Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 25, June 22, 2024
Section 87.157 - Cessation of operations: temporary(a) Before temporary cessation status of operations for a period of 30 days or more, an operator shall submit to the Department a notice of intention to temporarily cease operations. The notice shall include a statement of the exact number of acres affected in the permit area, the extent and kind of reclamation of the areas and identification of the backfilling, regrading, revegetation, environmental monitoring, and water treatment activities that will continue during the temporary cessation status.(b) Temporary cessation status of operations does not relieve the operator of the obligations to comply with the acts as defined in § 86.1 (relating to definitions), Chapters 86-90, or the approved permit, including the obligation to submit an application for permit renewal at least 180 days before the expiration of the existing permit. The Department may enforce these obligations during the temporary cessation status of operations.(c) Temporary cessation status will end with the resumption of coal extraction. Any subsequent notices of temporary cessation status must include updated information outlined in subsection (a).(d) Temporary cessation status will terminate where the Department finds a failure to comply with the acts as defined in § 86.1, Chapters 86-90, or the approved permit. Termination of temporary cessation status due to failure to comply with the acts as defined in § 86.1, Chapters 86-90, or the approved permit will place the mining operation in permanent cessation status, subject to the provisions of § 87.158 (relating to cessation of operations: permanent).The provisions of this § 87.157 adopted December 19, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 4789, effective 7/31/1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended July 30, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2473, effective 7/31/1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended June 15, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 3383, effective 7/27/1991, 21 Pa.B. 3316; amended March 13, 2020, effective 3/14/2020, 50 Pa.B. 1508.The provisions of this § 87.157 amended under section 5 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. § 691.5); sections 4(a) and 4.2 of the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. §§ 1396.4(a) and 1396.4b); section 3.2 of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P.S. § 30.53b); section 7(b) of The Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act (52 P.S. § 1406.7(b)); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 510-20).