014.06.14 Ark. Code R. § 001

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Citation: 014.06.14 Ark. Code R. § 001
• Year: 2023

CHAPTER ONE :TITLE AND PURPOSE

Reg. 15.101 Title and Authority The following rules and regulations of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission are promulgated pursuant to the authority of the Arkansas Open-Cut Land Reclamation Act (Act 827 of 1991, as amended) and the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act (Act 472 of 1949, as amended) This Regulation shall be known as Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Regulation Number 15: Arkansas Open-Cut Mining and Land Reclamation" and may be referred to herein as "Regulation".

Reg. 15.102 Purpose It is the purpose of this Regulation to protect the public health, safety, and the environment during and after completion of open-cut or stream bed mining operations.

CHAPTER TWO :DEFINITIONS

Reg. 15.201 Definitions Definitions as used in this Regulation unless the context otherwise requires: "Act" means the Arkansas Open-Cut Land Reclamation Act; "Affected land" means the area of land where open-cut mining has been or is taking place or upon which spoil has been deposited, or any other surface disturbance including haul roads, processing and loading facilities, or appurtenances related to the mining operations on or after July 1, 1977, until the land is reclaimed; "Commercial purposes" means the sale of material from an open-cut mine as either a cash transaction, part of a contractual agreement involving payment for materials provided, or use in another process to create a product with value; "Commission" means the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC&EC), or such commission or other entity as may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of the Commission; "Contemporaneous Reclamation" means a mining method for a sand and gravel operation where the mining and reclamation of the mine site has been planned such that the reclamation of the mined areas takes place at intervals or stages as prescribed by the Department and defined in the permit. This mining method reduces the amount of land affected by mining at any given point in time and reduces reclamation costs through efficient management of resources; "Department" means the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality or such department or other entity which may lawfully succeed to the powers and duties of the Department; "Director" means the executive head and active administrator of the Department; "Final cut" means the last pit created in an open-cut mined area; "Highwall" means that side of the pit adjacent to unmined land; "Material" means any commodity or natural deposit mined or treated as spoil during open-cut mining operations; " Open-cut mining" means the surface extraction of clay bauxite, sand, gravel, soil, shale or other materials for commercial purposes "Operator" means any person engaged in or controlling an open-cut mining or stream channel mining operation; "Ordinary high water mark" means that line delimiting the bed from the bank and is found by ascertaining where the presence and actions of water are so usual and long, continuing in ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil of the bed a character distinct from that of the banks, with respect to vegetation and the nature of the soil; "Peak" means a projecting point of spoil created in the open-cut mining process; "Permit term" means the period of time beginning with the date upon which a permit is granted for open-cut mining of lands under the provisions of this act and ending on the date requested by the operator and specified by the Department, though not to exceed five (5) years; "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, company public or private corporation, cooperative, association, joint-stock company trust, estate, political subdivision or any agency, board, department or bureau of the state or any other legal entity whatever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties; "Pit" means a tract of land where open-cut mining is taking place; "Reclamation for productive use" means conditioning areas affected by open-cut mining to make them suitable for any uses or purposes consistent with those enumerated in the declaration of policy; "Ridge" means a lengthened elevation of spoil created in the open-cut mining process; "Right-of-way" means the portion of land over or under which certain facilities, including, but not limited to roadways, pipelines or power lines, are built; "Soil" means the unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of plants, generally free of boulders, cobbles or other floating rock; "Spoil" means all waste material and debris connected with open-cut mining and with the mechanical removal, cleaning and preparation of materials at the mine site; "Streambed" or "stream channel" means that area that lies between the lines delimiting the bed from the bank on each side of a creek, branch, or river. Due to the naturally high turbidity and flow rate of certain rivers, the provisions of this Regulation do not apply to the following rivers: Arkansas, Mississippi, Ouachita (Louisiana State line to Remmel Dam), Red, Little River (not including Lake Millwood), White, North Fork of White (Norfork Dam to White), Black and St. Francis (mouth to 36° parallel); and "Waterway" means the natural channel of any perennial or intermittent river, creek or stream.

CHAPTER THREE :PERMITTING

Reg. 15.301 Permit Required (A) It shall be unlawful for any operator to engage in open-cut mining without first obtaining all appropriate permits from the Department. (B) An operator shall be deemed to be engaged in open-cut mining from the time he or she affects any land, until all affected land has been reclaimed and released by the Department. (C) Operators desiring to remove gravel or other materials from stream beds must obtain a permit to do so from the Department.(1) The Department will not develop a general permit for the removal of gravel and other materials from stream beds. (2) There shall be no mining in streams designated as "extraordinary resource waters" of the State as established in water quality standards duly promulgated by the Commission for all surface waters of the State of Arkansas (APC&EC Regulation No. 2). Refer to APC&EC Regulation 2 to determine what streams and waterbodies are considered to be "extraordinary resource waters." (3) All stream gravel mining operations on streams designated as "extraordinary resource waters" after January 1, 1995 may continue to operate under a permit issued by the Department for a period of two (2) years from the date of such designation. At the end of said two-year period, all mining activities must be terminated and the affected area reclaimed in accordance with the operator's approved reclamation plan. (D) Previously mined and un-reclaimed land which is to become affected land during new open-cut mining operations must be permitted. (E) The Arkansas State Highway Department or its contractor shall not be required to obtain a permit for an open-cut mine where the material is used exclusively in the construction, reconstruction improvement or maintenance of roadways. Reclamation of the area shall conform to the provisions of the standard specifications for highway construction upon discontinuation of use of the pit for the above listed purposes. This exemption does not alleviate any obligations to obtain appropriate permits from the Department, including but not limited to short-term authorizations or water quality permits.(1) The occasional sale of material to the Highway Department by an operator does not exempt the operator from complying with the requirements of his or her permit, the Act or this Regulation. (2) In the event the reclamation requirements of the operator interfere with a contractual agreement with the Highway Department, the operator will be allowed to revise his or her reclamation plan and schedule of completion accordingly. However, any revision must be in compliance with the declaration of policy in the Act. (F) The following subdivisions apply to governmental units:(1) County and municipal governments shall not be required to obtain a permit for open-cut mining operations on lands outside of the channel of a waterway for which said government entity has established rights when the material is used for construction, reconstruction, improvement or maintenance of streets, roads, highways or other public projects.(a) The county or municipal government shall remove topsoil and spoil and store it on site. (b) Upon completion of mining, the site shall be graded such that no slope will be steeper than one foot (1') vertical to three feet (3') horizontal and the topsoil shall be respread and the site revegetated in a manner to prevent pollution of the waters of Arkansas. (2) An agent or employee of a county government or municipal government acting in his or her official capacity may remove gravel or other materials from any stream in order to protect the integrity of bridges or low water crossings of any public roadway without obtaining a permit. (3) A...