Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 460 - Department of Mines
Chapter 20 - The Permanent Regulations Governing the Coal Reclamation Act of 1979
Subchapter 31 - Underground Mining Permit Applications: Minimum Requirements for Reclamation
Section 460:20-31-15 - Geologic information
Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 460:20-31-15
Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail to assist in-
(1)
Determining the probable hydrologic consequences of the operation upon the
quality and quantity of surface and ground water in the permit and adjacent
areas, including the extent to which surface- and ground-water monitoring is
necessary;
(2) Determining all
potentially acid- or toxic-forming strata down to and including the stratum
immediately below the coal seam to be mined;
(3) Determining whether reclamation as
required by these Regulations can be accomplished and whether the proposed
operation has been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic
balance outside the permit area; and
(4) Preparing the subsidence control plan
under Section
460:20-31-13
of this Chapter.
(b) Geologic information shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A description of the geology of the
proposed permit and adjacent areas down to and including the deeper of either
the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined or any aquifer
below the lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely impacted by
mining. This description shall include the areal and structural geology of the
permit and adjacent areas, and other parameters which influence the required
reclamation and it shall also show how the areal and structural geology may
affect the occurrence, availability, movement, quantity, and quality of
potentially impacted surface and ground water. It shall be based on:
(A) The cross sections, maps, and plans
required by Section
460:20-29-11
of this Chapter;
(B) The
information obtained under (b) (2), (b) (3), and (c) of this Section;
and
(C) Geologic literature and
practices.
(2) For any
portion of a permit area in which the strata down to the coal seam to be mined
will be removed or are already exposed, samples shall be collected and analyzed
from test borings; drill cores; or fresh, unweathered, uncontaminated samples
from rock out crops down to and including the deeper of either the stratum
immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined or any aquifer below the
lowest coal seam to be mined which may be adversely impacted by mining. The
analyses shall result in the following:
(A)
Logs showing the lithologic characteristics including physical properties and
thickness of each stratum and location of ground water where
occurring;
(B) Chemical analyses
identifying those strata that may contain acid- or toxic-forming, or
alkalinity-producing materials and to determine their content, except that the
Department may find that the analysis for alkalinity-producing material is
unnecessary; and
(C) Chemical
analysis of the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the
total sulfur and pyritic sulfur, except that the Department may find that the
analysis of pyritic sulfur content is unnecessary.
(3) For lands within the permit and adjacent
areas where the strata above the coal seam to be mined will not be removed,
samples shall be collected and analyzed from test borings or drill cores to
provide the following data:
(A) Logs of drill
holes showing the lithologic characteristics, including physical properties and
thickness of each stratum that may be impacted, and location of ground water
where occurring;
(B) Chemical
analyses for acid- or toxic-forming or alkalinity-producing materials and their
content in the strata immediately above and below the coal seam to be
mined;
(C) Chemical analyses of the
coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the total sulfur and
pyritic sulfur, except that the Department may find that the analysis of pyrite
sulfur content is unnecessary; and
(D) For standard room-and-pillar mining
operations, the thickness and engineering properties of clays or soft rock such
as clay shale, if any, in the stratum immediately above and below each coal
seam to be mined.
(c) If determined to be necessary to protect the hydrologic balance, to minimize or prevent subsidence, or to meet the performance standards of this Chapter, the Department may require the collection, analysis, and description of geologic information in addition to that required by Subsection (b) of this Section.
(d) An applicant may request the Department to waive in whole or in part the requirements of (b) (2) and (b) (3) of this Section. The waiver may be granted only if the Department finds in writing that the collection and analysis of such data are unnecessary because other information having equal value or effect is available to the Department in a satisfactory form.
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