Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 460 - Department of Mines
Chapter 20 - The Permanent Regulations Governing the Coal Reclamation Act of 1979
Subchapter 43 - Permanent Program Performance Standards: Surface Mining Standards
Section 460:20-43-22 - Use of explosives: control of adverse effects

Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 460:20-43-22

Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024

(a) General requirements. Blasting shall be conducted to prevent injury to persons, damage to public or private property outside the permit area, adverse impacts on any underground mine, and change in the course, channel, or availability of surface or ground water outside the permit area.

(b) Airblast.

(1) Limits.
(A) Airblast shall not exceed the maximum limits listed below at the location of any dwelling, public building, school, church, or community or institutional building outside the permit area, except as provided in Subsection (e) of this Section.

Lower frequency limit Maximum level,of measuring system, in dB in Hz (+/-3 dB)
__________________________________
0.1 Hz or lower-flat response1 134 peak.
2 Hz or lower-flat response 133 peak.
6 Hz or lower-flat response 129 peak.
C-weighted-slow response n1 105 peak dBC.
1Only when approved by the Department.

(B) If necessary to prevent damage, the Department shall specify lower maximum allowable airblast levels than those of (b) (1) (A) of this Section for use in the vicinity of a specific blasting operation.

(2) Monitoring.
(A) The operator shall conduct periodic monitoring to ensure compliance with the airblast standards. The Department may require airblast measurement of any or all blasts and may specify the locations at which such measurements are taken.

(B) The measuring systems shall have an upper-end flat-frequency response of at least 200 Mz.

(c) Flyrock. Flyrock travelling in the air or along the ground shall not be cast from the blasting site:

(1) More than one-half the distance to the nearest dwelling or other occupied structure;

(2) Beyond the area of control required under Section 460:20-43-21(c); or

(3) Beyond the permit boundary.

(d) Ground vibration.

(1) General. In all blasting operations, except as otherwise authorized in Subsection(e) of this Section, the maximum ground vibration shall not exceed the values approved in the blasting plan required under Section 460:20-27-6 of this Chapter. The maximum ground vibration for protected structures listed in (d) (2) (A) of this Section shall be established in accordance with either the maximum peak-particle-velocity limits of (d) (2) of this Section, the scaled-distance equation of (d) (3) of this Section, the blasting-level chart of Paragraph(d) (4), or by the Department under (d) (5) of this Section. All structures in the vicinity of the blasting area, not listed in (d) (2) (A) of this Section, such as water towers, pipelines and other utilities, tunnels, dams, impoundments, and underground mines, shall be protected from damage by establishment of a maximum allowable limit on the ground vibration, submitted by the operator in the blasting plan and approved by the Department.

(2) Maximum peak particle velocity.
(A) The maximum ground vibration shall not exceed the following limits at the location of any dwelling, public building, school, church, or community or institutional building outside the permit area:

Distance (D) Maximum Scaled-from the blasting allowable distance site, in feet peak factor to be particle applied velocity without (V max) for seismic ground monitoring2 vibration, (Ds) in inches/second1
0 to 300 1.25 50
301 to 5,000 1.00 55
5,001 and beyond 0.75 65
1Ground vibration shall be measured as the particle velocity. Particle velocity shall be recorded in three mutually perpendicular directions. The maximum allowable peak particle velocity shall apply to each of the three measurements.
2Applicable to the scaled-distance equation of (d) (3) (A) of this Section.

(B) A seismographic record shall be provided for each blast.

(3) Scaled-distance equation.
(A) An operator may use the scaled-distance equation, W=(D/Ds)2, to determine the allowable charge weight of explosives to be detonated in any 8-millisecond period, without seismic monitoring; where W=the maximum weight of explosives, in pounds; D=the distance, in feet, from the blasting site to the nearest protected structure; and Ds=the scaled-distance factor, which may initially be approved by the Department using the values for scaled-distance factor listed in (d) (2) (A) of this Section.

(B) The development of a modified scaled-distance factor may be authorized by the Department on receipt of a written request by the operator, supported by seismographic records of blasting at the minesite. The modified scale-distance factor shall be determined such that the particle velocity of the predicted ground vibration will not exceed the prescribed maximum allowable peak particle velocity of (d) (2) (A) of this Section, at a 95-percent confidence level.

(4) Blasting-level chart.
(A) An operator may use the ground-vibration limits in Appendix A of this Chapter to determine the maximum allowance ground vibration.

(B) If the Appendix limits are used, a seismographic record including both particle velocity and vibration- frequency levels shall be provided for each blast. The method for the analysis of the predominant frequency contained in the blasting records shall be approved by the Department before application of this alternative blasting criterion.

(5) The maximum allowable ground vibration shall be reduced by the Department beyond the limits otherwise provided by this Section, if determined necessary to provide damage protection.

(6) The Department may require an operator to conduct seismic monitoring of any or all blasts or may specify the location at which the measurements are taken and the degree of detail necessary in the measurement.

(e) The maximum airblast and ground-vibration standards of Subsection(b) and (d) of this Section shall not apply at the following locations:

(1) At structures owned by the permittee and not leased to another person.

(2) At structures owned by the permittee and leased to another person, if a written waiver by the lessee is submitted to the Department before blasting.

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