Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 100-199 - Environmental Protection General
Chapter NR 182 - Nonferrous Metallic Mineral Mining Waste Management
Section NR 182.106 - Minimum design and operation requirements

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง NR 182.106

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) An operator shall locate, design, construct, and operate a waste site or facility approved and licensed by the department under this chapter to meet all of the following requirements:

(a) Comply with water quality standards issued under s. 281.15, Stats.

(b) Comply with standards promulgated pursuant to s. 283.21(1), Stats.

(c) Comply with ch. 283, Stats., if the facility has a storm water discharge or a point source discharge to the waters of the state, including any point source discharge from a leachate or surface water runoff collection system.

(d) Have the approval of the municipal authority for a point source discharge regulated under ch. 283, Stats., if the facility discharges to a publicly owned treatment works.

(e) Prevent air emissions from such site or facility from causing a violation of standards or rules promulgated under ch. 285, Stats.

(f) Ensure consistency with the requirements of ch. 293, Stats., chs. NR 131 and 132, and all permits and plans approved under those rules.

(2) In addition to all other requirements of this chapter, no person may construct, establish, operate, or maintain a waste site except in conformance with the conditions attached to the feasibility approval pursuant to the hearing under s. 293.43, Stats., the approved plan of operation, and all of the following requirements:

(a) An operator may not deposit waste in a manner that the waste or leaching therefrom will result in a violation of any groundwater standard or surface water quality criteria or standards as specified in chs. NR 102 to 104 or in this chapter.

(b) An operator shall divert surface water drainage away from and off the active fill area and treat as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable water quality standards and criteria.

(c) An operator shall restrict access to the site or facility, particularly the active disposal area, through the use of fencing, natural barriers, or other methods approved by the department.

(d) An operator shall make the entire perimeter of the active disposal site accessible for inspection and appropriate heavy equipment and other vehicular access required for emergency maintenance.

(e) An operator shall strip any area to be utilized for the disposal of mining waste or borrow areas of all topsoil to ensure that adequate amounts are available for closure or other measures approved by the department to protect topsoil. An operator shall consider environmental and reclamation factors, unless the department determines that such action will be environmentally undesirable.

(f) An operator shall use effective means to control dust resulting from the site or facility as under s. NR 415.04.

(g) An operator shall abandon all soil borings and monitoring wells in accordance with the requirements of ch. NR 141.

(h) An operator shall make provisions for back-up equipment in the event of critical operating equipment breakdown.

(i) An operator shall include contingencies for emergency conditions in design and operation specifications for mining waste facilities. Such contingencies may include emergency power supplies, equipment redundancies, or temporary holding facilities.

(j) An operator shall ensure that any mining waste facility designed with a liner or situated in sufficiently low permeability soils to either partially or totally contain leachate are designed with a leachate management system that can effectively remove leachate, prevent surface seeps, and promote adequate settlement to permit final reclamation.

(k) An operator may dispose or store only waste types and sources listed on the license or otherwise approved by the department in writing, in an approved mining waste facility.

(l) An operator shall maintain the final slopes of a closed mining waste site to be no less than 2 percent and no greater than 33 percent unless the site or facility is specifically designed for a final use compatible with other slopes.

(m) An operator shall ensure that all sites have a final cover designed to minimize infiltration and subsequent leachate production unless the department approves an alternate cover in the reclamation plan or unless the department determines that such cover is not necessary to comply with the environmental standards of this chapter.

(n) An operator shall make provisions for the collection and treatment of leachate for all sites designed to contain leachate.

(o) An operator shall locate, design, construct, and operate a waste site so that any liner system or naturally occurring soil barrier is compatible with all disposed or stored mining waste.

(p) An operator shall ensure that tailings impoundments and other water-holding facilities constructed as part of the mining waste site are designed to contain the 100-year, 24-hour rainfall event and to prevent overtopping by waves during this design storm, or designed to contain the 100-year, 24-hour rainfall event and maintain a minimum of 5 feet of freeboard. The size of the storm event shall be determined based on current rainfall probability data, including models or forecasts, approved by the department for this purpose.

(q) An operator shall select and design drainage or filter bed material to promote drainage, reduce the potential for piping, and be stable under leaching conditions.

(r) An operator shall ensure that material used in earth embankments or drainage or filter bed material is free, to the extent practicable, of vegetation, organic soils, frozen soils, and other extraneous matter that could affect the compactibility, density, permeability, or shear strength of the finished embankment.

(s) An operator shall compact embankment materials or drainage or filter bed materials to 95 percent of the maximum dry density as determined by the standard proctor compaction test or to a greater density as dictated by the embankment height. The material shall be compacted in lifts of 6 to 8 inches in thickness. If waste rock is approved by the department for use outside an earth core, compaction and crushing of such waste rock may not be necessary if the applicant demonstrates that stable slopes can be constructed and maintained without compaction and crushing of the waste rock.

(t) An operator shall provide emergency spill areas along the tailings pipeline corridor to allow for draining the pipeline, if necessary, in case of power interruptions or pipeline failure. Tailings pipelines should be self-draining to the tailings area or to an emergency spill area or both. In some cases, such as a long pipeline over rough country, the department may require several spill areas to be provided.

