SECTION 12.535. Coal Mine Waste Banks: General Requirements

(a) All coal mine 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 §12.531 and §12.532 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Valley Fills), this section, and §§12.536-12.541 of this title (relating to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Site Inspection, to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Water-Control Measures, to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Construction Requirements, to Coal Mine Waste: Burning, to Coal Mine Waste: Burned-Waste Utilization, and to Coal Mine Waste: Return to Underground Workings); and

(2) to prevent combustion.

(b) Coal mine 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 a showing by the person who conducts underground mining activities in the permit area, using hydrologic, geologic, 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 §12.535 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093; amended to be effective November 4, 1997, 22 TexReg 10640; amended to be effective December 28, 2020, 45 TexReg 9503