ADMINISTRATIVE CODE

TITLE 62: MINING
CHAPTER I: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
PART 1783 UNDERGROUND MINING PERMIT APPLICATIONS – MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

Section 1783.4 Responsibilities

Section 1783.5 Use of Existing Data

Section 1783.6 Use of Expert Opinion

Section 1783.7 Seasonal Water Quality Data (Repealed)

Section 1783.11 General Requirements

Section 1783.12 General Environmental Resources Information

Section 1783.13 Description of Hydrology and Geology: General Requirements (Repealed)

Section 1783.14 Geology Description (Repealed)

Section 1783.15 Ground Water Information (Repealed)

Section 1783.16 Surface Water Information (Repealed)

Section 1783.19 Vegetation Information

Section 1783.20 Fish and Wildlife Resources Information (Repealed)

Section 1783.21 Soil Resources Information

Section 1783.22 Land Use Information (Repealed)

Section 1783.24 Maps: General Requirements

Section 1783.25 Cross-Sections, Maps, and Plans

Section 1783.27 Prime Farmland Investigation (Repealed)

TITLE 62: MINING
CHAPTER I: DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
PART 1783 UNDERGROUND MINING PERMIT APPLICATIONS – MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
SECTION 1783.4 RESPONSIBILITIES

Section 1783.4 Responsibilities

a) It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide, except where specifically exempted in this Part, all information required by this Part in the application.

b) It is the responsibility of State and Federal Government agencies to provide information for applications as specifically required by this Part.

Section 1783.5 Use of Existing Data

Permit applicants may comply with the requirements of this Part by reliance upon accurate data already in the possession of the applicant or the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (Department), through incorporating such data by reference into permit applications, provided that the incorporated information is made publicly available under Article II of the Surface Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act [225 ILCS 720/Art. II] (State Act) and 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1773.

(Source: Amended at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.6 Use of Expert Opinion

Permit applicants may comply with this Part by providing accurate descriptive and predictive information relating to geology, water quality and quantity for a particular permit area, based upon expert opinion extrapolation from known data on the geology, water quality and quantity of similar areas, rather than by the collection of new data for the particular site, provided that the data used by an expert are included within the permit application, the expert opinion is approved by the Department, and made available to the public for review and inspection.

Section 1783.7 Seasonal Water Quality Data (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.11 General Requirements

Each permit application shall include a description of the existing, premining environmental resources within the proposed permit, shadow and adjacent areas that may be affected or impacted by the proposed underground mining activities.

(Source: Amended at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.12 General Environmental Resources Information

Each application shall describe and identify:

a) The lands subject to surface coal mining operations over the estimated life of those operations and the size, sequence, and timing of the subareas for which it is anticipated that individual permits for mining will be sought; and the nature of cultural, archeological and historic resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) and known archaeological sites within the proposed permit, shadow and adjacent areas. The description shall be based on all available information, including, but not limited to, data of State and local archaeological, historic, and cultural preservation agencies.

b) If the information provided pursuant to subsection (a) is not adequate to enable the Department to make the finding required in 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1773.15(c)(12) because information available to the Department indicates a substantial likelihood of currently unknown resources which would be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places within the proposed permit, shadow, or adjacent areas, the Department shall require the applicant to submit additional information to enable the Department to identify and evaluate such resources. Indications of cultural, archeological and historical resources shall be based upon such factors including, but not limited to, topographic and physiographic characteristics, and other cultural, archeological, and historical resource data for the proposed permit, shadow, and adjacent areas. An applicant shall be required to conduct field investigations under this subsection as determined necessary by the Department in consultation with the Illinois State Historic Preservation Agency, if such field investigations will provide the information required by subsection (a). A field investigation is a pedestrian archeological survey supplemented by shovel testing, where appropriate.

(Source: Amended at 14 Ill. Reg. 11929, effective January 1, 1991)

Section 1783.13 Description of Hydrology and Geology: General Requirements (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.14 Geology Description (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.15 Ground Water Information (Repealed)

Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.16 Surface Water Information (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.19 Vegetation Information

a) The permit application shall, if required by the Department, contain a map that delineates existing vegetative types and a description of the plant communities within the area affected by surface operations and facilities and within any proposed surface reference area. This description shall include information adequate to predict the potential for reestablishing vegetation.

b) When a map or aerial photograph is required, sufficient adjacent areas shall be included to allow evaluation of vegetation as important habitat for fish and wildlife identified under 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1784.21.

