Virginia Administrative Code
Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT
Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD
Chapter 151 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) GENERAL PERMIT REGULATION FOR DISCHARGES OF STORMWATER ASSOCIATED WITH INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Part IV - Sector Specific Permit Requirements
Section 9VAC25-151-160 - Sector H - Coal mines and coal mining-related facilities

A. Discharges covered under this section. The requirements listed under this section apply to stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from coal mining-related areas (SIC Major Group 12) if (i) they are not subject to effluent limitations guidelines under 40 CFR Part 434 or (ii) they are not subject to the standards of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) (30 USC § 1201 et seq.) and the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy's individual permit requirements.

The requirements of this section shall apply to stormwater discharges from coal mining-related activities exempt from SMCRA, including the public financed exemption, the 16-2/3% exemption, the private use exemption, the under 250 tons exemption, the nonincidental tipple exemption, and the exemption for coal piles and preparation plants associated with the end user. Stormwater discharges from the following portions of eligible coal mines and coal mining related facilities may be eligible for this permit: haul roads (nonpublic roads on which coal or coal refuse is conveyed), access roads (nonpublic roads providing light vehicular traffic within the facility property and to public roadways), railroad spurs, sidings, and internal haulage lines (rail lines used for hauling coal within the facility property and to off-site commercial railroad lines or loading areas); conveyor belts, chutes, and aerial tramway haulage areas (areas under and around coal or refuse conveyor areas, including transfer stations); and equipment storage and maintenance yards, coal handling buildings and structures, coal tipples, coal loading facilities, and inactive coal mines and related areas (abandoned and other inactive mines, refuse disposal sites, and other mining-related areas).

B. Special conditions. Prohibition of nonstormwater discharges. In addition to the general prohibition of nonstormwater discharges in Part I B 1, the following discharges are not covered by this permit: discharges from pollutant seeps or underground drainage from inactive coal mines and refuse disposal areas that do not result from precipitation events and discharges from floor drains in maintenance buildings and other similar drains in mining and preparation plant areas.

C. SWPPP requirements. In addition to the requirements of Part III, the SWPPP shall include at a minimum, the following items.

D. Inactive and unstaffed sites. Permittees in Sector H seeking to exercise a waiver from the quarterly visual monitoring and routine facility inspection requirements for inactive and unstaffed sites (including temporarily inactive sites) are conditionally exempt from the requirement to certify that "there are no industrial materials or activities exposed to stormwater" in Part I A 4.

This exemption is conditioned on the following:

E. Benchmark monitoring and reporting requirements. Coal mining facilities are required to monitor their stormwater discharges for the pollutants of concern listed in Table 160. There are no benchmark monitoring requirements for inactive and unstaffed sites that have received a waiver in accordance with Part I A 4 (Inactive and unstaffed sites).