(A) General. In all districts where permitted, mining shall be permitted only by IUP. Such permit shall include as a condition: a site plan; a completion plan; and a haul route plan with provision for road restoration as provided in the following.
(B) Rules. All excavation and extraction shall conform to the following.
(1) Distance from property lines. No quarrying operation shall be carried on or any stock pile placed closer than 50 feet from any property line, unless a greater distance is specified by the IUP where such is deemed necessary for the protection of adjacent property, provided that this distance requirement may be reduced to 25 feet only with written consent of the owners of the affected adjacent non-residence property.
(2) Distance from public right-of-way. In the event that the site of the mining or quarrying operation is adjacent to the right-of-way of any public street or road, no part of such operation shall take place closer than 50 feet to the nearest line of such right-of-way.
(3) Fencing. Fencing may be required to be erected and maintained around the entire site, or excavated portions thereof, and shall be of a type specified in the IUP.
(4) Equipment. All equipment and machinery shall be operated and maintained in such a manner as to minimize dust, noise and vibration. Power drives or power producing machinery, not including vehicles, shall not be housed or operated less than 1,000 feet from a dwelling.
(5) Processing. Crushing, washing and refining or other similar processing may be authorized by IUP as an accessory use; provided, however that, such accessory processing shall not be in conflict with the use regulations of the district in which the operation is located. All processing equipment shall be located at least 1,000 feet from any residence and 200 feet from the OHW of any lake or stream. Crushing operations shall be limited to 30 days in one calendar year. Hauling may continue until completion of the permit.
(6) Temporary bituminous and concrete mixing plants. Temporary hot mix bituminous or concrete facilities are permitted for specific projects as an accessory use, with an interim use permit if no residence other than the property owner’s is located within 1,000 feet of the facility, and all other interim use criteria are met. This use shall be limited to 30 days in one calendar year. Hauling may continue until the completion of the permit.
(7) Erosion and sediment control. Erosion, sediment control, and vegetative establishment measures shall conform to the standards and specifications of the Natural Resources Conservation Service “Field Office Technical Guide”, that of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the MPCA, or the NPDES guidelines.
(8) Removal of trees, brush and stumps. All trees, brush and stumps and any other debris removed for the sole purpose of operation of the pit shall be disposed of in a manner acceptable to the fire warden and local solid waste authority. In no case shall vegetation from an area of over ten acres be kept on the property unless it is burned or buried.
(9) Stabilization of slopes. All slopes shall be stabilized, equipment and structures removed, topsoil properly placed, permanent seeding and mulching completed, banks rounded and conforming to surrounding topography, and any other reclamation on the approved plan completed. The Zoning Administrator shall be notified upon completion and an inspection shall made before the performance security bond is released.
(10) Proof of required permits. Proof of approved state and federal permits, as required, shall be provided. The contractor shall present operational permits as required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency when applying for a permit.
(11) Noise, water and air pollution. The contractor or operator shall conform to the standards and requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for operation in the pit.
(12) Dust control.
(a) Dust control measures shall be utilized on non-paved routes in accordance with the local road authority.
(b) Dust control measures shall take place in the pit if dust leaves the pit and affects adjacent residential properties.
(13) Water setbacks. No new gravel pit source or accessory use shall be established within the shorelands area.
(14) Excavation below the water table. Excavation may not be below the water table without appropriate state permits being on file, and provided there is no adverse impact on surface water or nearby wells.
(15) Traffic safety devices and controlled access to the pit. The contractor or operator shall provide traffic safety devices in the proximity of the operation.
(a) All entrances and exits shall be constructed so as not to create a safety hazard.
(b) “Truck Hauling” signs shall be placed along all roadways for a distance of not less than 500 feet. Signs must be covered or removed when pit not in operation.
(c) A pit shall have a barrier access and such barriers shall be clearly visible to prevent safety hazards to the public. The barrier shall not be of cable, chain or similar materials. The control barrier shall deny access to the pit when it is not in operation.
(d) The haul road shall be constructed in such a manner that minimizes the view into the pit from the public road at adjacent residences, unless improved visibility is required for safety purposes.
