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Tex. Natural Resources Code § 134.093

This is the official text of Tex. Natural Resources Code § 134.093, part of Texas’s Natural Resources Code — governs land, minerals, and natural resource management.

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§ 134.093.

Official statutory text

Sec. 134.093. BACKFILLING, GRADING, AND COMPACTING: INSUFFICIENT OVERBURDEN. (a) This section applies to a surface coal mining operation:

(1) that is carried out at the same location over a substantial period;

(2) that transects the coal deposit;

(3) in which the thickness of the coal deposit relative to the volume of the overburden is large; and

(4) for which the operator demonstrates that the overburden and other spoil and waste materials at a particular point in the permit area or otherwise available from the entire permit area are insufficient, considering volumetric expansion, to restore the approximate original contour.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 134.092(a)(3), the operator, at a minimum, shall backfill, grade, and compact, where advisable, using the available overburden and other spoil and waste materials to attain the lowest practicable grade but not more than the angle of repose, to provide adequate drainage, and to cover the acid-forming and other toxic materials in order to achieve an ecologically sound land use compatible with the surrounding region.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.