“Abandon” or “abandonment” shall mean to cease surface mining or reclamation with the intention of not resuming or reclamation. Operations that have an approved interim management plan shall not be considered abandoned, unless the operator is financially incapable of performing reclamation or has failed to observe an order to comply. However, any surface mining operation that is idle for twelve (12) consecutive months or longer shall be considered abandoned.
(§ 1, Ord. 1190, eff. September 5, 1996; as amended by Ord. 1518, eff. February 13, 2020)