Yolo County Municipal Code Art. 2 Definitions

Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this chapter its most reasonable application. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Abandon” or “abandonment” shall mean to cease surface mining or reclamation with the intention of not resuming or reclaiming. Unless an Interim Management Plan is currently pending before the County, any surface mining operation that is idle for twelve (12) consecutive months or longer shall be considered abandoned. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Act” shall mean the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975, specifically referring to Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the State Public Resources Code, Sections 2710 et seq. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Agency” shall mean the Planning and Public Works Department of the County, or its successor in function. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Backfill” shall mean earth, overburden, mine waste, or imported material used to replace material removed during mining. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Board” shall mean the Board of Supervisors of the County. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“CEQA” shall mean the California Environmental Quality Act set forth in Sections 21000 et seq. of Division 13 of the Public Resources Code of California. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Commission” shall mean the Planning Commission of the County, or its successor in function. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“County” shall mean the County of Yolo . (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Department” shall mean the State Department of Conservation, or its successor in function with regards to surface mining and reclamation regulation. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Director” shall mean the Director of the County Planning and Public Works Department, a designee chosen by the Director, or the Director’s successor in function. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Financial assurances” shall mean monetary funds, securities, or other instruments, approved by the State Mines and Geology Board in regulation, provided by the operator to ensure that surface mining operations are reclaimed according to the approved reclamation plan, should the operator abandon the mine site. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Haul road” shall mean a road along which material is transported from the area of excavation to the processing plant or stock pile area of the surface mining operation. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Idle” shall mean those surface mining operations where production has been reduced by more than 90 percent of the operation’s previous maximum annual mineral production, for a period of one year or more, with the intent to resume operations at a later date. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Interim Management Plan” shall mean an amendment to the approved reclamation plan to provide measures for maintaining an idle mine site until operations are resumed. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Lead Agency” shall mean the County, which has the principal responsibility for approving a surface mining operation or reclamation plan pursuant to this chapter. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Mined lands” shall mean 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. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Minerals” shall mean 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. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Mining waste” shall mean 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. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Operator” shall mean any person who is engaged in surface mining operations, or who contracts with others to conduct operations on their behalf, except a person who is engaged in surface mining operations as an employee with wages as their sole compensation. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Overburden” shall mean soil, rock, or other materials that lie above a natural mineral deposit or in between mineral deposits, before or after their removal by surface mining operations. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Prime agricultural land” shall mean all land which meets the definition of prime agricultural land set forth in Section 51201 of the Government Code of the State and administered by the County in the administration of its agricultural preserve program. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Reclamation” shall mean the process of land treatment that minimizes water degradation, air pollution, damage to aquatic or wildlife habitat, flooding, erosion, threats to public health or safety, 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. The process may extend to affected lands surrounding mined lands, and may require backfilling, grading, resoiling, revegetation, soil compaction, stabilization, or other measures. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Reclamation Plan” shall mean the operator’s completed and approved plan for reclaiming lands affected by any surface mining operations conducted after January 1, 1976, as required by Section 2772 of the Public Resources Code of the State. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Regulations” shall mean the State Mining and Geology Board Reclamation Regulations, specifically referring to Subchapter 1 of Chapter 8 of Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Resoiling” shall mean the process of artificially building or reconstructing a soil profile. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Slope” shall mean the angle of the ground surface, expressed as a ratio of the horizontal distance to the vertical distance. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“State CEQA Guidelines” shall mean those regulations set forth in Sections 15000 et seq. of Chapter 3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Surface mining operations” shall mean 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 incidental to an underground mine. Surface mining operations shall include, but are not limited to: in-place distillation or retorting or leaching; the production and disposal of mining waste; and prospecting and exploratory activities. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)

“Topsoil” shall mean the upper part of the soil profile that is relatively rich in humus, which is technically known as the A-horizon of the soil profile. (§ 2, Ord. 1276, eff. December 6, 2001)