Compliance Bulletins

Overview

The Division of Mining and Reclamation uses compliance bulletins to provide better communication to the regulated community of changes to existing and new regulatory policies, procedures, developments, and actions.

Contact Us

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Mining and Reclamation
601 57th Street SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: (304) 926-0490
Fax: (304) 926-0456
Additonal DMR Contacts


  • Issue 1: OSMRE Approves WV-125

    The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced in Federal Register/ 89 FR 2133-2139 the approval of the West Virginia Code in the following sections:

    1. W. Va. Code Sec. 22-3-11(g) (1)
    2. W. Va. Code Sec. 22-3-11(g) (2)
    3. W. Va. Code Sec. 22-3-23(c) (3)
    4. W. Va. Code 22-3-23(i)

    All approvals are effective February 12, 2024.

    Summary of WV-125

    OSMRE approved WV-125 that has the legislative changes from SB 687 in 2017. Changes include:

    • The Special Reclamation Water Trust Fund have moneys to assure a reliable source of capital for O&M costs at water treatment sites where DEP has applied for, or obtained, an NPDES permit.
    • Removal of the requirement for a flat rate of 25% to be retained at phase 2 release, but instead retain a sufficient amount of bond for a third party to revegetate the permitted area.
    • Removal of the provision that requires, at application of release, for an AOC-variance permit, the permittee must have the necessary post-mining infrastructure established or financing completed.
    • Removal of the requirement that phase 2 bond release cannot occur until at least 2 years following the last augmented seeding date, but instead allows phase 2 bond release when the Secretary determines a successful vegetative cover is established.

    Note: OSMRE is deferring their decision on W. Va. Code Sec. 22-3-11(g) (2) until they have reviewed the 2022 proposed program amendment. However, they have approved the renumbering.

    Current versions of the Division of Mining and Reclamation Codes and Regulations can be found on the DMR Codes and Regulations page.

  • Issue 2: Electronic Submittal of Dam Cnotrol Jurisdictional Termination

    The Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce the DCJT as a new submittal type in the Electronic Submission System (eSS).

    The DCJT will allow the permittee to upload supporting documentation as required in the Coal Related Dam Safety Rules, 38 CSR 4, to request the abandonment of an impoundment. This will facilitate the release of the Dam Certificate in accordance with these regulations and with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

    The permittee shall submit one abandonment request per eSS submission. The “Reference ID” will define the year and the impoundment name.

  • Issue 1 - Division of Mining and Reclamation 2023 Virtual Industry Training

    The Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR) will be conducting two Virtual Industry Trainings on June 22, 2023, and December 5, 2023 at 9:00am.

    The training will be conducted using Google Meet and will count as four (4) Professional Development Hours (PDH).

    June Training Topics: are:

    • Electronic Submission System (eSS) Process
    • Surface Water Runoff Analysis (SWROA) Monitoring Requirements
    • Update on Endangered Species
    • Probable Hydrologic Consequences (PHC), Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA), and Post Underground Mining Assessment (PUMA) Overview
    • Administrative Penalty Orders and Single Event Violations (SEV) Processes

    December training topics to be determined.

    Please feel free to contact us with any questions. To receive PDH credits, please use the subject line "DMR-PDH" in your email.

    Contact Us

    Leslie Oaks
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
    Division of Mining and Reclamation
    601 57th Street SE
    Charleston, WV 25304
    Phone: (304) 543-6762
    Email: Leslie.S.Oaks@wv.gov

    Join the December Training Meeting

  • Issue 2 - Division of Mining and Reclamation Site-Specific Blast Plan Guidance

    This compliance bulletin is intended to provide guidance for permits where a site-specific blast plan was not included in the original permit application. In this case, a site-specific blast plan will be made part of the permit via the submittal and approval of an Insignificant Permit Revision (REV) application, of the type “Blast Plan – Site Specific”, through the Electronic Submission System (eSS).

    Regulations related to site-specific blast plans are:

    • 199 CSR1-3.6.f.1 states “An anticipated blast design shall be submitted if blasting operations will we conducted within:”
    • 3.6.f.1.A “1,000 feet of any building used as a dwelling, public building, school, church, or community or institutional building outside the permit area; or”
    • 3.6.f.1.B “500 feet of an active or abandoned underground mine.”
    • 3.6.f.2 "the blast design may be presented as part of a permit application or at a time, before the blast as approved by the Secretary.
    • 3.6.f.3 “The blast design shall contain sketches of the drill patterns, delay periods, and decking and shall indicate the type and amount of explosives to be used, critical dimensions, and the location and general description of structures, including protected structures, to be protected, as well as a discussion of design factors to be used which protect the public and meet the applicable airblast, flyrock, and ground vibration standards.”
    • 3.6.f.4 “The blast design shall be prepared and signed by a WV DEP certified blaster.”
    • 3.6.f.5 “The secretary may require changes to the design submitted.”

    Plans need to correlate and correspond with the latest approved blast map. Please contact Jim Ratcliff at Jim.E.Ratcliff@wv.gov with any questions.

