(a) The County Official shall inspect each surface mining site at least once each calendar year within 6 months of receipt of a copy of the mining operation's annual report, filed with the State pursuant to Section 2207 of SMARA. A copy of the completed inspection report shall be forwarded to the Director of Conservation, within thirty days of inspection using a form approved by the State.
(b) The mining operator or permittee shall provide to the County Official by each July 1, aerial photographs of the mining site taken in the same month of the second quarter of each year. The aerial photographs shall consist of:
(1) Defined, marked and permanent ground controls; and
(2) Planimetric map of the mining site based on the aerial models with 5" contours and drawn to 1" = 200' scale.
(c) Upon the request of a mining operator or permittee, the County Official may waive the requirement for the aerial photographs on a case by case basis, such as when only channel maintenance is involved or when no excavation has been accomplished since the last inspection, or may adjust the quarter of each year in which the aerial photographs are taken.
(d) Each surface mining operator or permittee shall pay an annual inspection deposit to the County Official by July 1 of each year unless otherwise stated in an approved Reclamation Plan. The amount of the deposit shall be as determined by the Board of Supervisors. This amount shall apply for the first year to all existing surface mining operations and for the first year of any new mining operation. Thereafter, the County Official will determine the amount of the deposit annually based on the cost to inspect each surface mining operation. If the County Official determines that the annual inspection should include volume calculations or a boundary survey, the cost for this work shall be included in the deposit. The County Official shall notify each mining operator by May 1 each year of the amount of the deposit. The amount of the deposit required shall not be construed as a limitation on the liability of the operator or permittee.
(e) If, after inspecting the mining operation, the County Official determines that it does not comply with the Major Use Permit or Reclamation Plan, he or she shall notify the mining operator in writing of the non-compliance and shall give the mining operator a reasonable time, not to exceed 180 days, to comply. If at the end of this time the mining operation still does not comply with the Major Use Permit or Reclamation Plan, the County Official may:
(1) Pursue the remedies specified at Section 2774.1 of SMARA, if the Major Use Permit or Reclamation Plan violation(s) are also violations of said Section;
(2) Pursue the remedies specified in the Zoning Ordinance for violation of a Major Use Permit, including revocation or modification for cause; and/or
(3) Pursue the remedies specified in Chapter 1 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)