Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Agency 25 - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Chapter 130 - COAL SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION REGULATIONS
Part 816 - Permanent Program Performance Standards-Surface Mining Activities
Section 4VAC25-130-816.100 - Contemporaneous reclamation
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 25-130-816-100
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
(a) General. Reclamation efforts, including but not limited to backfilling, grading, topsoil replacement, and revegetation, on all land that is disturbed by surface mining activities shall occur as contemporaneously as practicable with mining operations, except when such mining operations are conducted in accordance with a variance for concurrent surface and underground mining activities issued under 4VAC25-130-785.18.
(b) Timing of backfilling and grading.
(1) Contour mining. Rough backfilling and
grading shall follow coal removal by not more than 60 days or 1,500 linear
feet. The division may grant additional time for rough backfilling and grading
if the permittee can demonstrate, through a detailed written analysis under
4VAC25-130-780.18(b)(3), that additional time is necessary.
(2) Open pit mining with thin overburden.
Rough backfilling and grading shall occur in accordance with the time schedule
approved by the division, on the basis of the materials submitted under
4VAC25-130-780.18(b)(3), which shall specifically establish in stated
increments the period between removal of coal and completion of backfilling and
grading.
(3) Area strip mining.
Rough backfilling and grading shall be completed within 180 days following coal
removal and shall not be more than four spoil ridges behind the pit being
worked, the spoil from the active pit being considered the first ridge. The
division may grant additional time for rough backfilling and grading if the
permittee can demonstrate, through a detailed written analysis under
4VAC25-130-780.18(b)(3), that additional time is necessary.
Statutory Authority
§§ 45.1-161.3 and 45.1-230 of the Code of Virginia.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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