ASTM D7628-10

This practice addresses boundary data pertaining to areas that have been petitioned to be designated as unsuitable for mining relative to Title V Section 522 of the SMCRA as well as those lands that have been found by the RA’s process to be designated unsuitable for all or certain types of mining. These areas may be petitioned to be unsuitable for CMOs because of a number of reasons including but not limited to being fragile, historic, cultural, and scientific, having esthetic values, and having natural systems such as aquifers that a CMO could result in significant damage. This practice is significant as it provides for uniformity of geospatial data pertaining to the geographic location and description of both land petitioned and those areas ultimately ruled upon and designated with restrictions to CMOs.

The lands unsuitable for mining petition geospatial data shall be obtained from RAs for CMOs. The coal mining community encompasses all entities directly and indirectly affected by CMOs including industry, and other interested parties, the public and the government at all levels within the United States.

Within its area of exclusive jurisdiction, each RA is the ADS for coal mining spatial data that it creates and uses to regulate mining activity.

This geospatial data standard will help ensure uniformity of data contributed by each RA and assist organizations in efforts to create, utilize, and share geospatial data relative to SMCRA, and it will lead to better communication between state, tribal, and federal regulatory offices, the public, and industry.

Use of this standard over time will allow identification of changes in the boundaries of petition and designated areas.

This standard conforms to the definition of a Data Content Standard as promulgated by the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). Terminology and definitions for identifying geographical features and describing the data model have been adopted from the FGDC Spatial Data Transfer Standard (See ANSI INCITS 320-1998 (R2003) and Project 1574-D).

1.1 This practice describes minimum geospatial data required to locate and describe lands unsuitable for mining petitions (LUMP) and designated areas as a result of the petition.

1.1.1 This practice addresses petition areas and any resulting designated areas geospatial boundary data as detailed in the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). This geospatial data shall be obtained from each state, tribal, or federal coal mining Regulatory Authority (RA), or combinations thereof, authorized under SMCRA to regulate coal mining operations (CMOs). Each RA shall be the authoritative data source (ADS) for this coal mining geospatial data.

1.1.2 As used in this practice, a LUMP area was petitioned to be designated as unsuitable for CMOs. The RA is responsible for keeping a record of these areas as set forth in Title V Section 522 of the SMCRA and within the OSM regulations (30 CFR Part 761).

1.1.3 This practice is one of several that have been approved or are in development related to SMCRA approved coal mining operations. Also under development is a terminology standard. Initial development of these standards is being done on an individual basis; however, they may be consolidated to reduce repetition of information between them.

1.2 This practice applies to pre-SMCRA and post-SMCRA petition areas considered by the RA.

1.3 This practice offers a set of instructions for performing one or more specific operations. This document cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this practice may be applicable in all circumstances. This ASTM standard is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this document be applied without consideration of a project’s many unique aspects. The word “Standard” in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.