RELATES TO:
KRS
350.010(2),
350.240,
350.300
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS Chapter 350 in
pertinent part, requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations
pertaining to noncoal mineral operations to minimize their adverse effects on
the citizens and the environment of the Commonwealth. This administrative
regulation sets forth general provisions and specifications for constructing
haul roads and access roads for noncoal mineral operations.
Section 1. General.
(1) Each mineral permittee shall design,
construct, utilize, and maintain roads and restore the area to meet the
requirements of this administrative regulation and to control or minimize
erosion and siltation, air and water pollution, and to prevent damage to public
or private property.
(2) To the
extent possible using the best technology currently available, roads shall not
cause damage to fish, wildlife, and related environmental values and shall not
cause additional contributions of suspended solids to streamflow or to run-off
outside the permit area. Any additional contributions shall not be in excess of
limitations of state or federal law.
(3) The design of roads shall be certified by
a qualified registered professional engineer as being in accordance with
specifications of this administrative regulation, except to the extent that
alternative specifications are used. Alternative specifications may be used
only after approval by the cabinet upon a demonstration by a qualified
registered professional engineer that they will result in performance, with
regard to safety, stability and environmental protection, equal to or better
than, that resulting from roads complying with the specifications of this
administrative regulation.
(4) Use
of a preexisting private road, or any portion thereof by the mineral operator
requires:
(a) That the road be kept open and
in a condition that local traffic can use it without damage to their means of
transportation.
(b) That if any
disturbance by the mineral operator makes the road impassable, a detour of
comparable usability shall be provided.
(5) No part of any road shall be located in
the channel of an intermittent or perennial stream unless specifically approved
by the cabinet for stream crossings.
(6) Stream fords are prohibited unless they
are specifically approved by the cabinet as temporary routes during periods of
construction. The fords shall not adversely affect stream sedimentation or
fish, wildlife, and related environmental values. All other stream crossings
shall be made using bridges, culverts, or other structures designed,
constructed, and maintained to meet the requirements of Section 4 of this
administrative regulation.
(7)
Access roads, haul roads, and any yard areas or parking areas shall be
maintained with proper surface materials to prevent erosion.
(8) The deposition of mud and other debris on
public roads shall be minimized to the extent possible in order to prevent
public nuisance.
Section
2. Specifications for Access and Haul Roads.
(1) The grade of an access road shall be such
that:
(a) There shall be no more than 400 feet
of grade exceeding ten (10) percent.
(b) The maximum grade shall not exceed
fifteen (15) percent for 300 feet.
(c) There shall not be more than 300 feet of
maximum grade for each consecutive 1,000 feet of road constructed.
(d) All grades referred to in this subsection
shall be subject to a tolerance of two (2) percent grade.
(2) Appropriate drainage control shall be
provided for access and haul roads conforming to the following stipulations:
(a) A ditch shall be provided on both sides
of a throughcut, and on the inside shoulder of a cut-fill section, with ditch
relief cross drains being spaced according to grade.
(b) Water shall be intercepted before
reaching a switch back or large fill and be led off.
(c) Water on a fill or switch back shall be
released below the fill, not over it.
(d) Ditch relief structures shall be
installed, where possible, according to Appendix A of this administrative
regulation which represents spacing in terms of percent of ditch line grade on
the basis of 100 square inch openings per culvert.
(3) Cut slopes shall not be steeper than
specifically authorized by the cabinet, and shall not be steeper than 1v:1.5H
in unconsolidated materials or 1v:0.25h in rock, except that steeper slopes may
be specifically authorized by the cabinet if geotechnical analysis demonstrates
that a minimum safety factor of one and five-tenths (1.5) can be
maintained.
(4) Embankment slopes
shall not be steeper than 1v:2H, except where the embankment material is a
minimum of eighty-five (85) percent rock. Slopes with eighty-five (85) percent
rock shall not be steeper than 1v:1.35H.
(5) If a berm is produced in skimming the
road, it shall not be left on the ditch side.
(6) Access roads shall not be surfaced with
any acid-forming or toxic-forming material, the surface being that part of the
road exposed to the elements of wind, rain, and sun.
(7) No bridges, culverts, stream crossings,
or similar structures, shall be removed until the reclamation is
completed.
(8) When an access road
is to be abandoned, surface drainage and vegetative cover shall be provided to
minimize erosion.
(a) Regardless of the future
use of the road, adequate surface drainage shall be provided.
(b) A road will be considered to be abandoned
when the mineral operator has ceased to use the road and has not turned the
road over to another party for his use.
(c) When adequate surface drainage and
vegetative cover has been provided, the mineral operator shall be relieved of
all further obligations in maintaining the road.
(9) All measurements referred to in this
section, including grade limitations, shall be subject to a tolerance of plus
or minus five (5) percent of measurement.
(10) Typical section showing width of road
cut, fill slopes, surface material of road, a center line profile with grades,
pipe location and size, shall be included in the permit application.
Appendix A of 405 KAR
5:040
|
Ditch Line Gradient
(Percent)
|
Spacing Of Culverts (Feet)
(shall not exceed)
|
2
|
600
|
3
|
500
|
4
|
400
|
5
|
320
|
6
|
275
|