Chapter 5 — MINING PERMITS AND RECLAMATION PLANS

CHAPTER 5. - MINING PERMITS AND RECLAMATION PLANS PART 1. - PURPOSE, INTENT, DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE

9510. • Purpose and Intent.

(a)

This Chapter is adopted pursuant to the California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, Chapter 9, Public Resources Code.

9510.1. -

The City Council hereby finds and declares that the extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the City of Arcadia and to the needs of the society, and that the reclamation of mined lands is necessary to prevent or minimize adverse effects on the environment and to protect the public health and safety.

9510.2. -

The City Council further finds that the reclamation of mined lands as provided in this Chapter will permit the continued mining of minerals and will provide for the protection and subsequent beneficial use of the mined and reclaimed land.

9510.3. -

The City Council further finds that surface mining takes place in diverse areas where the geologic, topographic, climatic, biological, and social conditions are significantly different and that reclamation operations and the specifications therefor may vary accordingly.

For the purpose of this Chapter, certain words and terms are hereinafter defined and shall have the meaning thus ascribed.

9511.1. -

"Exploration" or "prospecting" means the search for minerals by geological, geophysical, geochemical or other techniques including, but not limited to, sampling, assaying, drilling, or any surface or underground works needed to determine the type, extent, or quantity of materials present.

9511.2. -

"Mined Lands": Includes the surface, subsurface, and groundwater of an area in which surface mining operations will be, are being, or have been conducted, including private ways and roads appurtenant to any such area, land excavations, workings, mining waste, and areas in which structures, facilities, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials or property which result from, or are used in, surface mining operations are located.

9511.3. -

"Minerals": Any naturally occurring chemical element or compound, or groups of elements and compounds, formed from inorganic processes and organic substances, including, but not limited to, coal, peat, and bituminous rock, but excluding geothermal resources, natural gas, and petroleum.

9511.4. -

"Mining Waste": Includes the residual of soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials or property directly resulting from, or displaced by, surface mining operations.

9511.5. -

"Operator": Any person who is engaged in surface mining operations, himself, or who contracts with others to conduct operations on his behalf.

9511.6. -

"Overburden": Soil, rock, or other materials that lie above a natural mineral deposit or in between deposits, before or after their removal, by surface mining operations.

9511.7. -

"Permit": Any formal authorization from, or approved by, the City of Arcadia the absence of which would preclude surface mining operations.

9511.8. -

"Person": Any individual, firm, association, corporation, organization, or partnership, or any city, county, district, or the state or any department or agency thereof.

9511.9. -

"Reclamation": The process of land treatment that minimizes water degradation, air pollution, damage to aquatic or wildlife habitat, flooding, erosion, and other adverse effects from surface mining operations, including adverse surface effects incidental to underground mines, so that mined lands are reclaimed to a usable condition which is readily adaptable for alternate land uses and create no danger to public health or safety. The process may extend to affected lands surrounding mined lands, and may require backfilling, grading, resoiling, revegetation, soil compaction, stabilization, or other measures.

9511.10. -

"State Board": State Mining and Geology Board, in the Department of Conservation, State of California.

9511.11. -

"State Geologist": Individual holding office as structured in Section 677 of Article 3, Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code.

9511.12. -

"Surface Mining Operations": All or any part of the process involved in the mining of minerals on mined lands by removing overburden and mining directly from the mineral deposits, open-pit mining of minerals naturally exposed, mining by the auger method, dredging and quarrying, or surface work incident to an underground mine. Surface mining operations shall include, but are not limited to:

(1)

In-place distillation, retorting or leaching.

(2)

The production and disposal of mining waste.

(3)

Prospecting and exploratory activities.

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all areas of the City of Arcadia.

The provisions of this Chapter are not applicable to:

(1)

Excavations or grading conducted for farming or onsite construction or for the purpose of restoring land following a flood or natural disaster.

(2)

Prospecting and exploration for minerals of commercial value where less than 1,000 cubic yards of overburden is removed in any one location of one acre or less.

(3)

Any surface mining operation that does not involve either the removal of a total of more than 1,000 cubic yards of minerals, ores, and overburden, or involve more than one acre in any one location.

(4)

Surface mining operations that are required by federal law in order to protect a mining claim, if such operations are conducted solely for that purpose.

(5)

Such other mining operations that the City of Arcadia determines to be of an infrequent nature, and which involve only minor surface disturbances and are categorically identified by the State Board pursuant to Sections 2714(d) and 2758(c) of the Public Resources Code. California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.

(Chapter 5 of Article IX added by Ord. 1678 adopted 6-5-79)

PART 2.; - b

Except as provided in Section 2776 of the Public Resources Code, as amended from time-to-time, no person shall engage or commence to engage in surface mining operations as defined in this Chapter without first obtaining a permit to mine and approval of a reclamation plan, in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Chapter and as further provided in Article 5, California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975. A fee as established for the permitted uses in a City fee resolution shall be paid to the City of Arcadia at the time of filing.

