the Administrative Code.
(E)
Backfilling and grading.
General. Auger mining shall be conducted in accordance with the
backfilling and grading requirements of rule
1501:13-9-14
of the Administrative Code.
(F) Protection of underground mining. Auger
holes shall not extend closer than five hundred feet (measured horizontally) to
any abandoned or active underground mine workings, except as approved in
accordance with rule
1501:13-9-08
of the Administrative Code.
(G)
Remining. Auger mining operations that affect previously mined areas containing
a preexisting highwall shall comply with the requirements of rule
1501:13-9-14
of the Administrative Code except as provided in paragraph (K) of rule
1501:13-4-12
of the Administrative Code.