  • Issue 3 - Passage of House Bill 3189: PFAS Protection Act

    House Bill 3189, the PFAS Protection Act was signed into law on March 28, 2023. The new law is designed to identify sources of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS substances) discharged into source waters used for public drinking water.

    As part of this legislation, and to address sources of PFAS substances in public water systems, facilities using PFAS chemicals are required to report their use to the DEP by December 31, 2023.

    Facilities required to report usage to the DEP are ones that discharge to a surface water under a NPDES permit or that discharge to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works which knowingly use or have used one or more of the PFAS chemicals in their production process since January 1, 2017.

    PFAS chemicals addressed in the legislation are “any PFAS chemicals found in any public water system’s raw water source in the USGS study”. More details on reporting requirements, the language of the law, and a list PFAS chemicals can be found on subsequent pages of this compliance bulletin.

    Please submit reports to Melissa Johnson at Melissa.K.Johnson@wv.gov in the Division of Mining and Reclamation.

    If you have any questions related to your need to report please contact Scot Mandirola, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection at (304) 926-0499.

  • Issue 4 - Division of Mining and Reclamation December 5, 2023 Virtual Industry Training - Reminder

    The Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR) will be conducting the second Virtual Industry Training of 2023 on December 5, 2023, at 9:00am.

    The training will be conducted using Google Meet and will count as four (4) Professional Development Hours (PDH).

    December Training Topics

    • 401/UIC Review
    • Public Participation Guidance Document
    • Slope Stability Study
    • Certifications
    • DEP Website Overview
    • Site Specific Blast Plans

    For questions regarding the training, please contact us. To receive PDH credits, put "DMR-PDH" in the subject line of the email.

    Contact Us

    Leslie Oaks
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
    Division of Mining and Reclamation
    601 57th Street SE
    Charleston, WV 25304
    Phone: (304) 543-6762
    Email: Leslie.S.Oaks@wv.gov

    Join the December Training Meeting
  • Issue 1 - Electronic Submittal of Semi-Annual Fish Tissue Compliance Monitoring Report

    January 17, 2020
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce the new FTC submittal type in the Electronic Submission System (eSS).

  • Issue 2 - HPU eDMR Not Constructed and Alternate Effluent Limits Code Clarification

    January 17, 2020
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – Division of Mining and Reclamation, HPU Section is sending this compliance bulletin to clarify codes used in HPU eDMRs that relate to Not Constructed and Alternate effluent Limits.

  • Issue 3 - Creating a PDF from an AutoCAD (DWG) File

    March 12, 2020
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – Division of Mining and Reclamation, has developed directive on easily creating a PDF from an AutoCAD (DWG) file. The purpose of this directive is to eliminate common map viewing problems, decrease the file size of attachments, and to cut down on mapping related corrections. When uploading PDF maps into applications via the Electronic Submission System (eSS) please reference the directive located on page 2 of this compliance bulletin.

  • Issue 4 - SMA Groundwater Inventory Requirements

    March 25, 2020
    Surface Mining Application (SMA) Groundwater Inventory Requirements: Attachment J-2. At this time, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and comply with the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation of “social distancing,” a Groundwater Inventory (Attachment J-2) is not required to be part of a Surface Mine Application for it to be deemed administratively complete per §38CSR2-2.9. The Groundwater Inventory will be submitted prior to the application being deemed technically complete. A complete and accurate Groundwater Inventory is required to be part of the Surface Mine Application prior to final decision.

  • Issue 5 - Coal Bed Methane Policy

    March 26, 2020
    Coal Bed Methane Policy Revision to Division of Mining and Reclamation Permitting Handbook The Coal Bed Methane policy in the Division of Mining and Reclamation’s Permitting Handbook has been revised effective March 23, 2020. The purpose of this revision is to address methane flaring operations from underground coal mines permitted pursuant to the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (SCMRA). The revised policy can be found in the Permit Application section on page fifty of the Handbook. This policy applies only to West Virginia SCMRA permits. Permits issued by other WVDEP Divisions/Offices may be required prior to commencing methane flaring operations.

  • Issue 6 - Sampling of Groundwater Monitoring Sites

    April 1, 2020
    Sampling of “During-Mining”Groundwater Monitoring Sites at Occupied Dwellings. This Division of Mining and Reclamation compliance bulletin is to provide guidance on the sampling frequency of “during-mining” groundwater monitoring sites, at occupied dwellings. This is being done to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to comply with the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation of “social distancing.”

  • Issue 7 - OSMRE Approval of Amendments to WV Regulatory Program

    April 3, 2020
    Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement(OSMRE) Approval of Amendments to the West Virginia Regulatory Program.

  • Issue 8 - Common Semi-Annual Selenium Fish Tissue Compliance Monitoring & Reporting

    April 13, 2020
    Common Semi-Annual Selenium Fish Tissue Compliance Monitoring and Reporting Questions and Errors. The purpose of this compliance bulletin is to provide clarification on Selenium Fish Tissue Compliance Monitoring and Reporting.

  • Issue 9 - Assessment Conferences via Microsoft Teams

    June 14, 2020
    The purpose of this compliance bulletin is to provide instruction and guidance on how to participate in assessment conferences remotely using Microsoft Teams (Teams). The Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR) will be conducting all assessment conferences remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued need for social distancing.

