Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Access road" means a road designed and
constructed to gain access from a public road to the mineral
operation.
(2) "Acid drainage"
means water with a pH of less than six (6.0) and in which total acidity exceeds
total alkalinity, discharge from an active, inactive or abandoned mine or from
an area affected by a mineral operation.
(3) "Acidforming materials" means earth
materials or rock that contain sulfide minerals or other minerals which, if
exposed to air, water, or weathering processes, form acids that may create acid
drainage.
(4) "Affected area" means
any land area which is used to facilitate, or is physically altered by strip
mining; surface disturbance from an underground mine; surface disturbance from
dredging operations; any area covered by dams, ventilation shafts, entryways,
refuse banks, dumps, stockpiles, overburden piles, holes or depressions, repair
areas, roads, storage areas, shipping areas, and processing plants.
(5) "Backfill" means excavated overburden
material used to regrade a mined area.
(6) "Cabinet" is defined in
KRS
350.010(10).
(7) "Check dam" means a small structure
placed in ditches, usually constructed of rock, intended to reduce runoff
velocity for deterring erosion.
(8)
"Clay" means a natural substance or soft rock which, when finely ground and
mixed with water, forms a pasty, moldable mass that preserves its shape when
air dried; the particles soften and coalesce upon being highly heated and form
a stony mass upon cooling.
(9)
"Compaction" means the reduction of pore spaces among the particles of soil or
rock generally as a result of running heavy equipment over the
materials.
(10) "Cropland" means
land used for the production of adapted crops for harvest alone or in rotation
with grasses or legumes, and includes: row crops, small grain crops, hay crops,
nursery crops, orchard crops and other similar specialty crops. Land used for
facilities in support of cropland farming operations which is adjacent to, or
an integral part of, these operations is also included for purposes of this
land use category.
(11)
"Department" means the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources.
(12) "Disturbed area" means an area where
vegetation, topsoil, or overburden is removed or upon which topsoil, spoil,
mineral processing waste, underground development waste or similar waste is
placed by mining activities. The disturbed area also includes those areas in
which diversion ditches, sedimentation ponds, roads, or other features related
to a mineral operation, are installed. Those areas are classified as
"disturbed" until reclamation is complete, bond monies or permit have been
released, and processing plant and stockpile areas have been moved.
(13) "Diversion ditch" means a channel
constructed to direct water from one location to another.
(14) "Division" means the Division of Mine
Reclamation and Enforcement.
(15)
"Dolomite" means a sedimentary rock composed primarily of the crystalline
carbonate mineral dolomite, CaMg (CO3)2. Many limestones contain small amounts
of dolomite; however, the term dolomite is reserved for rocks which contain
fifteen (15) percent or more magnesium carbonate.
(16) "Dredging operation" means surface
disturbance of dredging river or creek sand and gravel.
(17) "Edge" means the area where two (2)
habitats meet.
(18) "Edge effect"
means the phenomena by which wildlife is enhanced and wildlife diversity is
typically increased as a result of two (2) or more different habitat types
occurring in close proximity to each other.
(19) "Embankment" means an artificial deposit
of material that is raised above the natural surface of land and used to
contain, divert, or store water, support roads or railways, or other similar
purposes.
(20) "Ephemeral stream"
means a stream which only flows in direct response to precipitation in the
immediate watershed, or in response to the melting of a cover of snow and ice,
and that has a channel bottom that is always above the local water
table.
(21) "Erosion" means the
detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice, or
gravity.
(22) "Fish and wildlife
land use" means an area which is characterized by an intermixed combination of
habitat types including: woodlots or forested areas, shrub scrub areas, grass
legume or open areas, and wetland or open water areas arranged in a manner as
to promote edge effect for wildlife.
(23) "Floodplain" means the area along,
adjacent to and including, a stream which is inundated by a 100 year frequency
flood.
(24) "Fluorspar" means an
ore of the mineral Fluorite CaF2.
(25) "Forest land" means lands dominated by
canopy forming trees, or from a postmining land use standpoint, areas planted
throughout with trees.
(26)
"General permit" means any KPDES permit authorizing a category of discharges
under KRS Chapter 224 within a geographical area, issued under
401
KAR 5:055.
