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(a) All applications for a Major Use Permit for surface mining shall be made, considered and granted or denied pursuant to The Zoning Ordinance, and shall be accompanied by an "Application for Reclamation Plan" as provided by the Department. Both applications shall be processed concurrently. An application for a Reclamation Plan shall be processed under the same procedures as the Major Use Permit, including those provisions requiring a public hearing those provisions relating to appeals. Reclamation Plans may be granted subject to such conditions and limitations as may be deemed appropriate. All plans and specifications for the grading of the property shall be prepared or approved and signed by a registered civil engineer, and shall include all information required in Section 87.208 and any other information required by the County Official.
(b) Any surface mining operation conducted pursuant to vested non-conforming rights or pursuant to a Major Use Permit, shall cease operating until a Reclamation Plan is approved by the County, unless the Reclamation Plan is on appeal to the SMGB. An "Application for Reclamation Plan" shall be submitted within 120 days from the date the County Official requests in writing to the mining operator or mining site property owner that such Reclamation Plan be submitted or within the extension periods the County Official may grant if cause is shown why more time should be granted for the filing.
(c) The Department shall submit all proposed Reclamation Plans and any proposed amendments to the Director of Conservation for review at least 45 days before the County acts thereon. The County shall notify the Director of Conservation of the filing of an application for a surface mining permit within 30 days of the filing of an application. The Department shall also send the Director of Conservation a copy of each mining permit approved by the County.
(d) The Reclamation Plan shall contain all matters required by SMARA and Sections 3502 and 3700 and following of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, and shall provide in designated phases for the progressive rehabilitation of the mining site land form so that, when reclamation is complete, it will contain stable slopes, be readily adaptable for alternate land uses, and be free of derelict machinery, waste materials and scrap to the satisfaction of the County Official. The proposed mining site land form, to the extent reasonable and practical, shall be revegetated for soil stabilization, free of drainage problems, coordinated with present and anticipated future land use, and compatible with the topography and general environment of surrounding property.
(e) Where any requirement of the reclamation plan conflicts with any requirement of the approved major use permit, the County Official shall determine which requirement shall apply; provided however, that the minimum reclamation standards of SMARA shall apply in any event.
(f) When the approval of any Reclamation Plan and Agreement has become final and effective, the Director shall cause a copy to be filed with the San Diego County Recorder. The documents to be recorded shall set forth the names of all owners of the property subject to the Reclamation Plan. The recorded document shall provide constructive notice to all purchasers, transferees, or other successors to the interests of the owners named, of the rights and obligations created by the Reclamation Plan.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9634 (N.S.), effective 4-23-04; amended by Ord. No. 10119 (N.S.), effective 2-25-11; amended by Ord. No. 10705 (N.S.), effective 1-8-21)
A deposit shall be paid to the Department upon the filing of each application for a Reclamation Plan; provided, however that no deposit shall be charged for applications filed concurrently with, or pursuant to any condition of, a Major Use Permit. The amount of said deposit shall be determined no less than annually by the Board of Supervisors by resolution. If the actual costs of processing the Reclamation Plan are less than the amount deposited, the Department shall refund the balance to the applicant. If any deposit is insufficient to pay all the actual costs of processing the Reclamation Plan the applicant, upon demand of the Department, shall pay an amount deemed sufficient by the Department to complete the work in process.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
(a) No surface mining shall be conducted pursuant to a Major Use Permit or pursuant to a vested nonconforming right unless prior to commencement an Agreement has been entered into whereby the operator agrees to reclaim the land in accordance with the Reclamation Plan and which allows the County to enter the property to correct any landscaping or irrigation system deficiencies, any unsafe condition, or any breach of provisions of the Major Use Permit and/or Reclamation Plan.
(b) The Agreement shall authorize the County or any person authorized by the County to enter the property at a mutually agreeable time and after having given the mining operator or permittee a minimum 24 hour notice, to perform an inspection at least once each calendar year, as mandated by the State, or follow-up inspections as a result of the once a year inspections. The Agreement shall also authorize the County or any person authorized by the County to enter the property at any reasonable time to investigate any suspected violation of any condition of the Major Use Permit or Reclamation Plan and/or for emergency abatement of hazardous conditions. Said Agreement shall be executed by the permittee, the owner of the property and by holders of any lien upon the property which could ripen into a fee, other than government entities. The permittee shall provide acceptable evidence of title showing all existing legal and equitable interests in the property. The Director of Planning and Development Services is hereby authorized to execute and accept the Agreement on behalf of the County. The Agreement shall be recorded before any mining is done.
(c) The Agreement shall be secured by financial assurances as follows:
(1) Pursuant to Section 2773.1 of SMARA, financial assurances shall be provided in an amount as specified in subsection (d), to assure that the site is reclaimed in accordance with the requirements of the approved Reclamation Plan. The assurance shall be made payable to the Director of Planning and Development Services and the California Department of Conservation and may take the form of surety bonds, irrevocable letters of credit, trust funds, or other forms of financial assurance adopted by the State Mining and Geology Board, which the County reasonably determines will be readily available to pay for reclamation in accordance with the surface mining operation's approved Reclamation Plan.
