§ 290.104. Beneficial use at coal mining activity sites.
(a) Coal ash approval at coal mining activity sites. Approval for the beneficial use of coal ash at coal mining activity sites as defined in § 86.1 (relating to definitions) will, at a minimum, be based on the following:
(1) Compliance with this section, The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P. S. § § 1396.1—1396.19a), the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act (52 P. S. § § 30.51—30.66), the applicable provisions of Chapters 86—90 (relating to surface and underground coal mining: general, surface mining of coal, anthracite coal, underground mining of coal and coal preparation facilities, and coal refuse disposal), and other applicable environmental statutes and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(2) Certification under § 290.201 (relating to coal ash certification) by the Department for the intended beneficial uses.
(3) Approval of a request submitted pursuant to subsection (b).
(b) Request. A person shall submit to the Department a request to beneficially use the certified coal ash at a specific coal mining activity site as part of the reclamation plan under the mining permit. This request must contain the permit filing fee in subsection (c) and, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A narrative description of the project, including an explanation of how coal ash will be placed, where and how coal ash will be stored prior to placement, identification of the sources of coal ash and an estimate of the cubic yards of coal ash to be used. For the beneficial use of coal ash as a soil substitute or additive, the proposed application rate and justification for the application rate shall also be included.
(2) Information demonstrating that the coal ash has been certified for its intended use in accordance with § 290.201, including the identity of the generator and the Department-assigned certification identifier, as described in § 290.201(c).
(3) A signed statement by the owner of the land on which the coal ash is to be placed, acknowledging and consenting to the placement of coal ash. This statement by the landowner shall be a recordable document. Prior to beneficial use of coal ash under this section, the statement by the landowner shall be recorded at the office of the recorder of deeds in the county in which the proposed beneficial use of coal ash will take place.
(4) A monitoring plan that meets the requirements of Subchapter D (relating to water quality monitoring).
(c) Permit filing fee.
(1) A nonrefundable permit filing fee payable to the ‘‘Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’’ for the beneficial use of coal ash at a coal mining activity site is to be paid annually in the amount of:
(i) $2,000 for each coal mining activity site approved to use coal ash until the year following final placement of coal ash at the site.
(ii) $1,000 from the year following final placement of coal ash until final bond release has been issued for the coal mining activity site.
(2) Money received from the permit filing fee for the beneficial use of coal ash will be deposited in the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Fund and will be used by the Department for the cost of reviewing, administering and enforcing the requirements of the authorization for beneficial use of coal ash under the coal mining activity permit.
(3) The Department will review the adequacy of the fees established in this section at least once every 3 years and provide a written report to the EQB. The report will identify any disparity between the amount of program income generated by the fees and the costs to administer these programs, and it shall contain recommendations to adjust fees to eliminate the disparity, including recommendations for regulatory amendments to adjust program fees.
(d) Public notice. A person proposing to use coal ash at coal mining activity sites shall provide public notice under § 86.31 or § 86.54 (relating to public notices of filing of permit applications; and public notice of permit revision).
(e) Operating requirements. The beneficial use of coal ash for reclamation purposes at a coal mining activity site shall be designed to achieve an overall improvement in water quality or shall be designed to prevent the degradation of water quality. Coal ash shall only be beneficially used for reclamation at the following locations:
(1) The pit or area from which coal is extracted under a surface coal mining permit.
(2) Abandoned mine lands located within the surface coal mining permit area.
(3) Coal refuse disposal sites and coal refuse reprocessing sites.
(4) Areas where other beneficial uses that are part of the approved reclamation plan at the coal mining activity site are being conducted.
(f) Additional operating requirements for the placement of coal ash at permitted coal surface mining activity sites. Placement of coal ash at coal surface mining activity sites must comply with the following additional requirements:
(1) The volume of coal ash placed at the site may not exceed the volume of coal, coal refuse, culm or silt removed from the site by the active mining operation on a cubic yard basis unless otherwise approved by the Department. The Department may authorize a greater volume of coal ash where the mine operator demonstrates that reclamation will be enhanced or water quality will be improved by the additional coal ash.
(2) Placement of coal ash shall be accomplished by mixing with spoil material or by spreading in horizontal layers no greater than 2 feet thick unless otherwise approved by the Department. The reclamation plan of the approved mining permit must address the placement of the coal ash.
