Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-42-10-.04

Current through January 8, 2025

Section 0400-42-10-.04 - REVEGETATION

(1) Revegetation Plan.

Each operator shall submit a Revegetation Plan in accordance with T.C.A. § 59-8-209 and Chapter 0400-42-05. Since most of the area mined for Ball Clay or covered by spoil will be returned to farmland or pasture, no specific planting requirements are established. However, the plan must provide for stablization of the area, as quickly as possible, after it has been disturbed in order to control erosion and siltation of streams and to return the area to productive use.

(2) Seeding of Spoil Areas.

Areas covered by spoil shall be fertilized and seeded with legumes and/or perennial grasses immediately after grading while the surface is still loose and scarified. If seeding is not accomplished before the soil has become hardened, mulching will be required following seeding.

(3) Revegetation of Pit Floor and Walls

(a) After completion of mining in a Ball Clay pit and regrading of the pit according to paragraph (4) of Rule 0400-42-10-.03 all exposed areas not to be covered by water shall be fertilized and seeded with legumes and/or perennial grasses immediately after grading while the surface is still loose and scarified. If seeding is not accomplished before the soil has become hardened, mulching will be required following the seeding.

(b) Steep slopes not to be used for farmland or pasture shall also be planted in trees or shrubs during the next tree-planting season.

(4) Evaluation of Vegetation Survival

(a) Inspection and evaluation of vegetation for cover and survival shall be made as soon as it is possible to determine if a satisfactory stand has been established. In no instance shall this vegetative cover check be made until after the completion of the first growing season. A revegetation evaluation report shall be prepared and filed by the inspector.

(b) If the regraded area is planted in row crops, the revegetation inspection may be made and the report filed as soon as the crop germination becomes evident. The Commissioner shall then cause the remainder of the bond to be released.

(5) Standards for Legumes and/or Perennial Grasses.

Standards for legumes and/or perennial grasses shall require at least an eighty percent (80%) ground cover. Bare areas shall not exceed 2,500 square feet (50 feet by 50 feet) in size, nor total more than twenty percent (20%) of the area seeded unless such areas are too stony to support vegetation.

(6) Standards for Woody Plants.

Trees or shrubs shall be planted at a 6-foot by 6-foot spacing. Standards for woody plants shall require the survival of a minimum of six hundred (600) trees (including volunteer trees) and/or planted shrubs per acre. Distribution of stems shall be generally uniform, with no areas larger than one-fourth (1/4) acre with substandard stocking, that is, with spacing averaging more than seventy (70) square feet per stem.

(7) Performance Bond Release.

After the vegetative cover has been inspected and approved, the operator shall submit his final report to the Commissioner and request release of the remaining portion of the performance bond still in force. No revegetation performance bonds will be released until the approved revegetation plan has been carried out unless the Commissioner determines that further efforts toward revegetation are impractical. No revegetation plans will be considered to have been carried out until satisfactory coverage and survival have been obtained.

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-42-10-.04

Original rule filed August 2, 2012; effective October 31, 2012. Rule renumbered from 0400-03-10.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 59-8-201 et seq. and 4-5-201 et seq.