25 Pa. Code § 87.104 - Stream channel diversions
(a) Flow
from perennial and intermittent streams within the permit area may be diverted
if the diversions:
(1) Will not adversely
affect, during and after mining, the water quantity and quality of the
stream.
(2) Comply with other
requirements of this chapter and Chapter 105 (relating to dam safety and
waterway management).
(3) Comply
with local, State and Federal statutes and regulations.
(b) When streamflow diversion is approved,
the stream channel diversion shall be designed, constructed and removed in
accordance with the following:
(1) The
longitudinal profile of the stream, the channel and the flood plain shall be
designed and constructed to remain stable and to prevent, to the extent
possible using the best technology currently available, additional
contributions of suspended solids to streamflow or to runoff outside the permit
area. These contributions may not be in excess of requirements of State or
Federal law. Erosion control structures, such as channel lining structures,
retention basins and artificial channel roughness structures, shall be approved
for permanent diversions only when they are stable and will require infrequent
maintenance.
(2) The combination of
channel, bank and floodplain configurations shall be adequate to prevent a
flooding potential greater than that created by the natural conditions of the
existing channel. However, the capacity of the channel itself shall be at least
equal to the capacity of the unmodified stream channel immediately upstream and
downstream from the diversion.
(3)
The design and construction of stream channel diversions of perennial and
intermittent streams shall be certified by a qualified registered professional
engineer as meeting the performance standards of this part.
(c) When no longer needed to
achieve the purpose for which they are authorized, all temporary stream channel
diversions shall be removed and the affected land regraded and revegetated, in
accordance with §§
87.99,
87.100,
87.141,
87.142,
87.144,
87.145,
87.147-87.153,
87.155 and
87.156. At the time diversions are
removed, treatment facilities previously protected by the diversion shall be
modified or moved to prevent damage or failure of the facilities. This
requirement does not relieve the person who conducts the surface mining
activities from maintenance of a water treatment facility otherwise required
under this chapter, and the erosion and sedimentation control requirements of
§
87.106 (relating to hydrologic
balance: sediment control measures).
(d) When permanent diversions are constructed
or stream channels are restored after temporary diversion, the operator shall:
(1) Restore or maintain, and enhance where
practicable, natural riparian vegetation on the banks of the stream.
(2) Restore the horizontal alignment of the
stream to a condition compatible with the protected water use of Chapter 93
(relating to water quality standards).
(3) Restore the stream to a longitudinal
profile and cross section, including aquatic habitats, that approximate
premining stream channel characteristics.
Notes
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 87.71 (relating to stream diversions, water obstructions and encroachments).
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