Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-42-08-.04
Each operator shall submit a Revegetation Plan in accordance with T.C.A. § 59-8-209 and Chapter 0400-42-05. Since most of the area mined for phosphate will be returned to farmland or pasture, no specific planting requirements are established. However, the plan must provide for stabilization of the area as quickly as possible, after it has been mined in order to prevent erosion and siltation of streams, and to return the area to productive use.
Standards for legumes and/or perennial gasses shall require at least an eighty percent (80%) ground cover. Bare areas shall not exceed 2,500 square feet (50 feet by 50 feet) in size, nor total more than twenty percent (20%) of the area seeded unless such areas are too stony to support vegetation.
After the vegetative cover has been inspected and approved, the operator shall submit his final report to the Commissioner and request release of the remaining portion of the performance bond still in force. No revegetation performance bonds will be released until the approved revegetation plan has been carried out unless the Commissioner determines that further efforts toward revegetation are impractical. No revegetation plans will be considered to have been carried out until satisfactory coverage and survival have been obtained.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-42-08-.04
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 59-8-201 et seq. and 4-5-201 et seq.