SECTION 12.368. Coal Processing Waste Banks: General Requirements

(a) All coal processing waste shall be hauled or conveyed and placed in new and existing disposal areas approved by the Commission for this purpose. These areas shall be within a permit area. The disposal area shall be designed, constructed, and maintained:

(1) in accordance with §§12.363 and 12.364 of this title (relating to Disposal of Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and Disposal of Excess Spoil: Valley Fills), this section, and §§12.369-12.374 of this title (relating to Coal Processing Waste Banks: Site Inspection, to Coal Processing Waste Banks: Water Control Measures, to Coal Processing Waste Banks: Construction Requirements, to Coal Processing Waste: Burning, to Coal Processing Waste: Burned Waste Utilization, and to Coal Processing Waste: Return to Underground Workings); and

(2) to prevent combustion.

(b) Coal processing waste materials from activities located outside a permit area, such as those activities at other mines or abandoned mine waste piles may be disposed of in the permit area only if approved by the Commission. Approval shall be based on the showing by the person who conducts surface mining activities in the permit area, using hydrologic, geotechnical, physical, and chemical analyses, that disposal of these materials does not:

(1) adversely affect water quality, water flow, or vegetation;

(2) create public health hazards; or

(3) cause instability in the disposal areas.

(c) The disposal facility shall be designed using current, prudent engineering practices and shall meet any design criteria established by the Commission. A qualified professional engineer, experienced in the design of similar earth and waste structures, shall certify the design of the disposal facility.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.368 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093; amended to be effective December 28, 2020, 45 TexReg 9503