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In addition to all other applicable requirements, the following special regulations apply to mineral resource extraction, processing, utilization, and related uses:
(a) Paving of access roads. All access roads constituting the principal means of entrance and exit between a mineral resource area and the public road system, which traverse the required setback areas, must be 20 feet wide and of a pavement type approved by the Department.
(b) Fencing. All quarries, pits, open mines and material stockpiles shall be enclosed by a minimum six-foot-high fence of a design and materials that discourage entry onto the site of such operations.
(c) Signs. The display of a sign must comply with the requirements established in Article 59-F of this chapter.
(d) Parking. Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with the requirements and standards of article 59-E of this zoning ordinance.
(e) Lighting. An exterior lighting plan must be included with the development plan, indicating the height, number and types of fixtures, and a diagram showing their distribution characteristics.
(f) Hours of operations. No excavation or processing of mineral resources material shall be conducted except in accordance with applicable local, state or federal laws and regulations.
(g) Land reclamation and restoration. Land reclamation and restoration plans shall comply with the requirements imposed in the Natural Resources article, subtitle 7-6A of the Annotated Code, for the State of Maryland surface mining licenses and permits. Such plans shall be filed as part of the required development plan.
(h) Drilling, blasting and storage of explosives. The use and storage of explosives shall comply with the requirements of chapter 22, fire prevention code, and chapter 38, quarries, of the Montgomery County Code, and with the requirements of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
(i) Safety. The applicant will demonstrate how he will comply with all county, state and federal safety regulations to protect the health, safety and welfare of all employees and adjacent residents.
(j) Performance standards. In addition to the requirements and regulations set forth above, the following performance standards shall apply to all land in the mineral resource recovery zone during its use for mineral resource extraction, processing, utilization, distribution and related activities:
(1) Siting. The siting of mineral resource activities on land in the mineral resource recovery zone shall be so located as to minimize, to the extent practicable, visual, auditory or other sensory intrusions on surrounding land. Such siting shall take into account, however, the practical limitations related to the nature and location of the deposit to be mined and processed, the nature and location of surrounding land uses, access requirements, local topographic conditions and other physical and economic conditions which bear on resource extraction and utilization.
(2) Visual effects. The line of sight from developed residential property (whether developed prior to or subsequent to the operation of the quarry) to quarries, pits, structures and stockpiles, loading areas, access roads and other facilities shall be interrupted so as to reduce to the maximum extent practicable the visual intrusion of surrounding occupied properties not owned or leased by the owner or operator of the area zoned for mineral resource recovery.
The development plan submitted with the application for zoning reclassification shall include line-of-sight and cross-section studies demonstrating the manner in which the line of sight from surrounding properties, not owned or leased by the owner or operator of the mineral resource activity, are to be interrupted.
(3) Noise. Devices to muffle equipment noise, landscaped earth berms, screen planting, decorative screen walls or other barriers or devices shall be installed as necessary to achieve compliance with the noise control standards of the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and chapter 31B, title "Noise Control," of the Montgomery County Code, whichever is stricter, as currently in effect or as hereafter amended.
The development plan submitted with the application for zoning reclassification shall include analyses demonstrating that any noise generated by mineral extraction, processing, hauling, or utilization activities will be attenuated by on-site controls and controls in the transmission path so as to achieve compliance with all applicable noise-control laws and regulations.
The operator of a mineral resource recovery use in this zone shall provide, or require from contract haulers, certification of compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws regulating vehicle noise generation levels.
(4) Vibration. Operation and activities in the mineral resource recovery zone shall comply with the regulations and standards of chapter 38 of the Montgomery County Code and state regulations pertaining to vibration.
(5) Dust. The operation within the mineral resource recovery zone shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local air pollution control laws and regulations. Dust shall be controlled so that there are no visible emissions present at the boundary of the mineral resource recovery zone. The development plan submitted with the application for zoning reclassification shall include a description of control measures and operating conditions which will be utilized to control dust on the site as well as long haul routes.
(6) Hydrologic effects. The operation within the mineral resource recovery zone shall comply with all federal, state and local laws regulating water appropriated and/or discharged from the site, stormwater management, and erosion and sedimentation control. In addition, the development plan must examine the possible hydrologic effects upon any existing or proposed bodies of water and ground water, including wells.
The development plan submitted with the application for zoning classification shall include a description of the controls which will be utilized to assure compliance with water quality, erosion control, sedimentation control, stormwater management and other applicable hydrologic controls.
During the time that mineral resource recovery is in progress, if any stream monitoring station operated by the department of environmental protection located downstream from the mineral resource recovery zone on a tributary which has been the subject of a discharge permit, or which has been relocated to allow mineral recovery operations, registers an increase in turbidity greater than 50 percent of the mean of the previous 12 routine measurements, the director may cause an investigation of the procedures of the mineral recovery operations and, upon a finding that such operations have caused the increased turbidity, may direct the owner or operator to institute additional on-site controls.
(k) Reclamation. If, after initiation of quarrying operations, a property in the mineral resource recovery zone is abandoned for 6 months, reclamation in accordance with the plan approved under section 59-C-12.7(e) shall be initiated.
(Legislative History: Ord. No. 9-29, § 1; Ord. No. 13-35, § 1; Ord. No. 13-76, §1; Ord. No. 13-112, § 1; Ord. No. 14-36, § 1; Ord. No. 14-49, § 1.)