MINUTES
REGULATION,
LEGISLATION & TECHNICAL
COMMITTEE
OF THE
MINING AND
RECLAMATION ADVISORY BOARD
April 24, 1997
Members
Present: Fred Wolf, Chairman, David
Strong, Jack Chamberlin, Howard Laur, Pat Krommes, Duane Feagley, George
Ellis, Sue Wilson, Sue Germanio, David Osikowicz
Also
present were: Rod Fletcher, Evan
Shuster, & Albert Dalberto from the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation; Joe Pizarchik, Office of Chief Counsel; Joe
Sieber, Office of Policy; Alan Tamm, Gannett Fleming; Rod Kelley, Office of
Mineral Resources Management.
The
meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.
The
Bureau of Mining and Reclamation (BMR) presented two documents to be
discussed. They were: Technical Guidance Document for Beneficial
Uses of Coal Ash and Certification Guidelines for Beneficial Uses of Coal
Ash. These documents were developed due
to the revised uses of Coal Ash. They
were put out for comments and the Bureau hopes to have the final guidelines by
the end of May.
Certification Guidelines for
Beneficial Uses of Coal Ash:
This
document outlines the guidelines for certifying coal ash for beneficial
uses. It also provides the forms the
Department will use to determine if the coal ash is being used beneficially.
Several
comments by the board members were:
Unannounced spot checks by DEP personnel may help with quality control
Operators should allow access to samples for more quality control
checks
The
ground water at the site should be monitored as well to be sure the ash is
being applied properly.
There
was a question about the amount of time between inspections. It was suggested that the Department visit
the sites using ash every six months.
By incorporating the use of unannounced checks as well it will be easier
to ensure that the operator is properly using the coal ash. The guidelines are written for the use of
ash as a soil additive to help sustain vegetation. BMR staff pointed out that if the coal ash is going to be used as
anything other than a liming agent the operator must provide a justification
for that use.
Technical Guidance for
Beneficial Uses of Coal Ash:
This
document outlines the four beneficial uses of coal ash that the Department will
approve at either active mine sites or for reclamation at abandoned sites. There was only one concern among the members
and that was that the language in this document could be more stringent than
the federal regulations. There was a
suggestion that the first sentence in Section A, Coal Ash Placement, be changed
to reflect the federal laws more effectively.
BMR staff will look into changing the wording of the sentence.
Chapter 86, Postmining
Discharges/Licensing and Bonding:
BMR
staff only handed out the changes to the draft proposed rulemaking that were a
result of the comments made by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission
(IRRC). The main concern of the IRRC
was the calculations used to determine the financial assurances for the
long-term treatment of postmining discharges.
As a result, BMR incorporated the use of an index to determine the
interest and inflation figures. By
using a formula instead of specific numbers the need for a periodic review will
be eliminated. This draft rulemaking
package will be presented to the EQB for final rulemaking on June 17. The sub-committee will recommend to the full
board to accept the changes as presented by BMR.
The
meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.