The city shall issue an operating permit for an open pit, a stockpile, or a waste dump only when all of the following are met:
A. Use: The site lies in a zone where such use is a permitted use or where it may be approved as a conditional use.
B. Mine Plan:
1. The applicant has presented an accurate mine plan prepared by a licensed engineer or geologist that shows the topography, utilities, roads and structures on the site at both the prepermit state as well as intermediate mining phases or stages up to the conclusion of and the stage after completing the excavation and reclamation of the mine.
2. If the minor uses substandard product (rock, gravel, sand) to backfill mined out excavations, this will be illustrated in the mine plan. No potentially hazardous, harmful or illicit material shall be used for backfill.
C. Area: There shall be no limit as to the area or portion of a lot that may be disturbed and involved in the extraction process as long as the entire disturbed area has been included in the mine plan and the reclamation bond required in section 10-1-4 of this chapter.
D. Standards For Reclamation: The standards for reclamation of the site shall be:
1. The side walls of an excavation or dump shall be smoothed and evenly contoured, as per the mine plan, and the floor of the excavation or the top of the dump shall be flattened and graded to a slope not to be less than 0.5 percent in accordance with the mine plan and to allow for drainage.
2. Small, unreclaimed cuts or mounds of fill shall not remain after reclamation of an extraction operation, even if utility poles must be relocated. All relocation of utility poles will be at the expense of the pole owner.
3. No depression which lacks a surface outlet, or pond or intermittent lake on the floor of the excavation, shall exist on the reclaimed site. If this is not possible, an alternate reclamation plan may be allowed by the city to include a water feature or a detention basin.
4. No slope shall be steeper than the critical angle of repose for the material, thirty three degrees (33°) for gravel deposits; however, shallower slopes shall be encouraged. The final slopes must be capable of holding vegetation and in certain specific cases, capable of accommodating a mowing machine.
5. All areas shall be covered with a minimum of six inches (6") or thicker layer of topsoil and reseeded with a hardy plant material having a sufficient concentration to screen at least twenty five percent (25%) of the exposed surface from view. Exceptions: Desert areas which naturally lack soil or vegetation shall be restored to a surface that corresponds with the native condition rather than adding soil and/or reseeding.
E. Survey Markers: When the excavation or dump and reclamation bond area cover less than the entire area of the lot, the operator shall place clearly identifiable survey markers on the outer boundaries of the bonded area and shall maintain such until the bond is released by the city. An annual on site investigation and report will be conducted by the designated enforcement officer to determine whether the terms of the grading plan, mine and reclamation plan and bond agreement are being met. Pursuant to that investigation, the bond may be increased or decreased.
F. Manner Of Surface Mining: Surface mining shall proceed in an orderly and logical manner from the more economical deposit (high grade) to the lower grade and break even areas of the mine. The property will be reclaimed, including filling in older areas of the mine while new areas are being opened up. The amount of opened ground (unreclaimed area) shall be kept to a minimum as approved by the public works director, city engineer or a city inspector.
G. Dust Control: Dust generated in the extraction and processing of the earth products shall be kept under control by the mine operator and contained on site which may require surfacing roads in the wetting extraction areas and loaded trucks, placing berm or landscape screening for protection from the prevailing winds and other suitable measures. Such procedures must also comply with the standards of state and federal law administered under the state division of air quality.
H. Setback Of Cuts And Fills: All cuts and fills along the perimeter of the property shall be set back from the property boundary or boundary of the approved extraction site a distance of at least seventy five feet (75').
I. Off Site Plan: The applicant shall present an off site plan of any local public streets which loaded trucks will use in gaining access to state highways and arterial streets. The mine operator shall be liable for any damage his operation has caused. This will be illustrated and documented by a "before" and an "after" photographic record.
J. Nuisance: The extraction operation shall not constitute a nuisance according to the nuisance legislation of the city as provided in title 5 of this code. (1984 Code § 15.46.030; amd. 2015 Code)