(16) Hours of operation.
(a) Hours of operation shall be determined through the IUP process by the Planning Commission.
(b) Pit hours may be extended by a member of the City Road Committee when an emergency exists. An EMERGENCY is a short-term, unplanned and unexpected event where an immediate need for material exists in order to address a significant threat to public safety.
(17) Extractive use. An extractive use shall be used only for those operations directly related to the extractive use. Any other use shall require an interim use permit.
(18) Control of activity and clean up. It shall be the responsibility of the operator/owner to control activity within the pit as well as to clean up any debris or other materials left on site.
(19) Hazardous waste disposal prohibited. No waste classified as hazardous by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shall be disposed of at the site.
(20) Water quality. The extractive operation shall not adversely affect the quality or quantity of surface or subsurface water resources as defined by MPCA. DNR, USACOE or MDH. Surface water originating outside and passing through the extraction district shall, at its point of departure from the mining site, be of equal quality to the water at the point where it enters the mining site. The mining operator shall perform any water treatment necessary to comply with this provision.
(C) Rehabilitation. To guarantee the restoration, rehabilitation and reclamation of mined-out areas, every applicant granted an extraction/mining permit as herein provided shall furnish a performance bond running to the city in an amount to be determined by the City Engineer acceptable to the Planning Commission as a guarantee that such applicant, in restoring, reclaiming and rehabilitating such land and haul road shall, within a reasonable time and to the satisfaction of the city meet the following minimum requirements.
(1) Surface rehabilitation. All excavation shall be made either to a water producing depth, with a water depth of not less than five feet or the surface of such area which is not permanently submerged shall be graded or backfilled to contour and shape the peaks and depressions thereof, so as to produce a gently drained surface that will minimize erosion due to rainfall and which will be in substantial conformity to the adjoining land area. Four inches of black topsoil shall be placed on all areas, except beaches, that will remain above water level. Haul roads will be restored to their condition prior to the beginning of the extraction operation,
(2) Vegetation. Vegetation shall be restored by appropriate seeds of grasses or planting of shrubs or trees in all parts of said mining area where such area is not to be submerged under water as herein above provided.
(3) Banks of excavation not backfilled. The banks of all excavation not backfilled shall be sloped not steeper than three feet horizontal to one foot vertical and vegetation on said bank shall be permanently established.
(D) Application; contents; procedure. An application for such operation shall provide the following information in addition to that required by the IUP process:
(1) Name of the person or corporation conducting the actual removal operation;
(2) Size of the area from which the removal is to be made;
(3) Type of resources or materials to be removed;
(4) Proposed method of removal and whether or not blasting or other use of explosives will be required;
(5) Description of equipment to be used;
(6) Method of rehabilitation and reclamation of the pit area;
(7) Identification of haul roads;
(8) An index map, using a U.S. Geological Survey topographic, showing all features within one mile of the pit, including all residences, wetlands, lakes, rivers, streams, roads, existing borrow pits, and utility lines; and
(9) A written site plan for the extractive use operation, including:
(a) Volume of materials to be excavated;
(b) Length of time the pit is to be in operation;
(c) Amount of truck activity at highest and average levels, dust control measures, buffer area, depth to groundwater and methods to prevent groundwater contamination;
(d) Hours of operation;
(e) Existing vegetation additional buffer type and area (if needed) to screen pit from adjacent residences;
(f) Haul road location, routes trucks will take to and from site, established property line;
(g) Property access control plan, including the types of barriers established to exclude people and livestock by the active area of excavation;
(h) Dust control plan;
(i) Noise abatement plan;
(j) Drainage within the extractive use site and from the site;
(k) Reclamation plan and future plans, including the timing of reclamation and location and adequacy of topsoils set aside for reclamation;
(l) Preservation and mitigation plan for any cultural and/or archaeological sites.
(Ord. 906-2011, passed - -2011; Ord. 906, 1st Series, passed 5-9-2017; Ord. 906, 2nd Series, 12-11-2018)