Md. Code Regs. 26.20.29.07

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

Section 26.20.29.07 - Standards for Success

A. Success of revegetation shall be judged on the effectiveness of the vegetation for the approved postmining land use, the extent of the cover compared to the cover occurring in natural vegetation of the area, and the general requirements of Regulation .01 of this chapter. Ground cover, production, or stocking of trees and shrubs shall be considered equal to the success standard when they are not less than 90 percent of the success standard using a 90 percent statistical confidence interval. A one-sided test with a 0.10 alpha error is an example of this.

B. Standards for success shall be applied in accordance with the approved postmining land use and, at a minimum, meet the following conditions:

(1) For areas developed for use as pastureland or hay land, the ground cover and production of living plants on the revegetated area shall be at least equal to that of the approved reference area, or the revegetated area shall sustain a vegetative ground cover of 90 percent for the last 2 years of the responsibility period, with at least 10 percent of the area consisting of legumes well distributed, and contain no bare areas in excess of 300 square feet;

(2) For areas developed for use as cropland, crop production on the revegetated area shall be at least equal to that of a reference area approved by the Bureau, or the crop production on the area shall be at least 90 percent of a production/yield standard recommended by the appropriate soil conservation district for the area and approved by the Bureau as part of the revegetation plan;

(3) For areas to be developed for wildlife habitat, recreation, commercial forestry, or forest land, when a combination of herbaceous cover and woody plants is to be used, the success of the vegetation shall be determined on the basis of tree and shrub stocking and vegetative ground cover, and the following standards of success apply:

(a) At the time of bond release the trees and shrubs shall be healthy, and at least 80 percent shall have been in place for at least 3 growing seasons,

(b) Trees and shrubs may not be in place for less than 2 growing seasons and shall be counted in determining stocking adequacy,

(c) On areas planted to woody species, there shall be at least 400 woody plants per acre on slopes less than 12 degrees, and 600 woody plants per acre on slopes greater than 12 degrees,

(d) The herbaceous ground cover may not be less than that required to control erosion, and shall sustain a vegetative ground cover of 70 percent for the last 2 years of the responsibility period, and

(e) For areas within the plan which are planted with herbaceous cover only, the success standards of §B(1) of this regulation apply;

(4) For areas to be developed for industrial, commercial, or residential use less than 2 years after regrading is complete, the vegetative ground cover may not be less than that required to control erosion;

(5) For areas classified as undeveloped land for which no specific postmining land use is specified, the success standards of §B(3) of this regulation apply unless another success standard is developed for §B(3)(b) of this regulation in consultation with the Forest, Park and Wildlife Service and approved by the Bureau;

(6) The period of extended responsibility for successful revegetation shall begin after the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing, or other work, excluding normal conservation and management practices approved by the Bureau;

(7) Approved practices shall be normal conservation and management practices within the area for unmined lands having land uses similar to the approved postmining land use of the disturbed area;

(8) The period of responsibility shall continue for a period of not less than 5 full years, except on lands eligible for remining as provided in §B(9) of this regulation; and

(9) On lands eligible for remining included in permits issued before September 30, 2004, or on any later date authorized by the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, or any renewal thereof, the period of responsibility shall continue for a period of not less than 2 full years.

C. On lands eligible for remining included in any permit, the lands shall equal or exceed the standards for success during the growing season of the last year of the responsibility period in §B(9) of this regulation.

Md. Code Regs. 26.20.29.07

Regulations .07 were previously codified as COMAR 08.13.09.35 a A_G, 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.
Regulation .07 amended effective March 22, 1999 (26:6 Md. R. 488)