Current Regulatory Framework - Coal Waste Impoundments: Risks, Responses, and Alternatives - page 20

(g)). This limitation is important in assessing MSHA's regulatory responsibility
and authority associated with potential impoundment breakthroughs and failures
that do not affect the health and safety of miners but may affect persons,
communities, or ecosystems downstream.
MSHA developed standards for impoundments and refuse piles after the
Buffalo Creek disaster in February 1972 ( Sidebar 1.3 ) and promulgated
regulations to address the design, review, and monitoring of these structures (30
C.F.R. [Code of Federal Regulations] §§ 77.214, 77.215, and 77.216). While
these regulations address a variety of health and safety issues pertaining to all
aspects of coal mining, Section 77.216 is specifically directed at water,
sediment, and slurry impoundments and impounding structures. It defines the
identification, engineering plan, inspection, hazard abatement, reporting,
certification, and abandonment requirements for impoundment systems that fall
under MSHA's jurisdiction. Impoundments that are large enough to be
regulated by MSHA are commonly referred to as MSHA-class impoundments
(30 C.F.R. § 77.216). These structures impound water, sediment, or slurry to an
elevation of 5 feet or more and a storage volume of 20 acre-feet or more, or
impound to an elevation of 20 feet or more, or present a hazard to coal miners,
as determined by the local district manager. The following discussion, while not
a comprehensive overview of the regulatory requirements of 30 C.F.R. §
77.216, presents the salient points of the MSHA regulations that are relevant to
limiting the potential for refuse impoundment breakthroughs and failures.
Requirements for Engineering Plans
Regulations contained in 30 C.F.R. § 77.216 require that plans for the
design, construction, and maintenance of MSHA-class impoundments be
prepared and submitted to MSHA for approval before construction begins. Such
plans must include information on the physical and engineering properties of
foundation materials and of embankment construction materials. They must
include a stability analysis of the impounding structure and identify the location
of surface and underground mine workings near the facility. Specific to
underground workings, 30 C.F.R. § 77.216-2 (a)(14) requires that:
The locations of surface and underground coal mine workings including the
depth and extent of such workings within the area 500 feet around the
perimeter, [should be] shown at a scale not to exceed one inch=500 feet.