(a) All coal mine waste shall be hauled or conveyed and placed in new and existing disposal areas approved by the Commission for this purpose. These areas shall be within a permit area. The disposal area shall be designed, constructed and maintained:
  (1) in accordance with §12.531 and §12.532 of this title (relating to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: General Requirements, and to Disposal of Underground Development Waste and Excess Spoil: Valley Fills), this section, and §§12.536-12.541 of this title (relating to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Site Inspection, to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Water-Control Measures, to Coal Mine Waste Banks: Construction Requirements, to Coal Mine Waste: Burning, to Coal Mine Waste: Burned-Waste Utilization, and to Coal Mine Waste: Return to Underground Workings); and
  (2) to prevent combustion.
(b) Coal mine waste materials from activities located outside a permit area, such as those activities at other mines or abandoned mine-waste piles, may be disposed of in the permit area only if approved by the Commission. Approval shall be based on a showing by the person who conducts underground mining activities in the permit area, using hydrologic, geologic, geotechnical, physical, and chemical analyses, that disposal of these materials does not:
  (1) adversely affect water quality, water flow, or vegetation;
  (2) create public health hazards; or
  (3) cause instability in the disposal areas.
(c) The disposal facility shall be designed using current, prudent engineering practices and shall meet any design criteria established by the Commission. A qualified professional engineer experienced in the design of similar earth and waste structures shall certify the design of the disposal facility.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.535 adopted to be effective April 7, 1997, 22 TexReg 3093; amended to be effective November 4, 1997, 22 TexReg 10640; amended to be effective December 28, 2020, 45 TexReg 9503