Md. Code Regs. 26.20.27.01

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024

Section 26.20.27.01 - General Requirements

A. All coal mine waste shall be placed in designated disposal areas within a permit area, which are approved by the Bureau for this purpose. Coal mine waste shall be placed in a controlled manner to:

(1) Minimize adverse effects of leachate and surface water runoff on surface and ground water quality and quantity;

(2) Ensure mass stability and prevent mass movement during and after construction;

(3) Ensure that the final disposal facility is suitable for reclamation and revegetation compatible with the natural surroundings and the approved postmining land use;

(4) Create no public hazard; and

(5) Prevent combustion.

B. Coal mine waste materials from activities located outside a permit area, such as those activities at other mines or abandoned mine waste piles, may be disposed of in the permit area only if approved by the Bureau. Approval shall be based on a showing by the permittee, using hydrologic, geotechnical, physical, and chemical analysis, that the disposal will be in accordance with the standards of this chapter.

C. The disposal facility shall be designed using current, prudent engineering practices to attain a minimum long-term static safety factor of 1.5 and to meet any design criteria established by the Bureau. A qualified registered professional engineer, experienced in the design of similar earth and waste structures, shall certify the design of the disposal facility.

D. The foundation and abutments must be stable under all conditions of construction. Sufficient foundation investigations, as well as any necessary laboratory testing of foundation material, shall be performed in order to determine the design requirements for foundation stability. The analyses of the foundation conditions shall take into consideration the effect of underground mine workings, if any, upon the stability of the disposal facility.

Md. Code Regs. 26.20.27.01

Regulations .01 were previously codified as COMAR 08.13.09.33 a A_K, respectively. Recodification occurred in April, 1993. For a history of these regulations before April, 1993, see "Administrative History of COMAR 08.13.09 before April, 1993" which follows COMAR 26.20.01.