(27) "Gravel" means a sedimentary rock type
that implies a loosely, compacted, coarse sediment that is generally larger
than 4mm, but smaller than boulders; a naturally occurring aggregate.
(28) "Ground cover" means the area of ground
covered by the combined aerial parts of live vegetation and the litter produced
and distributed naturally and seasonally on site, expressed as a percentage of
the total area of measurement.
(29)
"Ground water" means water which is:
(a) In
the zone of saturation or any subterranean waters flowing in welldefined
channels and having a demonstrable hydrologic connection with the surface;
and
(b) Differentiated from water
held in the soil, from water in downward motion under the force of gravity in
the unsaturated zone, and from water held in chemical or electrostatic
bondage.
(30) "Growing
season" means the period during a one (1) year cycle, from the last killing
frost in spring to the first killing frost in fall, in which climatic
conditions are favorable for plant growth. In Kentucky, this period normally
extends from mid-April to mid-October.
(31) "Highwall" means the face of exposed
overburden and mineral to be mined, in an open cut of a strip mine or for entry
to an underground mine.
(32)
"Hollowfill" means a fill structure placed in a hollow where the side slopes of
the existing hollow, measured at the steepest point, are greater than twenty
(20) degrees or the average slope of the profile of the hollow, from the toe of
the fill to the top of the fill, is greater than ten (10) degrees.
(33) "Imminent danger to the health and
safety of the public" means the existence of any condition, or practice, or any
violation of a permit or other requirement of KRS Chapters 350 through 353;
which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial, physical harm to
persons outside the permit area before the condition, practice, or violation
can be abated. A reasonable expectation of death or serious injury before
abatement exists if a rational person, subjected to the same condition or
practice giving rise to the peril, would avoid exposure to the danger during
the time necessary for the abatement.
(34) "Impoundment" means a closed basin
formed naturally or artificially built, which is dammed or excavated for the
retention of water, sediment, or waste.
(35) "Industrial/commercial land use" means
lands used for:
(a)
1. The extraction or transformation of
materials, for fabrication of products, wholesaling of products or for long
term storage of products;
2. Heavy
and light manufacturing facilities; or
3. Land used for facilities in support of
these operations, which is adjacent to, or an integral part of, that operation;
or
(b)
1. The retail or trade of goods or services,
including: hotels, motels, stores, restaurants, and other commercial
establishments; or
2. Land used for
facilities in support of these operations, which is adjacent to, or an integral
part of, that operation.
(36) "Intermittent stream" means a stream or
reach of stream that:
(a) Drains a watershed
of one (1) square mile or more but does not flow continuously throughout the
calendar year; or
(b) Is below the
local water table for at least some part of the year, and obtains its flow from
both surface water and ground water discharge. This term does not include
ephemeral streams.
(37)
"Land use" means the specific functions, uses, or management related activities
of the proposed permit area, including both premining use and postmining
use.
(38) "Limestone" means a
crystalline sedimentary rock that is primarily composed of the mineral calcite
CaCO3. However, it may be considered as any sedimentary rock composed
essentially of carbonates, chiefly calcite or dolomite, but may contain small
amounts of iron-carbonates (siderite).
(39) "Mast" means nuts, acorns, and fruit
produced by certain woody plant species.
(40) "Mineral operation" means noncoal mining
activities including: mining of limestone and dolomite; mining of sand and
gravel; surface disturbance of dredging of river or creek sand and gravel;
mining of clay; mining of tar sand or rock asphalt; mining of fluorspar and
other vein minerals. Mineral operations include the surface disturbance of
underground mining as well as strip mining. This term includes mining
activities and all activities necessary and incident to the reclamation of the
mine or dredging operation as required by this title. This term does not
include coal mining or oil shale mining.
(41) "Mineral operator" means any person,
partnership, or corporation engaged in mineral operations.
(42) "Mineral permittee" means a mineral
operator or person holding a permit, or required under KRS Chapter 350 or 405
KAR Chapter 5, to hold a permit to conduct mineral operations during the permit
term and until all reclamation obligations imposed by KRS Chapter 350 and 405
KAR Chapter 5 are satisfied.
