Chino Hills Municipal Code Ch. 1 Surface Mining and Land Reclamation

It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors to create and maintain an effective and comprehensive surface mining and reclamation policy with regulation of surface mining operations so as to assure that:

(a) Adverse environmental effects are prevented or minimized and that mined lands are reclaimed to a usable condition which is readily adaptable for alternative land use.

(b) The production and conservation of minerals are encouraged, while giving consideration to values relating to recreation, watershed, wildlife, range and forage and aesthetic enjoyment.

(c) Residual hazards to the public health and safety are eliminated.

(d) The extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the County and to the needs of society, and that reclamation of mined lands is necessary to prevent or minimize adverse effects on the environment and to protect the public health and safety.

(e) 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.

(f) 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 specification therefore may vary accordingly.

(a) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County.

(b) The provisions of this chapter are not applicable to:

(1) Excavations or grading for farming, on-site construction or restoration of land following a flood or natural disaster.

(2) Reclamation of lands mined prior to January 1, 1976.

(3) Operations conducted prior to January 1, 1976, on mining claims located under the mining laws of 1872, et seq., and not recorded by January 1, 1976, as abandoned.

(4) Those underground operations with tailings or waste dumps in total amounts of less than one thousand (1,000) cubic yards not exceeding one (1) acre in extent at any one site of underground access opening, providing such openings are secured.

(5) 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.

(6) Prospecting for, or the extraction of, minerals for commercial purposes and the removal of overburden in total amounts of less than one thousand (1,000) cubic yards in any one location of one (1) acre or less.

(7) Such operations that the County determines to be of an infrequent nature and that involve only minor surface disturbance.

(a) Any person who proposes to engage in surface mining activity shall, prior to the commencement of said operations, first file and obtain approval from the Planning Officer for a Conditional Use Permit application as provided in Section 84.0320 of the Development Code and a Reclamation Plan in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Chapter, and as further provided in Section 2772(f) of the California Public Resources Code. A fee as established in the County Schedule of Fees shall be paid to Environmental Public Works Agency at the time of filing. A reclamation plan shall be filed for existing nonexempted operations within eighteen (18) months or as established by the Environmental Public Works Agency for the review and approval for the reclamation of surface mining activity for those portions of the site mined after January 1, 1976. A fee, as established in the County Schedule of Fees, shall be paid to the Environmental Public Works Agency at the time of filing of the Reclamation Plan.

Application for a Conditional Use Permit or Reclamation Plan for surface mining or land reclamation projects shall be made on forms provided by the San Bernardino Office of Planning within the Environmental Public Works Agency. Said application shall be filed in accord with this Chapter and procedures to be established by the Environmental Public Works Agency.

(b) No person who has obtained a vested right to conduct surface mining operations 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, however, that no substantial changes are made in any such operation except in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. 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 Environmental Public Works Agency (and receive within a reasonable period of time) approval of a Reclamation Plan for operations to be conducted after January 1, 1976, unless a Reclamation Plan was approved by the County prior to January 1, 1976, and the person submitting the plan has accepted responsibility for reclaiming the mined lands in accordance with the reclamation plan.

Nothing in this Section 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 January 1, 1976.

Upon completion of the Environmental Review procedure and filing of all documents required by the County Office of Planning, consideration of the Conditional Use Permit or Reclamation Plan for the proposed or existing surface mine shall be completed pursuant to the Development Code and Section 2774 of the California Public Resources Code.

As a condition of approval for either the Conditional Use Permit or the Reclamation Plan, a periodic review schedule shall be established to evaluate compliance with the said plan.

The provisions of this Chapter shall be enforced by the Administrator of the Environmental Public Works Agency, an authorized designee or deputies.

Any person aggrieved by an act or determination of the Environmental Public Works Agency Administrator in the exercise of the authority granted herein, shall have the right to appeal to the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors, whichever is the next higher authority, pursuant to Section 2775 of the California Public Resources Code. An appeal shall be filed on forms provided, within fifteen (15) calendar days in writing, after a decision has been rendered.