(A) The Public Works Department shall arrange for inspection of a surface mining operation within six months of receipt of the annual operations report required in § 15.30.640, to determine whether the surface mining operation is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, and state regulations. In no event shall less than one inspection be conducted in any calendar year. The Public Works Department may cause such inspections to be conducted by a state-registered geologist, state-registered civil engineer, state-licensed landscape architect, or state-registered forester, who is experienced in land reclamation and who has not been employed by the mining operation in any capacity during the previous 12 months.
(B) All inspections shall be conducted using the form provided by the state.
(C) The operator shall be solely responsible for the reasonable cost of the inspection.
(D) The Public Works Department shall notify the Department of Conservation within 30 days of completion of the inspection that said inspection has been conducted. The notice shall contain a statement regarding the surface mining operation's compliance with SMARA, shall include a copy of the completed inspection form, and shall specify which aspects of the surface mining operation, if any, are inconsistent with that statute. If the surface mining operation has a review of its reclamation plan, financial assurances, or an interim management plan pending before the Department of Conservation or the Public Works Department, the notice shall so indicate. The Public Works Department shall forward to the operator a copy of the notice, a copy of the completed inspection form, and any supporting documentation, including, but not limited to, any inspection report prepared by the geologist, civil engineer, landscape architect, or forester.
(`83 Code, § 15.30.650) (Ord. 97-03 § 1, 1997)