All applications for a Reclamation Plan for surface mining operations shall be made on forms provided by the City Planning Department and as called for by Section 2772 of California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975. No person who has obtained a vested right to conduct a surface mining operation prior to January 1, 1976, shall be required to secure a permit pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter as long as such vested right continues, provided that no substantial change is made in that operation except in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. A person shall be deemed to have such vested rights if, prior to January 1, 1976, he has in good faith and in reliance upon a permit or other authorization, if such permit or other authorization was required, diligently commenced surface mining operations and incurred substantial liabilities for work and materials necessary therefor. Expenses incurred

in obtaining the enactment of an ordinance in relation to a particular operation or the issuance of a permit shall not be deemed liabilities for work or materials. A person who has obtained a vested right to conduct surface mining operations prior to January 1, 1976 shall submit to the City Planning Department and receive within a period of twenty-four months, approval of a Reclamation Plan for operations to be conducted after January 1, l976, unless a Reclamation Plan was approved by the City of Arcadia prior to January 1, 1976, and the person submitting that plan has accepted responsibility for reclaiming the mined lands in accordance with that plan. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as requiring the filing of a reclamation plan for, or the reclamation of, mined lands on which surface mining operations were conducted prior to, but not after, January 1, 1976. The State Geologist shall be notified of the filing of all permit applications. This Chapter shall be continuously reviewed and revised, as necessary, in order to ensure that it is in accordance with the state policy for mined lands reclamation.

The Planning Department shall review the permit application, reclamation plan and appropriate environmental documents and schedule a public hearing within sixty (60) days of the date the Planning Director deems the aforesaid material filed. Said public hearing shall be held by the Planning Commission for the purpose of consideration of the issuance of a permit for the proposed mining operation.

9521.1. - Prerequisite Conditions.

Before a surface mining permit may be granted and before a reclamation plan may be approved, it shall be shown:

1.

That the granting of the permit or approval of the plan will not be detrimental to the public health, welfare or safety or injurious to the property in such zone or vicinity.

2.

That adverse environmental effects are prevented or minimized and that mined lands are reclaimed to a usable condition which is readily adaptable for alternative land uses.

3.

That the utilization of such permit or implementation of such plan will be in compliance with the Arcadia Municipal Code and will not adversely affect the comprehensive general plan.

4.

That such plan or permit will encourage the production and conservation of minerals and will give consideration to values relating to recreation, watershed, wildlife, range and forage, and aesthetic enjoyment.

Written findings of fact shall be made for each approval or denial of a plan or permit.

The approval of any plan or permit may be subject to conditions set forth in the findings of fact. Any plan or permit may be revoked by the same procedure by which it is granted if conditions of approval are not complied with or for violation of any law or regulation.

An appeal of the determination by the Planning Director in the exercise of the authority granted herein may be made to the Planning Commission. Appeal of a Planning Commission decision may be made to the City Council. All appeals must be filed within five (5) working days after a decision and must be accompanied by an appeal fee equal to one-half the amount of the application fee.

Upon a finding by the City of Arcadia that a supplemental guarantee for the reclamation of the mined land is necessary, and upon the determination by the Planning Department of the cost of the reclamation of the mined land according to the Reclamation Plan, a surety bond, lien, or other security guarantee conditioned upon the faithful performance of the Reclamation Plan shall be filed with the Planning Department in a form and with content approved by the City Attorney. Such surety shall be executed in favor of the City of Arcadia and reviewed and revised, as necessary. Such surety shall be maintained in an amount equal to the cost of completing the remaining reclamation of the site as prescribed in the approved or amended Reclamation Plan during the succeeding two-year period, or other reasonable term.

Reclamation Plans, reports, applications, and other documents submitted pursuant to this Chapter, are public records unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the City of Arcadia that the release of such information, or part thereof, would reveal production reserves, or rate of depletion entitled to protection as proprietary information. The City of Arcadia shall identify such proprietary information as a separate part of each application. A copy of all permits, reclamation plans, reports, applications, and other documents submitted pursuant to this Chapter, including proprietary information, shall be furnished to the District Geologist of the State Division of Mines (and Geology) by the City of Arcadia. Proprietary information shall be made available to persons other than the State Geologist only when authorized by the mine operator and by the mine owner in accordance with Section 2778 of the Public Resources Code as amended from time-to-time.

As a condition of approval for the Permit or the Reclamation Plan, or both, a schedule for periodic inspections of the site shall be established to evaluate continuing compliance with the Permit and Reclamation Plan.

Amendments to an approved Reclamation Plan may be submitted to the City of Arcadia at any time, detailing proposed changes from the original plan. Substantial deviations from the original plan shall not be undertaken until such amendment has been filed with, and approved by, the City of Arcadia.

Amendments to an approved Reclamation Plan shall be approved by the same procedure as is prescribed for approval of a Reclamation Plan.

Variances from an approved Reclamation Plan may be allowed upon request of the operator and applicant, if they are not one and the same, and upon a finding by the City of Arcadia that each requested variance is necessary to achieve the prescribed or higher post-mining use of the reclaimed land.

The provisions of this Chapter shall be enforced by any authorized member of the Planning Department of the City of Arcadia or such other persons as may be designated by the Council.

(Chapter 5 of Article IX added by Ord. 1678 adopted 6-5-79)