  • Issue 10 - Division of Mining and Reclamation Virtual Industry Training

    August 12, 2020
    The Division of Mining and Reclamation will be conducting two Virtual Training Sessions in 2020. Each session will be conducted using Microsoft Teams and will count as four (4) Professional Development Hours (PDH).

  • Issue 11 - EPA Termination of Temporary Advisory for NPDES Reporting

    September 17, 2020
    EPA Advisory on the use of the "No Date Indicator (NODI)" Code Z where data has not been submitted due to COVID-19 related issues.

  • Issue 12 - Industry Training Reminder

    October 28, 2020
    Just a reminder, the Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR) will be conducting the last of the Virtual Training Sessions on November 12, 2020 at 9:00 am.

  • Issue 1 - Electronic Submittal of Pre-Subsidence Surveys (PSUB)

    January 14, 2019
    The Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce the new PSUB electronic application type in eSS under the Mining and Reclamation (OMR) DEP Office preference.

  • Issue 2 - Intentionally Omitted

  • Issue 3 - Electronic Submittal of Adaptive Management Plans (AMP)

    March 21, 2019
    The Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce the new AMP application type in the Electronic Submission System (eSS).

  • Issue 4 - Random Compaction Testing at Permitted Facilities

    April 9, 2019
    The Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR) will be conducting random compaction testing, at permitted refuse impoundments throughout the State, over the next several weeks. The purpose of the testing is to provide independent verification of the construction specifications associated with the refuse disposal permit.

  • Issue 5 - Elimination of Paper Courthouse Copies of Pending Applications

    September 27, 2019
    West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce that all pending applications will be viewable, on the internet, via a web address provided in the public notice. This web address can be accessed by any computer with internet access, regardless of location.

  • Issue 1 - DMR Submission Date Change

    May 22, 2018
    Currently National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits require that Discharge Monitoring Reports, (DMRs) be filed on or before the 20th day of the month following the end of the monitoring period specified in the permit. As of April 1, 2018, the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Mining and Reclamation (DEP DMR), will now require filing of DMRs for NPDES permits on or before the 25th day of the month following the end of the monitoring period. NPDES permits issued, modified, or reissued after that date will reflect this change.

  • Issue 2 - eDMR Alternate Limit Codes & Average pH Reporting

    June 19, 2018
    In order to address eDMR program coding being mis-read by the EPA ICIS database, the following coding will be required on both File Upload and Manual Entry eDMRs.

  • Issue 3 - WV Selenium Chronic Aquatic Life Standard Implementation

    September 14, 2018
    In order to develop protective permit limits for selenium, a bioaccumulation factor (BAF) for specificwater bodies may be obtained using selenium fish tissue concentration along with water column selenium information.

  • Issue 4 - MR-46 Roads and Ancillary Facilities Checklist

    October 15, 2018
    In order to take a more proactive approach to prevent off-site impacts from roads and ancillary facilities, the MR-46 Roads and Ancillary Facilities Checklist is designed to assist Inspection and Enforcement personnel in identifying violations before off-site impacts occur.

  • Issue 1 - Electronic Submittal of Certifications via eSS

    January 25, 2017
    The Division of Mining and Reclamation is pleased to announce the new eCertification (eCert) available in eSS. eCertallows for preparation, upload and submittal of initial, quarterly, annual and final certifications of MR13, MR13B, MR13C,MR13R and MR29s to the Division via eSS.

  • Issue 1 - Explosive Products and Detonation Devices

    September 9, 2015
    In regard to obtaining approval of explosive products and detonation devices for use on surface coal mines and quarries, Chapter 22, Article 4, Section 13 of the state code, and Title 199, Series 1, Section 3.2 of the state rules, require a permittee to obtain approval of the type of explosives and detonation equipment to be used on the permit.

  • Issue 2 - NPDES Application Paper Reduction

    September 10, 2015
    In effort to reduce paper usage and costs, The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Division of Mining and Reclamation will no longer require paper maps and signature pages to be submitted for NPDES applications. These procedures will reduce efforts and expense for WVDEP as well as the regulated community.

  • Issue 3 - NLEB Protection Plan for Mining Activities in West Virginia

    November 10, 2015
    On April 2, 2015, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) finalized the listing determination for the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) (NLEB); the species was designated as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with a 4(d) status. This letter, in accord with the 1996 Biological Opinion and Conference Report (’96 BO) provided by the USFWS to the United States Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), concerns “take” of threatened and endangered species on mine sites. Further, the following directives apply only to permitted and proposed areas containing suitable habitat for the NLEB.

  • Issue 1 - Biological Assessment Stations

    October 14, 2014
    In regard to WVDEP (DMR) policy of annual biological monitoring and associated quarterly water chemistry monitoring at Biological Assessment Stations (BAS), which are assigned in accordance with the Permitting Guidance for Surface Coal Mining Operations to Protect West Virginia’s Narrative Water Quality Standards, 47 C.S.R. 2 §§ 3.2.e and 3.2.i (Narrative Guidance), the WVDEP (DMR) is issuing the following clarification.


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