GENERAL30918 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

diversity, are applicable to reclaimed areas at the Bear No. 3 that were not disturbed by previous mining operations. Beaz Coal Company has requested, pursuant to Rule 4.15.7(2)(d)(vi}, that the Division set the revegetation success standards for the Beaz No. 3 Mine for the parameters of herbaceous cover and production, species diversity and woody plant density based on local environmental conditions and available data for similar sites. The standazds are listed below. 1. Herbaceous Production: 16001bs/acre 2. Herbaceous Cover: 40 percent 3. Species Diversity: The species diversity standazd is based on species composition (% relative cover). The reclaimed vegetation surface shall include at least three herbaceous species with relative cover equal to or greater than 3 percent, two of which aze cool season grasses, and one forb. The combined relative cover ofthese species should not exceed 80 percent, and no one species should comprise greater than 60 percent. 4. Woody Plant Density: The permittee will not be required to reestablish a specific shrub density on the remainder of the reclaimed azea at the Beaz No. 3 Mine. The fact that the total surface disturbance at the Bear No. 3 Mine is about 8.4 acres in size minimizes the importance of reestablishing shrubs for wildlife use. The Mine No. 3 disturbance area is contained within an area previously disturbed by mining and, as a result, the success criteria of 4.15.10 apply. The permittee is not obligated to meet a standazd for woody plant density. The most critical objective of reclamation at the site is to stabilize the surface, which can best be achieved through the establishment of a predominately herbaceous community, including both quick growing and long-lived perennial species. Certain shrub species will be included in the broadcast seed mixture, along with adapted grasses and fortis. The data upon which the standazds were based was collected by Mountain Coal Company in the dry meadow vegetation type located approximately one-half mile south of the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 portals. The type occurs primarily on the top of the relatively level terraces to the south of the river. The meadow type was created by cleazing of the wet mixed shrub type for grazing. The dry meadow data represented the most applicable available data for the disturbed areas at the Bear mine, considering environmental conditions and the revegetation plan. SCS production estimates for the Swale range site, which corresponds to the Breece loam soil type along the North Fork, range from 1,500 pounds to 2,000 pounds per acre. Potential vegetation is primarily cool season perennial gasses. 26