(3) The coal ash shall be spread and compacted within 24 hours of its delivery to the site unless stored in accordance with Subchapter E (relating to coal ash storage).
(4) Where placement of coal ash is not being accomplished by mixing with spoil, the placed coal ash must achieve a minimum compaction of 90% of the maximum dry density as determined by the Modified Proctor Test, or 95% of the maximum dry density as determined by the Standard Proctor Test. The Proctor Test shall be conducted on a semiannual basis unless the Department requires more frequent testing.
(5) For a project involving multiple refuse reprocessing sites, the Department may allow a greater volume of coal ash to be placed at an individual site than the volume of coal refuse removed from that site if the following conditions are met:
(i) The multiple sites are a project involving the coordinated use of multiple coal refuse reprocessing sites.
(ii) A reclamation plan is approved for each of the sites and each plan identifies the total cubic yards of coal ash that may be placed at each site.
(iii) The total cubic yards of coal ash placed on the sites is less than the total cubic yards of refuse, culm or silt removed from the combined sites.
(iv) The project shall be designed to achieve an overall improvement of surface water or groundwater quality at each site, where acid mine drainage is evident. If acid mine drainage is not evident, the project shall be designed to prevent degradation of the surface or groundwater quality.
(v) Only coal ash from the project can be used.
(vi) The project shall be accomplished in a manner that blends into the general surface configuration and complements the surface drainage pattern of the surrounding landscape.
(6) The person shall maintain information identifying the sources and the volume in cubic yards and the weight in dry tons of coal ash used.
(7) The site shall be monitored in accordance with the requirements of Subchapter D and any additional hydrologic tests specified by the Department.
(8) The offsite dispersion of dust from coal ash and other materials shall be minimized.
(g) Additional operating requirements for the beneficial use of coal ash as a soil substitute or soil additive. The following apply to the beneficial use of coal ash as a soil substitute or soil additive:
(1) Coal ash shall be applied at a rate per acre that will protect public health, public safety and the environment.
(2) The coal ash that is applied will be part of the approved reclamation plan of the coal mining activity in order to increase the productivity or properties of the soil.
(3) The coal ash is not used in amounts that exceed the maximum cumulative loading rates in § 290.103(e) (relating to use as a soil substitute or soil additive).
(4) The offsite dispersion of dust from coal ash and other materials shall be minimized.
(h) Additional operating requirements for the beneficial use of coal ash at coal refuse disposal sites. The following apply to the beneficial use of coal ash at coal refuse disposal sites:
(1) Placement of coal ash as part of coal refuse disposal operations permitted under Chapters 86—90 must meet the following:
(i) The cubic yards of coal ash does not exceed the total cubic yards of coal refuse to be disposed based on uncompacted volumes of materials received at the site.
(ii) The coal ash has physical and chemical characteristics that meet the following requirements:
(A) Improve compaction and stability within the fill.
(B) Reduce infiltration of water into coal refuse.
(C) Improve the quality of leachate generated by the coal refuse.
(2) The offsite dispersion of dust from coal ash and other materials shall be minimized.
(i) Additional coal ash sampling. A person using coal ash at a coal mining activity site shall, each quarter that coal ash is being used at the site, sample the coal ash after it has been placed at the site and such sample shall be analyzed in accordance with § 290.201. The results of the analysis shall be submitted quarterly to and in the format required by the Department. A reduced frequency may be approved by the Department where a coal mining activity site is receiving coal ash from only one source and is located at one of the following:
(1) On the same tract of land where the coal ash was generated.
(2) On a tract of land contiguous to the tract where the coal ash was generated.
(3) On a tract of land connected to the tract where the coal ash was generated by a right-of-way controlled by the generator and to which the public does not have access.
(4) On a tract of land separated from the tract where the coal ash was generated by only a public or private right-of-way and access between the two tracts is by crossing rather than traveling along the right-of-way.
(j) Annual report. Prior to January 31, the permittee of a coal mining activity site where coal ash was placed in the previous calendar year shall submit a report for the previous calendar year to the Department that includes permit number, mining company contact information, the identity of each source of coal ash and its Department-assigned certification identifier, and the volume in cubic yards and the weight in dry tons for each source of coal ash that was placed at the site.
(k) Notification to Department. A person beneficially using coal ash under this section shall notify the Department within 72 hours of any evidence that the material does not meet the certification requirements in § 290.201.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 290.101 (relating to general requirements for beneficial use).
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