(43)
"Natural drainways" means ephemeral areas, gullies, ravines, streams, and
similar topographical features occurring naturally in an area which control the
direction of surface water flow.
(44) "Natural hazard lands" means geographic
areas in which natural conditions exist that pose or, as a result of mineral
operations, may pose a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of people,
property, or the environment, including, areas subject to landslides, caveins,
subsidence, substantial erosion, unstable geology, or frequent
flooding.
(45) "Noxious plants"
means species that have been included on state and federal lists of noxious
plants.
(46) "Outslope" means the
face of the spoil, natural ground, or embankment sloping downward from the
highest elevation to the lowest elevation.
(47) "Outstanding resource waters" means
surface waters designated by the cabinet, pursuant to
401 KAR
10:031.
(48) "Pastureland" means land used primarily
for the long term production of adapted, domesticated, forage plants to be
grazed by livestock or occasionally cut and cured for livestock feed. Land used
for facilities in support of pastureland which is adjacent to, or an integral
part of, these operations is also included.
(49) "Perennial stream" means a stream, or
stream reach, that flows continuously during all of the calendar year as a
result of ground water discharge or surface runoff.
(50) "Permanent impoundment" means an
impounded body of water, that is formed in the pit during mining or retained by
a constructed embankment or dugout, which will be retained after mineral
operations are complete and which has been approved for retention by the
cabinet and other appropriate Kentucky and federal agencies.
(51) "Permit" means written approval issued
by the cabinet to conduct mineral operations.
(52) "Permit area" means the area of land and
water within boundaries designated in the approved permit application that
includes all areas which are or will be affected by mineral operations under
that permit.
(53) "pH" means the
index used to describe the hydrogen ion activity of a system defined as the
reciprocal of the logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration at base ten (10).
The range of this index is zero to fourteen (14), with seven (7) being
neutral.
(54) "PLS" means pure live
seed.
(56) "Recreation land use" means land used
for public or private leisure time use, including developed recreation
facilities including, parks, camps, and amusement areas, as well as areas for
less intensive uses including, hiking, canoeing, and other undeveloped
recreational uses.
(57)
"Residential land use" means tracts employed for single and multifamily
housing, mobile home parks, and other residential lodgings. Also included, is
land used for support facilities such as, vehicle parking, open space, and
other facilities which directly relate to the residential use of the
land.
(58) "Roads"
(a) Means haul roads and access roads
constructed, used, reconstructed, improved, or maintained within permit
boundaries.
(b) Does not mean any
roadways located in the mining pit area.
(59) "Runoff" means precipitation that flows
overland before entering a defined stream channel and becoming stream
flow.
(60) "Safety factor" means
the ratio of the available shear strength to the developed shear stress, or the
ratio of the sum of the resisting forces to the sum of the loading or driving
forces, as determined by engineering practices.
(61) "Sand" means a sedimentary rock type
that implies a loosely, compacted, fine sediment that is generally composed of
particles that range in size from 1/16mm to 2mm. Most sands are predominantly
composed of quartz grains or fragments of siliceous rocks.
(62) "Sediment" means undissolved organic and
inorganic material transported or deposited by water.
(63) "Sedimentation pond" means any natural
or artificial structure or depression used to remove sediment from water and
store sediment or other debris.
(64) "Significant, imminent environmental
harm to land, air, or water resources" means and environmental harm that:
(a) Has an adverse impact on land, air, or
water resources, including plant and animal life;
(b) Is imminent because a condition,
practice, or violation exists, which:
1. Is
causing the harm; or
2. May be
reasonably expected to cause the harm at any time before the end of the
reasonable abatement time; and
(c) Is significant because the harm is:
1. Appreciable; and
2. Not immediately reparable.
(65) "Slope" means
average inclination of a surface, measured from the horizontal, generally
expressed as the ratio of a unit of vertical distance to a given number of
units of horizontal distance. It may also be expressed as a percent or in
degrees.
