Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Agency 25 - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Chapter 130 - COAL SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION REGULATIONS
Part 784 - Underground Mining Permit Applications-Minimum Requirements for Reclamation and Operation Plan
Section 4VAC25-130-784.22 - Geologic information
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 25-130-784-22
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 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 this chapter 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 4VAC25-130-784.20.
(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-
(i) The cross sections, maps, and plans
required by 4VAC25-130-783.25;
(ii)
The information obtained under Paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(3), and (c) of this
section; and
(iii) 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 outcrops 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:
(i) Logs showing the lithologic
characteristics including physical properties and thickness of each stratum and
location of ground water where occurring;
(ii) Chemical analyses identifying those
strata that may contain acid- or toxic-forming, or alkalinity-producing
materials and to determine their content except that the division may find that
the analysis for alkalinity-producing material is unnecessary; and
(iii) Chemical analysis of the coal seam for
acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the total sulfur and pyritic
sulfur, except that the division 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:
(i) 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;
(ii) 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;
(iii) Chemical analyses of
the coal seam for acid- or toxic-forming materials, including the total sulfur
and pyritic sulfur, except that the division may find that the analysis of
pyrite sulfur content is unnecessary; and
(iv) 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 division may require the collection, analysis and description of geologic information in addition to that required by Paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) An applicant may request the division to waive in whole or in part the requirements of Paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section. The waiver may be granted only if the division finds in writing that the collection and analysis of such data is unnecessary because other information having equal value or effect is available to the division in a satisfactory form.
Statutory Authority
§§ 45.1-161.3 and 45.1-230 of the Code of Virginia.
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