25 Pa. Code § 90.39 - Ponds, impoundments, banks, dams, embankments, piles and fills
(a) An application
shall include a plan for each proposed sedimentation pond, water impoundment,
and coal processing waste bank, dam, embankment, pile or fill within the
proposed permit area. The plan shall:
(1) Be
prepared by, or under the direction of, a qualified registered professional
engineer, except as indicated in §
90.112(b)(1)
(relating to hydrologic balance: dams, ponds, embankments, and
impoundments-design, construction and maintenance).
(2) Contain a description, map and cross
section of the structure and its location.
(3) Contain hydrologic and geologic
information required to assess the hydrologic impact of the
structure.
(4) Contain a survey
describing the potential effect on the structure from subsidence of the
subsurface strata resulting from past and proposed underground mining
operations.
(5) Contain a
certification statement which includes a schedule setting forth the dates when
any detailed design plans for structures that are not submitted within the
general plan will be submitted to the Department. The Department will have
approved, in writing, the detailed design plan for a structure before
construction of the structure begins.
(6) Describe the operation and maintenance
requirements for each structure.
(7) Describe the timetable and plans to
remove each structure, if appropriate.
(8) Contain a geotechnical investigation
design and construction requirements including a stability analysis if the
structure is more than 20 feet in height as measured from the upstream toe of
the embankment to the crest of the emergency spillway or has a storage volume
of more than 20 acre feet.
(b) Sedimentation ponds, whether temporary or
permanent, shall be designed in compliance with §
90.108 (relating to hydrologic
balance: sedimentation ponds). A sedimentation pond or earthen structure which
will remain on the proposed permit area as a permanent water impoundment shall
also be designed to comply with §
90.112.
(c) Permanent and temporary impoundments
shall be designed to comply with § 90.111 (relating to hydrologic balance:
impoundments).
(e) Coal refuse dams and embankments shall be
designed to comply with §§
90.112,
90.113,
90.122 and
90.124-90.130. A plan shall comply with
the Mine Safety and Health Administration,
30 CFR
77.216-1 and
77.216-2 (relating to water,
sediment, or slurry impoundments and impounding structures; identification; and
water, sediment, or slurry impoundments and impounding structures; minimum plan
requirements; changes or modifications; certification) and shall contain the
results of a geotechnical investigation of the proposed dam or embankment
foundation area to determine the structural competence of the foundation which
will support the proposed dam or embankment structure and the impounded
material. Each plan shall provide for the removal of impoundments constructed
of or used to impound coal refuse as part of site reclamation.
(f) The geotechnical investigation shall be
planned and supervised by an engineer or engineering geologist, for subsections
(d) and (e), according to the following:
(1)
The number, location and depth of borings and test pits shall be determined
using current engineering practice for the size of the dam or embankment,
quantity of material to be impounded and subsurface conditions.
(2) The character of the overburden and
bedrock, the proposed abutment sites, and any adverse geotechnical conditions
which may affect the particular dam, embankment or reservoir site shall be
considered.
(3) Springs, seepage
and groundwater flow observed or anticipated during wet periods in the area of
the proposed dam or embankment shall be identified on each plan.
(4) Consideration shall be given to the
possibility of mudflows, rock-debris falls or other landslides into the dam,
embankment or impounded material.
(5) A description of the waste being disposed
of within the proposed permit area, including the following:
(i) Physical, chemical and engineering
stability properties of the coal refuse.
(ii) Acid-producing and toxic-forming
potential of the coal refuse.
Notes
The provisions of this § 90.39 amended under the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P. S. §§ 1396.1-1396.19a); The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. §§ 691.1-691.1001); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 90.122 (relating to coal refuse disposal).
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