N.D. Admin Code 69-05.2-08-05 - Permit applications - Permit area - Geology description

1. The description must include a general statement of the geology within the permit area down through the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the deepest coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined or any lower aquifer which may be adversely affected by mining.

2. Test borings or core samples from the permit area must be collected and analyzed down through the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined or any lower aquifer which may be adversely affected by mining. The minimum density is one drill hole per forty acres [16.19 hectares] or a comparable spacing, or as specified by the commission. Overburden samples must be taken at five-foot [1.52-meter] intervals and taken dry whenever possible. Laboratory analyses must be made by the methods in United States department of agriculture handbook 525, Laboratory Methods Recommended for Chemical Analyses of Mined Land Spoils and Overburden in Western United States, by Sandoval and Power, or United States department of agriculture handbook 60, Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline and Alkali Soils, by the United States salinity laboratory staff, both available from the United States government printing office, Washington, D. C. The following information must be provided:

a. Location of subsurface water encountered.

b. Drill hole logs with gamma ray and density logs included as verification showing the lithologic characteristics and thickness of each stratum and coal or commercial leonardite seam.

c. Physical and chemical analyses of each overburden sample taken at five-foot [1.52-meter] intervals to identify horizons containing potential toxic-forming materials. Physical and chemical analyses of strata below the lowest coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined must include one sample from each stratum. The analyses must include:

(1) pH.

(2) Sodium adsorption ratio (include calcium, magnesium, and sodium cation concentrations).

(3) Electrical conductivity of the saturation extract.

(4) Texture (by pipette or hydrometer method). Include percentage of sand, silt, and clay along with a general description of the physical properties of each stratum within the overburden.

(5) Saturation percentage if the sodium adsorption ratio is greater than twelve and less than twenty.

d. Coal or commercial leonardite seam analyses including sodium, ash, British thermal unit, and sulfur content.

e. Cross sections sufficient to show the major subsurface variations within the permit area down through the deeper of either the stratum immediately below the lowest coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined or any lower aquifer which may be adversely affected by mining. The horizontal scale must be 1:4,800 and the vertical scale one inch [2.54 centimeters] equals twenty feet [6.10 meters]. To assess pit suitability for disposal of refuse, ash, and other residue from coal or commercial leonardite utilization processes, the information presented in this subsection must extend to a depth determined by the commission or to the base of the next confining clay stratum beneath the lowest coal or commercial leonardite seam to be mined.

f. A thickness (isopach) map of the overburden to the top of the deepest seam to be mined. The contour interval must be ten feet [3.05 meters] and the horizontal scale 1:4,800.

g. All coal or commercial leonardite crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal or commercial leonardite to be mined.

3. If required by the commission, the applicant shall collect and analyze test borings or core samplings to greater depths within or outside the permit area if needed for evaluating the impact of mining on the hydrologic balance.

Notes

N.D. Admin Code 69-05.2-08-05

Effective August 1, 1980; amended effective January 1, 1987; May 1, 1990; May 1, 1992. Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2016-362, October 2016, effective 10/1/2016.

General Authority: NDCC 38-14.1-03

Law Implemented: NDCC 38-14.1-14