Section 300.220  Monitoring

 

a)         Duties of the Operator

 

1)         When the scaled distance has a value less than 65 at the closest protected structure, the operator shall make a seismographic recording and airblast recording at or near that structure.

 

2)         When any blast is within 500 feet of a landfill, the operator shall make a seismograph recording at or near the closest part of the landfill to the blast.  This requirement shall not apply if a protected structure is located between the blast and the landfill or if an alternative compliance method has been approved by the Department in accordance with Section 300.225(f).

 

3)         When the cubed root scaled distance to the nearest protected structure has a value less than 350 and when the burden to hole depth ratio is greater than 1.0, or the top stemming height is less than 70% of the burden dimension, the airblast produced by the blast shall be measured at or near the closest protected structure. This subsection shall not apply to horizontal blast holes drilled from the floor of the pit.

 

4)         The operator shall maintain blasting records as follows:

 

A)        A record of each blast  shall be made,  retained by the operator for at least three years and made available for inspection by the Department.  Records of  blasts conducted since the Department's last inspection, or copies of such blasting records, shall be made available at the operation for inspection by the Department. The record is to be completed by the end of the work day following the day in which the blast occurred, including the seismograph meter reading, if available, and shall contain the following data:

 

i)          Name of the operator conducting the blast.

 

ii)         The location, date and time of the blast.  If necessary to enforce the purposes of these regulations, the Department may require that the location of the blast be indicated as a point on a state plane coordinate system.

 

iii)        Name, signature and licensure number of the licensed blaster responsible for the blast.

 

iv)        Type of material blasted.

 

v)         Number of holes, burden and spacing.

 

vi)        Diameter and depth of holes.

 

vii)       Type of explosives used.

 

viii)      Total weight of explosives used.

 

ix)        Weight of explosives used per hole.

 

x)         Maximum weight of explosives detonated within any eight millisecond period.

 

xi)        Maximum number of holes or decks detonated within any eight millisecond period.

 

xii)       Initiation system, including number of circuits and the timer interval, if a sequential timer is used.

 

xiii)      Type and length of stemming (deck and top).

 

xiv)      Type of detonator and delay periods used, in milliseconds.

 

xv)       Sketch of delay pattern, including decking.

 

xvi)      Distance and scaled distance to the closest protected structure, using the best available information.

 

xvii)     Location or address of the closest protected structure, using the best available information.

 

xviii)    Distance and scaled distance to the closest part of any landfill within 500 feet of the blast.

 

B)        Air blast and/or ground vibration recordings, or photographic copies thereof, where required by the Department, shall be kept for a period of three years following the date of the blast, and shall be available for inspection by the Department. Records of blasts conducted since the Department's last inspection, or copies of such blasting records, shall be made available at the operation for inspection by the Department. The recordings shall include the following information:

 

i)          Maximum airblast and/or ground vibration levels recorded.

 

ii)         The specific location of the monitoring equipment, its distance from the blast and the date and time of the recording.

 

iii)        Name of the person and firm making the recording.

 

iv)        Name of the person and firm analyzing the recordings. The recording shall be signed and dated by the person performing the analysis.

 

v)         The type of instrument, sensitivity and calibration signal or certification date of annual calibration.

 

C)        As used herein, "seismographic recording", or "record of airblast recording", or "record" shall mean a visually inspectable cartesian representation of the time history of the particle velocity levels or airblast levels versus time.  The particle velocity is shown by three traces representing mutually perpendicular components of motion. The components are oriented vertically, transversely and longitudinally to the horizontal direction from the recording location to the location of the blast. The airblast time history is represented by a single trace. The record or recording includes either an analog representation, or a written description, of the vertical scale for the particle velocity traces and the airblast trace. The units for the particle velocity traces and scale are in inches per second. The units for the airblast trace and scale are millibars, pounds per square inch, or decibels. The recording shall also include an analog or descriptive time scale. The time units are in seconds.

 

b)         Duties of the Department

 

1)         The Department shall conduct seismographic monitoring at any operation at such times and conditions as the Department deems appropriate.

 

2)         The Department shall conduct  inspections of the operation as follows:

 

A)        Randomly without notice twice per year.

 

B)        At such other times and conditions as the Department deems appropriate.

 

C)        Less frequently than twice per year at operations where blasting is not regularly conducted.

 

3)         All Department employees conducting official business shall inform the operator or the operator's designated representative, if either is present, upon arrival to and departure from  the operation.

 

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 8407, effective April 28, 1998)