LAC 43:XV.5405. Backfilling and Grading: General Requirements

A. Timing of Backfilling and Grading 1. Contour Mining. Rough backfilling and grading shall follow removal by not more than 60 days or 1,500 linear feet. The office may grant additional time for rough backfilling and grading if the permittee can demonstrate, through a detailed written analysis under §2715.B.3, that additional time is necessary. 2. Open Pit Mining with Thin Overburden. Rough backfilling and grading shall occur in accordance with the time schedule approved by the office, on the basis of the materials submitted under §2715.B.3, which shall specifically establish in stated increments the period between removal of coal and completion of backfilling and grading. 3. Area Strip Mining. Rough backfilling and grading shall be completed within 180 days following coal removal and shall not be more than four spoil ridges behind the pit being worked, the spoil from the active pit being considered the first ridge. The office may grant additional time for rough backfilling and grading if the permittee can demonstrate, through a detailed written analysis under §2715.B.3, that additional time is necessary. B. Method for Backfilling and Grading 1. All disturbed areas shall be returned to their approximate original contour, except as provided in §§2905, 5411 and 5413. All spoil shall be transported, backfilled, compacted (where advisable to insure stability or to prevent leaching), and graded to eliminate all highwalls, spoil piles and depressions, except as provided in §5407.C. 2. Open Pit Mining with Thin Overburden. Rough backfilling and grading shall occur in accordance with the approved post-mining land use. 3. The post-mining graded slopes need not be of uniform slope. 4. Cut-and-fill terraces may be used only in those situations expressly identified in §5407.