For the purpose of this title, the following words and terms shall have the meanings set forth herein unless a different meaning is clearly intended from the usage and context.
(A) "Borrow pits" means excavation created by the surface mining of rock, unconsolidated geologic deposits or soil to provide material (borrow) for fill elsewhere.
(B) "CEQA" means the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code, Division 13, §§ 21000 et seq.)
(C) "City" means the City of Corona.
(D) "Commission" means the Planning Commission of the City of Corona.
(E) "Council" means the City Council of the City of Corona.
(F) "Department of Conservation" means the Department of Conservation, State of California.
(G) "Exploration" means the search for minerals by geological, geophysical, geochemical or other techniques, including, but not limited to, prospecting, sampling, assaying, drilling or any surface or underground works needed to determine the type, extent or quantity of minerals present.
(H) "Mined lands" means 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, overburden and areas in which structures, facilities, equipment, machines, tools or other materials or properly which result from, or are used in, surface mining operations are located.
(I) "Minerals" means 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.
(J) "Mining waste" means the residual of soil, rock, minerals, liquid, vegetation, equipment, machines, tools or other materials or property directly resulting from, or displaced by, surface mining operations.
(K) "Operator" means any person who is engaged in surface mining operations or who contracts with others to conduct operations on his/her behalf, except a person who is engaged in surface mining operations as an employee with wages as his or her sole compensation.
(L) "Overburden" means soil, rock or other materials that lie above a natural mineral deposit or in between deposits, both before and after removal of the materials by surface mining operations.
(M) "Person" means any individual, firm, association, corporation, organization or partnership or any city, county or district or the state or any department or agency thereof.
(N) "Planning Director" means the Planning Director of the City of Corona.
(O) "Reclamation" means the combined 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.
(P) "Reclamation plan" means the plan for reclamation of mined lands required for all surface mining operations which must be filed and approved by the city in accordance with Chapter 19.12 of this code.
(Q) "Stream bed skimming" means excavation of sand and gravel from stream bed deposits above the mean summer water level or stream bottom, whichever is higher.
(R) "Surface mining operations" means 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 include, but are not limited to, in place distillation or retorting or leaching, the production and disposal of mining waste, exploration activities, borrow pitting, stream bed skimming and segregation and stockpiling of mined materials (and recovery of same).
(S) "Surface mining permit" means the permit required for all surface mining operations which must be filed and issued by the city in accordance with Chapter 19.08 of this code.
(T) "SMARA" means California’s Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (Public Resources Code §§ 2710 et seq.)
(U) "State Board" means the State Mining and Geology Board of the Department of Conservation, State of California.
(V) "State regulations" means the State Board Regulations for Surface Mining and Reclamation Practice (Cal. Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 2, Chapter 8, Subchapter 1, §§ 3500 et seq.)
(`78 Code, § 19.04.020.) (Ord. 2386 § 1(part), 1999.)