(66) "Soil horizons" means
contrasting layers of soil parallel, or nearly parallel to, the land surface
and that:
(a) Are differentiated on the basis
of field characteristics and laboratory data; and
(b) Include the following four (4) master
soil horizons:
1. "A horizon" or "surface
soil," which consists of the uppermost mineral layer of soil where the:
a. Organic matter is most abundant;
and
b. Leaching of soluble or
suspended particles is typically the greatest;
2. "E horizon," which is the layer commonly
near the surface below the A horizon and above the B horizon and is most
commonly differentiated from the:
a. A horizon
by a lighter color and, in general measurably less organic matter.
b. B horizon in the same sequence by color of
higher value or lower chroma, by a courser texture, or by a combination of
these properties;
3. "B
horizon" or "subsoil," which is the middle layer immediately below the E
horizon and commonly contains more clay, iron, or aluminum than the A, E, or C
horizons; and
4. "C horizon," which
is the deepest layer of the soil profile and consists of loose material or
weathered rock that is relatively unaffected by biological activity.
(67) "Spoil" means
overburden which has been removed during mineral operations.
(68) "Stabilize" means any method used to
prevent movement of soil, spoil piles, or areas of disturbed earth, and
includes increasing bearing capacity, increasing shear strength, draining,
compacting, riprapping, or by vegetation.
(69) "Stream buffer zone" means an area of
forest or field left untouched and undisturbed by the mineral operator during
mining, including haul road construction.
(70) "Strip mining" is defined in
KRS
350.010(2).
(71) "Surface disturbance of dredging river
or creek sand and gravel" means the surface and land disturbed on the banks of
a creek or river for haul roads, storage areas, processing areas, maintenance
and repair areas, or any other disturbance to the banks and land created by the
dredging of sand and gravel out of rivers or creeks.
(72) "Surface disturbance of underground
mining" means above ground activities incidental to subsurface mineral
extraction or in situ processing, including construction, use, maintenance, and
reclamation of roads; above-ground repair areas, storage areas, processing
areas, and shipping areas; areas upon which are sited support facilities
including, hoist and ventilating ducts, areas used for the disposal and storage
of waste, and areas on which materials incidental to underground mining
activities are placed.
(73)
"Surface waters" means those waters having well defined banks and beds, either
constantly or intermittently flowing; lakes and impounded waters; and marshes
and wetlands. Effluent ditches and lagoons used for waste treatment which are
situated on property owned, leased, or under valid easement by a permitted
discharger, are not considered to be surface waters of the
commonwealth.
(74) "Suspended
solids" means organic or inorganic materials carried or held in suspension in
water that will remain on a 0.45 micron filter.
(75) "Tar sand or rock asphalt" means a
porous, consolidated or unconsolidated sand or sandstone whose interstices
contain asphalt or bitumen.
(76)
"Temporary mineral operation" means a mineral operation that operates for a
total of six (6) months or less at a location.
(77) "Topsoil" means the A and E horizon
layers of the four (4) master soil horizons.
(78) "Toxic forming materials" means earth
materials or wastes which, if acted upon by air, water, weathering, or
microbiological processes, are likely to produce chemical or physical
conditions in soils or water that are detrimental to biota or uses of
water.
(79) "Waste" means materials
which are washed, (otherwise separated or left from a mineral product)
slurried, or otherwise transported from the processing facilities or
preparation plants of any kind.
(80) "Water table" means the upper surface of
a zone of saturation, where the body of ground water is not confined by an
overlying impermeable zone.
(81)
"Water withdrawal permit" means the written approval issued by the cabinet
involving the actual removal or taking of water from any stream, water course,
or other body of public water pursuant to
KRS
151.140.
(82) "Wetland" means land that has a
predominance of hydric soils and that is inundated or saturated by surface or
ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
(a) "Hydric soil" means soil that, in its
undrained condition, is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the
growing season to develop an anaerobic condition (without oxygen) that supports
the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.
(b) "Hydrophytic vegetation" means a plant
growing in:
1. Water; or
2. A substance that is at least periodically
deficient in oxygen during a growing season as a result of excessive water
content.
(83)
"Wild river" means a water which has been designated as a wild river by the
General Assembly pursuant to
KRS
146.241. approved for filing.