Section 182.11. Minimum design and operation requirements.

 

(1)  In addition to all other requirements of this chapter, no person shall construct, establish, operate or maintain a waste site except in conformance with the conditions attached to the feasibility approval pursuant to the hearing under s. 293.43 , Stats., the approved plan of operation and the following minimum requirements:

(a) In addition to the provisions of ss. NR 182.08 (2) (e) and (k) , and 182.11 , no waste shall be deposited in such a manner that the waste or leachings therefrom will result in a violation of any ground or surface water quality criteria or standards as specified in chs. NR 102 through 104 or in this chapter.

(b) Surface water drainage shall be diverted away from and off the active fill area.

(c) Access to the facility, particularly the active disposal area, shall be restricted through the use of fencing, natural barriers or other methods approved by the department.

(d) The entire perimeter of the active disposal site shall be made accessible for inspection and earth moving equipment required for emergency maintenance.

(e) Any area to be utilized for the disposal of solid waste or borrow areas shall first be stripped of all topsoil to insure that adequate amounts are available for closure or other measures approved by the department to protect topsoils consistent with environmental considerations and reclamation shall be taken, unless the department determines that such action will be environmentally undesirable.

(f) Effective means shall be taken to control dust resulting from the site or facility to the degree required by s. NR 415.04 .

(g) All soil borings and monitoring wells shall be backfilled when abandoned using procedures approved by the department.

(h) Provisions for back-up equipment in the event of critical operating equipment breakdown shall be made.

(i) Design and operation specifications for mine waste facilities shall include contingencies for emergency conditions. Such contingencies may include emergency power supplies, equipment redundancies or temporary holding facilities.

(j) Any disposal site designed with a liner or situated in sufficiently low permeability soils to either partially or totally contain leachate shall be designed with a leachate management system which can effectively remove leachate, prevent surface seeps and promote adequate settlement to permit final reclamation.

(k) Only waste types and sources listed on the license or otherwise approved by the department in writing shall be disposed or stored.

(L) All surface water drainage ditches, culverts and other drainage control structures shall be designed for a 100-year, 24-hour rainfall event.

(m) The final slopes of a completed waste site shall be no less than 2% and no greater than 33% unless the site or facility is specifically designed for a final use compatible with other slopes.

(n) All sites shall have a final cover designed to minimize infiltration and subsequent leachate production unless an alternate cover is approved in the reclamation plan or unless it is determined as a result of a hearing pursuant to s. 293.43 , Stats., that such cover is not necessary to comply with the environmental standards of this chapter.

(o) Provisions shall be made for collection and treatment of leachate for all sites designed to contain leachate.

(p) A waste site shall be located, designed, constructed, and operated so that any liner system or naturally occurring soil barrier is compatible with all disposed or stored mining waste.

(q) Sufficient freeboard measured from the inside crest shall be provided so as to contain the 100-year, 24-hour rainfall event and to prevent overtopping by waves during this design storm, or a minimum of 5 feet of freeboard shall be provided.

(r) Drainage or filter bed material shall be selected and designed to promote drainage, reduce the potential for piping, and be stable under leaching conditions.

(s) Material used in earth embankments or drainage or filter bed material shall be free of vegetation, organic soils, frozen soils, and other extraneous matter which could affect the compactibility, density, permeability or shear strength of the finished embankment.

(t) Embankment materials or drainage or filter bed materials shall be compacted to 95% of the maximum dry density as determined by the standard proctor compaction test (ASTM D-698), or to a greater density as required by the embankment height. The material shall be compacted in lifts of 6 to 8 inches in thickness. If waste rock is approved by the department for use outside an earth core, compaction and crushing of such waste rock may not be required.

(u) Emergency spill areas shall be provided near the tailings pipeline in case of power or pipeline failure. Tailings pipelines should be self draining to the tailings area or to an emergency spill area or both. In some cases such as a long pipeline over rough country, several spill areas may have to be provided.

(2)  The following requirements indicate certain parameters and concepts that should be considered by the applicant when planning, constructing and operating a mill and a mine waste site. Application of these parameters and concepts shall be dependent on the specific design, the nature of the waste, the composition of any leachate associated with the waste and the hydrogeologic conditions existing at the disposal site.

(a) When practicable, on a site specific basis, a mine waste site should be located in the same watershed as the mining surface facilities.

(b) Where practicable, on a site specific basis, a mine waste facility should be located so that tailings pipelines do not cross any major watercourse or pass through any wetland where such crossing would be inconsistent with the provisions of ch. NR 132 . In general, tailings pipelines should be as short as practicable.

(c) Upstream rainfall catchment areas should be minimized.

(d) The outside crest of the dam should be higher than the inside crest in order to force runoff on the crest to the inside of the dam.

(e) Where practicable, waste disposal facility design should consider staged reclamation.

(f) Those mining wastes which will not be used for reclamation purposes and which present a significant risk of environmental pollution should be marketed provided the products and by-products of such marketing will not result in a greater potential for environmental pollution, a market for a particular waste is reasonably available, and the costs for disposing of such waste exceeds the costs for its marketing. The department shall make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law on the marketability of such wastes.

(g) Mining waste disposal should minimize the discharge of environmental pollutants to the groundwaters of the state.

(3)  High priority should be given to the selection of a design and operating procedure for the mine, mill and waste disposal sites which will provide for the reclamation of all disturbed sites and minimize the risk of environmental pollution. When practicable, facilities and practices should be selected which:

(a) Minimize production of mining waste through the design and operation of the mining facility.

(b) Provide for the segregation of hazardous from non-hazardous waste.

(c) Provide for eventual underground backfill of waste, in the event of underground mining, with particular emphasis on segregated hazardous materials.

History: Cr. Register, August, 1982, No. 320 , eff. 9-1-82; correction in (1) (f) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, September, 1995, No. 477 .

Note

Copies of the reference cited above are available for inspection at the offices of the department of natural resources, the secretary of state's office and the legislative reference bureau and may be obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 19103. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1