§ 87.53. Prime farmland investigation.
(a) The applicant shall conduct a preapplication investigation of the proposed permit area to determine whether lands within the area may be prime farmland.
(b) Land will not be considered prime farmland if the applicant can demonstrate one of the following:
(1) The land has not been historically used as cropland.
(2) Other factors exist, such as a very rocky surface, or the land is frequently flooded during the growing season, more often than once in 2 years, and the flooding has reduced crop yields.
(3) On the basis of a soil survey of lands within the permit area, there are no soil map units that have been designated prime farmland by the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service.
(c) If the investigation establishes that the lands are not prime farmland, the applicant shall submit with the permit application a request for a negative determination which shows that the land for which the negative determination is sought meets one of the criteria of subsection (b).
(d) If the investigation indicates that lands within the proposed permit area may be prime farmlands, the applicant shall contact the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service to determine if a soil survey exists for those lands and whether the applicable soil map units have been designated as prime farmlands. If no soil survey has been made for the lands within the proposed permit area, the applicant shall cause a survey to be made.
(1) When a soil survey, as required in this subsection, contains soil map units which have been designated as prime farmlands, the applicant shall submit a soil survey of the proposed permit area according to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and in accordance with the procedures in the United States Department of Agriculture Handbooks 436 (Soil Taxonomy, 1975) and 18 (Soil Survey Manual, 1951) as amended. The soil survey shall include a map unit and representative soil profile description as determined by the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service for each prime farmland within the proposed permit area unless other representative descriptions from the locality, prepared in conjunction with the National Cooperative Soil Survey, are available and their use is approved by the State Conservationist, United States Natural Resources Conservation Service.
(2) When a soil survey, as required in this subsection, contains soil map units which have not been designated as prime farmland after review by the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service, the applicant shall submit a request for negative determination for nondesignated land with the permit soil survey establishing compliance with subsection (b).
Authority The provisions of this § 87.53 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).
Source The provisions of this § 87.53 adopted December 19, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 4789, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended July 30, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2473, effective July 31, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2382; amended June 15, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 3383, effective July 27, 1991, 21 Pa.B. 3316; amended March 13, 2020, effective March 14, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 1508. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (239630) to (239631).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 86.37 (relating to criteria for permit approval or denial); 25 Pa. Code § 87.83 (relating to prime farmlands); and 25 Pa. Code § 87.181 (relating to prime farmland: revegetation).
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