November 2002

Note: During the 25 years since the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has prepared several documents to address the hydrologic balance protection requirements of the law. On May 17, 2002, OSM finalized a technical reference document entitled:

Permitting Hydrology, A Technical Reference Document for Determination of Probable Hydrologic Consequences (PHC) and Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessments (CHIA) - Baseline Data

This document describes considerations in the planning and conducting of baseline data collection for the purpose of protecting the hydrologic balance during the permit process prior to mining.

The new technical reference document supersedes, with respect to baseline information, the predecessor document below. That document, entitled, Managing Hydrologic Information, A Resource for Development of Probable Hydrologic Consequences (PHC) and Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessments (CHIA) was first made available in 1998. The 1998 document remains a useful technical reference for preparing and evaluating PHCs and CHIAs even though it has been superseded with respect to hydrologic baseline data. We provide this earlier document as a source of information on hydrologic reclamation plans, PHCs, CHIAs, and the other components of the SMCRA permit application process aimed at assuring the protection of the hydrologic balance.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is making available a resource document aimed at protecting the hydrologic balance through the permitting process associated with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The document is titled,

Managing Hydrologic Information, A Resource for Development of Probable Hydrologic Consequences (PHC) and Cumulative Hydrologic Impacty Assessments (CHIA).

The document will not have the effect of a rule, is not intended to establish a regulatory standard, and is not binding on the OSM or the state regulatory authorities. The purpose of the document is to:

1. outline the hydrologic and geologic/overburden requirements of SMCRA

2. describe approaches for responding to these requirements, and

3. identify resources that may be used by industry and regulatory authorities in the permitting process.

By making the document available to a wide audience such as is possible through the Internet, we hope to receive feedback from interested parties on the value of this type of document for protecting the hydrologic balance. Furthermore, we welcome any constructive comments aimed at making the document more understandable, useful, or updated and complete within the context of its intended purpose of a resource document. For example, do other data bases exist, i. e. from the academic community, that we can reference or link to this document? What other techniques/models/software are applicable and can be linked to this document?

This document is a draft and is available to the public for comment until May 15, 1997. We will then decide whether or how to revise the document.

We anticipate posting all comments or summaries of like comments and our responses. In the event that we post all comments, commentors should not submit personal information that they do not wish to become public, or confidential business information or information protected by copyright.

FOREWORD

The mission of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is to carry out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in cooperation with States and Tribes. We view the promotion of quality technical information and transfer of technology as fundamental to our existence in support of this mission and thus essential for ensuring that:

1. Coal mines are permitted and operated in a manner that protects citizens and the environment; and

2. The land is restored to beneficial use following mining.

We also view sharing of information to be essential in establishing open and constructive communication with citizens and the coal industry.

This resource document reflects the mission and vision statements endorsed by OSM which are summarized, in part, above. It also underscores that OSM:

• has a responsibility for protection of both land and water resources;

• is creating an increased focus on hydrology and on-the-ground results.

 BACKGROUND

Surface coal mining has the potential to adversely affect the hydrologic balance. Coal mine permitting requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) provide for mitigating these adverse impacts by identifying minimum requirements for hydrologic information and analysis. A permit application for coal mining must contain:

• baseline information;

• a determination of probable hydrologic consequences (PHC);

• a hydrologic monitoring plan; and

• an assessment by the regulatory authority (RA) of the cumulative hydrologic impacts (CHIA) of all mining in the area.

Hydrologic information is crucial to all phases of the permitting process whose purpose is to safeguard the environment including existing water resources. Reliable hydrologic information, appropriately analyzed and interpreted, will enable the regulatory authorities to make sound decisions that:

• assure minimal risk to the hydrologic balance of the permit and adjacent areas; and

• prevent off-site material damage.

In sum, managing hydrologic information is the means by which water resources are characterized, potential impacts are identified, appropriate prevention or mitigation of those impacts is achieved, and verification of results is obtained. Information on existing and postmining water uses serves to define critical properties of these resources which must be the focus of mitigation planning.

The hydrology provisions for permitting have been among the least understood requirements under SMCRA. There are two principal reasons for this. First, permitting under SMCRA involves incorporation of basic hydrologic information from which hydrologic predictions are developed by both the applicant and the RA. Second, because of the wide variation in hydrologic environments nationwide, it is impossible to develop a standard methodology which would satisfy all possible situations. Therefore, transferring knowledge and successful methodologies from one area to another has been hampered.

One topic which lends itself to transferability is the proper and efficient management of hydrologic information. The collection, presentation, and use of hydrologic information are common threads which link all the parties involved in the permitting process. Managing hydrologic information relates mostly to the PHC and CHIA, for it is to meet these permitting requirements that data are collected. Although explicit requirements for both the PHC and CHIA exist in SMCRA and the permanent program regulations, they are performance-based minimum standards. As such, RA's have ample flexibility on how to comply with the implicit requirements behind the PHC and CHIA. Implied requirements are based on a combination of specifications, verifications, or controls needed to produce a technically-sound hydrologic impact analysis and, ultimately, supportable permitting decisions. Implied requirements supporting PHC and CHIA analyses thus include:

• quality assurance for geologic and hydrologic baseline data;

• selection of appropriate analytical tools and methodologies; and

• selection of appropriate monitoring stations, parameters, and frequencies.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this document is to assist in preventing environmental problems in the coal fields by providing a resource framework for:

1. maintaining and protecting the hydrologic balance during mining;

2. minimizing off-site impacts during mining; and

3. restoring land stability and productivity following mining.

In this context, we hope to promote effective and economical management of hydrologic information in meeting the SMCRA requirements for PHC and CHIA. To this end, the resource document includes discussions on the following topics:

• sources of hydrologic information including national data bases;

• the utility of computerized data bases and their relationship to OSM's Technical Information Processing System (TIPS);

• acid mine drainage and associated treatment costs;

• methods used to analyze hydrologic information to predict impacts; and

• measures commonly found to be successful for mitigating adverse impacts that are projected.