Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Mountaintop removal mining operations
shall be exempt from the requirements of rule
1501:13-9-14
of the Administrative Code for achieving approximate original contour, if the
following requirements are met:
(1) The chief
grants a variance under paragraph (C) of rule
1501:13-4-12
of the Administrative Code;
(2) An
industrial, commercial, agricultural, residential, or public facility
(including recreation facilities) use is proposed for the affected land;
(3) The alternative land use
criteria in rule
1501:13-9-17
of the Administrative Code are met and the proposal is approved by the chief;
and
(4) All other applicable
requirements of these rules and the requirements of division (B) of section
1513.16 of the Revised Code will
be met.
(B) Coal mining
and reclamation operations conducted under this rule shall comply with the
following standards:
(1) An outcrop barrier
of sufficient width, consisting of the toe of the lowest coal seam and its
associated overburden, shall be retained to prevent slides and erosion. The
chief may permit an exemption to the requirement that the coal barrier be
retained if the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The proposed mine site was mined prior to
May 3, 1978, and the toe of the lowest seam has been removed; or
(b) A coal barrier adjacent to a
head-of-hollow fill may be removed after the elevation of head-of-hollow fill
attains the elevation of the coal barrier if the head-of-hollow fill provides
the stability otherwise ensured by the retention of a coal barrier;
(2) The final graded top plateau
slopes on the mined area shall be less than 1v:5h so as to create a level
plateau or gently rolling configuration and the outslopes of the plateau shall
not exceed 1v:2h, except where engineering data substantiates and the chief
finds that a minimum static safety factor of 1.5 will be attained;
(3) The resulting level or gently rolling
contour shall be graded to drain inward from the outslope except at specific
points where it drains over the outslope in protected stable channels. The
chief may waive this requirement if environmental problems would be caused by
such inward drainage;
(4) Natural
watercourses below the area to be mined shall not be damaged;
(5) Spoil shall be placed on the mountaintop
bench as is necessary to achieve the postmining land use approved under rule
1501:13-9-17
of the Administrative Code. All excess spoil material not retained on the
mountaintop shall be placed in accordance with the standards of rule
1501:13-9-07
of the Administrative Code; and
(6) All waste and acid-forming or
toxic-forming materials, including the strata immediately below the coal seam,
shall be covered with non-toxic spoil to prevent pollution and achieve the
approved postmining land use.
(C) All permits giving approval for
mountaintop removal mining shall be reviewed not more than three years from the
date of issuance of the permit, unless the operator affirmatively demonstrates
and the chief finds that all operations are proceeding in accordance with the
terms of the permit and applicable requirements of Chapter 1513. of the Revised
Code.
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
11/02/2015 and
11/02/2020
Promulgated
Under: 119.03
Statutory
Authority: 1513.02
Rule
Amplifies: 1513.16
Prior
Effective Dates: 8/28/78, 8/16/82 (Emer.), 10/27/82,
10/1/88