Section 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).

(d) Coal refuse piles, fills or banks shall be designed to comply with § § 90.122—90.130.

(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.

The provisions of this § 90.39 adopted December 19, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 4789, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended July 30, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2473, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended February 17, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 524, effective August 4, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 2860; amended June 15, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 3383, effective July 27, 1991, 21 Pa.B. 3316; amended December 15, 1995, effective December 16, 1995, 25 Pa.B. 5821. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (149013) to (149014) and (180929).

Notation

Authority

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).