(Source: Amended at 17 Ill. Reg. 11131, effective July 1, 1993)

Section 1783.20 Fish and Wildlife Resources Information (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 14 Ill. Reg. 11929, effective January 1, 1991)

Section 1783.21 Soil Resources Information

a) The applicant shall provide adequate soil survey information on those portions of the permit area to be affected by surface operations or facilities consisting of the following:

1) A map delineating different soils;

2) Soil identification;

3) Soil description including topsoil (A horizon) thickness and sample location; and

4) Present and potential productivity of existing soils.

b) Where the applicant proposes to use selected overburden materials as a supplement or substitute for topsoil, the application shall provide results of the analyses, trials and tests required under 62 Ill. Adm. Code 1817.22.

(Source: Added at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.22 Land Use Information (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 20 Ill. Reg. 2160, effective January 19, 1996)

Section 1783.24 Maps: General Requirements

The permit application shall include maps showing:

a) All boundaries of lands and names of present owners of record of those lands, both surface and subsurface, included in or contiguous to the permit area;

b) The boundaries of land within the proposed permit area upon which the applicant has the legal right to enter and begin underground mining activities;

c) The boundaries of all areas proposed to be affected over the estimated total life of the underground mining activities, with a description of the estimated size, extent, sequence and timing of the mining of subareas for which it is anticipated that additional permits will be sought;

d) The location of all buildings in and within one thousand (1000) feet of the proposed permit area, with identification of the current use of the buildings;

e) The location of surface and subsurface man-made features within, passing through, or passing over the proposed permit and shadow areas, including, but not limited to, major electric transmission lines, pipelines, and agricultural drainage tile fields;

f) The location and boundaries of any proposed reference areas for determining the success of revegetation;

g) The locations of water supply intakes for current users of surface water flowing into, out of, and within a hydrologic area defined by the Department, and those surface waters which will receive discharges from affected areas in the proposed permit area;

h) Each public road located in or within one hundred (100) feet of the proposed permit area;

i) The boundaries of any public park and locations of any cultural or historical resources listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places within the permit or adjacent areas and known archaeological sites within the permit, shadow and adjacent areas;

j) Each public or private cemetery or Indian burial ground or other area where human bodies are interred located in or within one hundred (100) feet of the proposed permit and shadow areas;

k) Any land within the proposed permit and shadow areas which is within the boundaries of any units of the National System of Trails or the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including rivers under study for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System; and

l) Other relevant information required by the Department.

(Source: Amended at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)

Section 1783.25 Cross-Sections, Maps, and Plans

a) The application shall include cross-sections, maps, and plans showing:

1) Elevations and locations of test borings and core samplings from the permit and shadow areas;

2) Elevations and locations of monitoring stations used to gather data on water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife, and air quality, if required, in preparation of the application;

3) Nature, depth, and thickness of the coal seams to be mined, any coal or rider seams above the seam to be mined, each stratum of the overburden, and the stratum immediately below the lowest coal seam to be mined;

4) All coal crop lines and the strike and dip of the coal to be mined within the proposed permit area;

5) Location and extent of known workings of active, inactive, or abandoned underground mines, including mine openings to the surface within the proposed permit, shadow and adjacent areas;

6) Location and extent of subsurface water, if encountered, within the proposed permit or adjacent areas, including, but not limited to areal and vertical distribution of aquifers, and portrayal of seasonal differences of head in different aquifers on cross-sections and contour maps;

7) Location and extent of surface water bodies such as streams, lakes, ponds, springs, constructed or natural drains, and irrigation ditches within the proposed permit, shadow and adjacent areas;

8) Location and extent of existing or previously surface-mined areas within the proposed permit area;

9) Location and dimensions of existing areas of spoil, waste, coal development waste, and noncoal waste disposal, dams, embankments, other impoundments, and water treatment and air pollution control facilities within the proposed permit area;

10) Location, and depth if available, of gas and oil wells within the proposed permit area and water wells in the permit, shadow area and adjacent areas.

b) Maps, plans, and cross-sections included in a permit application and required by this Section shall be prepared by, or under the direction of, and sealed by a qualified registered professional engineer licensed under the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989 [225 ILCS 325] or a registered professional land surveyor licensed under the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989 [225 ILCS 330], with assistance from experts in related fields such as geology and landscape architecture and shall be updated as required by the Department.

(Source: Amended at 20 Ill. Reg. 2160, effective January 19, 1996)

Section 1783.27 Prime Farmland Investigation (Repealed)

(Source: Repealed at 11 Ill. Reg. 8632, effective July 1, 1987)