(3) An operator shall design and operate mining waste facilities to ensure management of stormwater in a manner that minimizes uncontrolled releases and adverse environmental impacts. Provisions for stormwater management shall incorporate all of the following:

(a) An operator shall design storm water drainage ditches, structures, and sedimentation basins such that the construction of these items shall occur during the initial stage of construction to control runoff and limit entrained sediment from reaching surface water bodies.

(b) An operator shall incorporate all of the following concepts in the design of both temporary and permanent erosion and sediment control measures:
1. Schedule grading and construction to minimize soil exposure.

2. Retain existing vegetation whenever feasible.

3. Vegetate and mulch disturbed areas.

4. Divert runoff away from disturbed areas and active fill areas.

5. Minimize runoff velocities.

6. Prepare drainageways and outlets to handle concentrated or increased runoff.

7. Trap sediment on site.

8. Inspect and maintain runoff control structures.

(c) An operator shall perform the design calculations required in pars. (d), (e), and (f) for the period in the mining waste facility's development during which the combination of surface conditions and contributing acreage would result in the greatest runoff volume.

(d) An operator shall design all permanent storm water drainage ditches, sedimentation or retention ponds, swales, conveyance channels, channel linings, outlet protection, culverts, and other storm water control structures handling flow onto or off the mining waste facility to accommodate peak flow rates from a 100 year, 24-hour storm event. The size of the storm event shall be determined based on current rainfall probability data, including models or forecasts, approved by the department for this purpose.

(e) An operator shall design temporary and permanent sediment control measures to settle 0.015 mm size particles for all storms up to, and including, the 25 year, 24-hour storm. The surface area for permanent sediment basins shall be calculated using the rainfall intensity over the 25 year, 24-hour storm event for the mining waste facility. Principal spillways, and outlet protection for sediment basins shall be designed to pass a 100 year, 24-hour storm event. Emergency spillways for sedimentation basins shall be designed to pass a 100 year, 24-hour storm event. The size of the storm event shall be determined based on current rainfall probability data, including models or forecasts, approved by the department for this purpose. The design of the dewatering structures for sediment basins shall be selected such that the basin is dewatered in no less than 3 days. An analysis shall be performed to document compliance with this requirement.

(f) An operator shall design containment berms placed around active fill areas to control and collect the liquid volume resulting from the 100 year, 24-hour storm event. The design shall consider the volume of liquid generated from active fill areas, including all areas with exposed solid waste or areas with waste covered by daily cover. The size of the storm event shall be determined based on current rainfall probability data, including models or forecasts, approved by the department for this purpose. Storm water in contact with active fill areas shall be handled and treated as leachate.

(g) An operator shall divert storm water away from the active fill area of the mining waste facility and any borrow areas to a sedimentation control structure.

(h) An operator shall ensure that storm water drainage ditches, structures, and sedimentation basins discharge along existing drainage patterns capable of accepting the anticipated flow volume. An operator shall perform an analysis to determine the amount and velocity of runoff prior to mining waste facility development and to document compliance with this requirement.

(i) An operator shall design storm water diversion and construction at a mining waste facility to minimize impacts, such as erosion, sedimentation, and flooding.

(j) An operator shall ensure that the design of all storm water management features complies with all applicable requirements of the department including ch. NR 103 and permits required under ch. 30, Stats.

(4) An applicant shall consider the following parameters and concepts when planning, designing, constructing, and operating a mill and a mining waste facility, the application of which shall be dependent on the specific design, the nature of the waste, the composition of any leachate associated with the waste, and the hydrogeologic conditions existing at the disposal site:

(a) When practicable, on a site-specific basis, an operator shall ensure that a mining waste facility is located in the same watershed as the mining surface facilities.

(b) When practicable, on a site-specific basis, an operator shall ensure that a mining waste facility is located so that tailings pipelines do not cross any major watercourse or pass through any wetland where such crossing would be inconsistent with s. 281.36, Stats. Tailings pipelines shall be as short as practicable.

(c) An operator shall minimize upstream rainfall catchment areas.

(d) An operator shall ensure that the outside crest of the dam or embankment is higher than the inside crest in order to force runoff on the crest to the inside of the dam.

(e) When practicable, an operator shall ensure that the design of a mining waste disposal facility facilitates and incorporates ongoing or staged reclamation.

(f) An operator shall market mining wastes that are not used for construction or reclamation purposes and that present a significant risk of environmental pollution subject to all of the following requirements:
1. An operator shall ensure that the products and by-products of such marketing will not result in a greater potential for environmental pollution.

2. An operator shall ensure that a market for a particular waste is reasonably available.

3. An operator shall ensure that the costs for disposing of such waste exceeds the costs for its marketing.

(g) An operator shall minimize, in the disposal of mining waste, the discharge of environmental pollutants to the groundwaters of the state.

(5) The applicant shall give high priority to the selection of a design and operating procedure for the mine, mill, and mining waste disposal sites that will provide for the reclamation of all disturbed sites and minimize the risk of environmental pollution. When practicable, an applicant shall select facilities and practices to ensure any of the following:

(a) Minimize production of mining waste through the design and operation of the mining facility.

(b) Provide for the segregation of acid-generating wastes from those materials that are not acid-generating waste.

(c) Provide for eventual underground backfill of waste, in the event of underground mining, with emphasis on segregated acid-generating materials.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wisconsin 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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