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 4VAC25-130-816.116 - Revegetation; standards for success
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 25-130-816-116
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
(a) Success of revegetation shall be judged on the effectiveness of the vegetation for the approved postmining land use, the extent of cover compared to the cover occurring in natural vegetation of the area, and the general requirements of 4VAC25-130-816.111.
(1) Statistically valid sampling techniques
shall be used for measuring success.
(2) Ground cover, production, or stocking
shall be considered equal to the approved success standard when they are not
less than 90% of the success standard. The sampling techniques for measuring
success shall use a 90% statistical confidence interval (i.e., one-sided test
with a 0.10 alpha error). Sampling techniques for measuring woody plant
stocking, ground cover, and production shall be in accordance with techniques
approved by the division.
(b) Standards for success shall be applied in accordance with the approved postmining land use and, at a minimum, the following conditions:
(1) For areas developed
for use as grazing land or pasture land, the ground cover and production of
living plants on the revegetated area shall be at least equal to that of a
reference area or if approved by the division, a vegetative ground cover of 90%
for areas planted only in herbaceous species and productivity at least equal to
the productivity of the premining soils may be achieved. Premining productivity
shall be based upon data of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and
measured in such units as weight of material produced per acre or animal units
supported.
(2) For areas developed
for use as cropland, crop production on the revegetated area shall be at least
equal to that of a reference area or if approved by the division, crop yields
shall be at least equal to the yields for reference crops from unmined lands.
Reference crop yields shall be determined from the current yield records of
representative local farms in the surrounding area or from the average county
yields recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(3) For areas to be developed for fish and
wildlife habitat, undeveloped land, recreation, shelter belts, or forestry, the
stocking of woody plants must be at least equal to the rates specified in the
approved reclamation plan. To minimize competition with woody plants,
herbaceous ground cover should be limited to that necessary to control erosion
and support the postmining land use. Seed mixtures and seeding rates will be
specified in the approved reclamation plan. Such parameters are described as
follows:
(i) Minimum stocking and planting
arrangements shall be specified by the division on the basis of local and
regional conditions and after consultation with and approval by the state
agencies responsible for the administration of forestry and wildlife programs.
Consultation and approval may occur on either a program wide or a permit
specific basis.
(ii) Trees and
shrubs that will be used in determining the success of stocking and the
adequacy of the plant arrangement shall have utility for the approved
postmining land use. Trees and shrubs counted in determining such success shall
be healthy and have been in place for not less than two growing seasons. At the
time of bond release, at least 80% of the trees and shrubs used to determine
such success shall have been in place for at least three years. Root crown or
sprouts over one foot in height shall count as one toward meeting the stocking
requirements. Where multiple stems occur, only the tallest stem will be
counted.
(iii) Vegetative ground
cover shall not be less than that required to control erosion and achieve the
approved postmining land use.
(iv)
Where commercial forest land is the approved postmining land use:
(A) The area shall have a minimum stocking of
400 trees per acre.
(B) All
countable trees shall be commercial species and shall be well distributed over
each acre stocked.
(C)
Additionally, the area shall have an average of at least 40 wildlife
food-producing shrubs per acre. The shrubs shall be suitably located for
wildlife enhancement, and may be distributed or clustered.
(v) Where woody plants are used for wildlife
management, recreation, shelter belts, or forest uses other than commercial
forest land:
(A) The stocking of trees,
shrubs, half-shrubs and the ground cover established on the revegetated area
shall approximate the stocking and ground cover on the surrounding unmined area
and shall utilize local and regional recommendations regarding species
composition, spacing and planting arrangement;
(B) Areas planted only in herbaceous species
shall sustain a vegetative ground cover of 90%;
(C) Areas planted with a mixture of
herbaceous and woody species shall sustain a herbaceous vegetative ground cover
in accordance with guidance provided by the division and the approved forestry
reclamation plan and establish an average of 400 woody plants per acre. At
least 40 of the woody plants for each acre shall be wildlife food-producing
shrubs located suitably for wildlife enhancement, which may be distributed or
clustered on the area.
(4) For areas to be developed for industrial,
commercial, or residential use less than two years after regrading is
completed, the vegetative ground cover shall not be less than that required to
control erosion.
(5) For areas
previously disturbed by mining that were not reclaimed to the requirements of
this subchapter and that are remined or otherwise redisturbed by surface coal
mining operations, as a minimum, the vegetative ground cover shall be not less
than the ground cover existing before redisturbance, and shall be adequate to
control erosion.
(c)
(1) The period of extended responsibility for
successful revegetation shall begin after the last year of augmented seeding,
fertilizing, irrigation, or other work, excluding husbandry practices that are
approved by the division in accordance with subdivision (c)(3) of this
section.
(2) The period of
responsibility shall continue for a period of not less than:
(i) Five full years except as provided in
subdivision (c)(2)(ii) of this section. The vegetation parameters identified in
subsection (b) of this section for grazing land or pastureland and cropland
shall equal or exceed the approved success standard during the growing seasons
of any two years of the responsibility period, except the first year. Areas
approved for the other uses identified in subsection (b) of this section shall
equal or exceed the applicable success standard during the growing season of
the last year of the responsibility period.
(ii) Two full years for lands eligible for
remining. To the extent that the success standards are established by
subdivision (b)(5) of this section, the lands shall equal or exceed the
standards during the growing season of the last year of the responsibility
period.
(3) The division
may approve selective husbandry practices, excluding augmented seeding,
fertilization, or irrigation, without extending the period of responsibility
for revegetation success and bond liability, if such practices can be expected
to continue as part of the postmining land use or if discontinuance of the
practices after the liability period expires will not reduce the probability of
permanent revegetation success. Approved practices shall be normal conservation
practices within the region for unmined lands having land uses similar to the
approved postmining land use of the disturbed area, including such practices as
disease, pest, and vermin control; and any pruning, reseeding and/or
transplanting specifically necessitated by such actions.
Statutory Authority
§§ 45.1-161.3 and 45.1-230 of the Code of Virginia.
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