_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 (295)

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NATIONWIDE PERMIT 21 SURFACE COAL MINING ACTIVITIES (Sections 10 and 404) Effective Date: 11 February 1997 Expires: 11 February 2002 Note: Additional information on this and other Nationwide Permits can be obtained on the internet at http://wetland.usace.mil/. The Corps of Engineers has issued a nationwide general permit authorizing activities associated with surface coal mining activities provided they are authorized by the Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining (OSM), or by states with approved programs under Title V of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and provided the permittee notifies the District Engineer in accordance with the "Notification" general condition. The notification must include an OSM or state approved mitigation plan. The Corps, at the discretion of the District Engineer, may require a bond to ensure success of the mitigation, if no other Federal or state agency has required one. For discharges in special aquatic sites, including wetlands, the notification must also include a delineation of affected special aquatic sites, including wetlands. (Also see 33 CFR 330.1(e)). A. GENERAL CONDITIONS: The following general conditions must be met in order for any authorization by a nationwide permit to be valid: 1. Navigation: No activity may cause more than a minimal adverse effect on navigation. 2. Proper Maintenance: Any structure or fill authorized shall be properly maintained, including maintenance to ensure public safety. 3. Erosion and Siltation Controls: Appropriate erosion and siltation controls must be used and maintained in effective operating condition during construction, and all exposed soil and other fills, as well as any work below the ordinary high water mark or high tide line, must be permanently stabilized at the earliest practicable date. 4. Aquatic Life Movements: No activity may substantially disrupt the movement of those species of aquatic life indigenous to the waterbody, including those species which normally migrate through the area, unless the activity's primary purpose is to impound water. 5. Equipment. Heavy equipment working in wetlands must be placed on mats, or other measures must be taken to minimize soil disturbance. 6. Regional and Case-by-Case Conditions: The activity must comply with any regional conditions which may have been added by the Division Engineer (see 33 CFR 330.4(e)) and with any case-specific conditions added by the Corps or by the State or tribe in its Section 401 water quality certification. 7. Wild and Scenic Rivers: No activity may occur in a component of the National Wild and Scenic River System; or in a river officially designated by Congress as a "study river for possible inclusion in the system, while the river is in an official study status; unless the appropriate Federal agency, with direct management responsibility for such river, has determined in writing that the proposed activity will not adversely affect the Wild and