(2) The County Official may also require that additional, separate security be provided pursuant to Section 7362.a of the Zoning Ordinance, to insure the performance of conditions of a major use permit for a surface mining operation or a reclamation plan, other than the obligation to reclaim the site in accordance with the Reclamation Plan.
(d) The financial assurances required by paragraph (c)(1) shall be in an amount equal to the estimated cost to reclaim, in accordance with the requirements of the approved Reclamation Plan, all disturbed, unreclaimed lands and all acreage expected to be disturbed in the forthcoming year, to a condition that will not constitute a danger to the public health or safety and that will provide for the type of reclamation required in the Reclamation Plan. The surface mining operator or permittee shall provide an estimate of the cost of reclamation prepared by a state-registered civil engineer. All financial assurances shall be forwarded to the California Department of Conservation for review at least 45 days prior to County approval. The Director of Planning and Development Services shall review all financial assurance estimates and shall approve those that are sufficient. The estimate must be submitted not later than July 1st of each year. If the operator or permittee does not submit this estimate by the required deadline, the County may calculate an estimate of assurance. The staff time spent calculating this estimate will be charged against the inspection deposit. The financial assurance shall be provided to the County within 60 days of notification of the Director of Planning and Development Services' approval of the financial assurance amount.
(e) The amount specified in paragraph (d) shall be adjusted annually to account for new lands disturbed or expected to be disturbed in the forthcoming year by surface mining operations, inflation, and reclamation of lands accomplished in accordance with the approved Reclamation Plan. In no event shall the amount of assurance required be construed as a limitation on the liability of the permittee.
(f) The surface mining operator or permittee, and the surety(ies) providing financial assurances, shall continue to be firmly bound under a continuing obligation for the payment of all necessary costs and expenses that may be incurred or expended by the County in causing any and all work covered by the assurances to be done. When reclamation has been completed in accordance with the approved Reclamation Plan, financial assurances pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) above shall no longer be required and shall be released, upon written notification by the County, which shall be forwarded to the surface mining operator or the permittee and the Director of Conservation. Financial assurances provided pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) above shall be released and returned upon completion of the covered work or performance of applicable conditions. In the case of a cash deposit, any unused portion thereof shall be refunded to the surface mining operator or permittee.
(g) The County must be notified no less than 180 days prior to cancellation of any financial assurance. The County may seek the forfeiture of such financial assurance if new assurance is not posted at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the financial assurance.
(h) If a mining operation is sold or ownership is transferred to another person, the existing financial assurances shall remain in force and shall not be released by the lead agency until new financial assurances are secured from the new owner and have been approved by the County.
(i) The County Official is authorized to terminate and release the Agreement and the right of entry, and to execute all documents necessary to effectuate such termination and release, upon determining that all required reclamation work and other obligations of the Agreement have been completed to the County Official's satisfaction.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9634 (N.S.), effective 4-23-04; amended by Ord. No. 10224 (N.S.), effective 10-25-12)
Any application for a reclamation plan which is denied, shall be revised as directed by the authority denying it and resubmitted within 120 days of such denial. All resubmitted applications shall be accompanied by a fee of $250 paid to the County unless said fee is waived by the decisionmaker, for cause.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
(a) An approved Reclamation Plan, or any conditions thereof, may be modified using the same procedures for processing a new application, including environmental review. The application fee and deposit for a Reclamation Plan modification shall be the same as that required for a modification of a Major Use Permit. If both a Major Use Permit and Reclamation Plan modification are applied for concurrently, the fee and deposit are the same as for a modification of a Major Use Permit. The County shall send a copy of all applications to modify Reclamation Plans to the Director of Conservation for review in sufficient time before the County acts on the application, to allow the Director of Conservation 30 days to review the application after receipt of the documents.
A modification to an approved Reclamation Plan shall be filed with the San Diego County Recorder pursuant to Section 87.705(f).
(b) The County Official may approve minor amendments to the Reclamation Plan in the same manner as a Minor Deviation to a Major Use Permit. A minor amendment is a change to the approved Reclamation Plan that the Director determines will not increase any deleterious impact the project has on the environment or the conditions of the project's approved Major Use Permit or Reclamation Plan. The application fee for a minor amendment to an approved Reclamation Plan shall be the same as that required for a Minor Deviation of Major Use Permit.
(c) Pursuant to Section 2774 of SMARA, any modification or amendment to a Reclamation Plan shall be forwarded to the Director of Conservation. The Director of Conservation shall have 30 days to provide written comments.
(d) The County Official may modify or revoke a reclamation plan for cause, upon the grounds and upon following the same procedures as are specified regarding grading permits at Section 87.216 of this Division.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 9634 (N.S.), effective 4-23-04; amended by Ord. No. 10119 (N.S.), effective 2-25-11)
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