Once a permit is issued by the Township Clerk allowing for the operation of a quarry in an area specified by the permit, the owner or person in charge shall conduct the operation in that area in such a manner as to ensure that the area is properly leveled off, cleared of debris and graded to conform with the contour lines and grades as shown on the approved plan and contained in the permit.
No quarry shall be operated in violation of any regulations contained in this section once a permit is granted.
Arable soil within four inches of the surface shall not be removed from the licensed owner's premises, but upon completion of operation or as otherwise specified by the hearing agency, shall be respread on the surface as uniformly as possible over a layer of two feet in thickness or its original depth, whichever is less. The arable soil shall be seeded with winter rye or other suitable planting. If the soil within four inches of the surface is not arable soil, sufficient arable soil must be added to the site to ensure a minimum arable soil thickness of not less than four inches. Such soil must be respread promptly following the completion of the operation in such area. Provisions shall be made for adequate drainage following arable soil replacement and for suitable erosion control. No arable soil shall be removed from the site.
Quarry material, excluding stockpiles of finished materials, shall not be deposited, thrown or placed upon adjoining property or public roads. Any quarry material, resulting from the operation, accumulating on any adjoining property or public road shall be removed immediately upon notice by the Quarry Inspector to the permittee of the accumulation.
Any quarry operation shall be conducted in strict accordance with any federal, state or county law or other ordinance of the township and the terms and conditions of any permit granted for the operation.
Operation shall be conducted so as to avoid creating a nuisance to adjoining property owners or the township.
Upon completion of an operation or excavation from an area delineated on an approved plan and/or permit, the area shall be cleared of debris and graded to conform to the contours and grades as approved by the hearing agency. A final plat shall be submitted complying with all the requirements set forth in §§ 138-7 and 138-21.
Quarry material shall not be removed except in accordance with the approved site plan, where applicable, and the permit, which may, upon application, be amended from time to time by the hearing agency.
No quarrying shall be permitted which will endanger the lateral support of abutting properties. In the event that quarrying or excavation should result in face slopes in excess of 45º, a minimum level (or natural) buffer area of 50 feet shall be provided between any quarry boundary line and the commencement of said slope.
The following are additional requirements which must be complied with by any quarry operating within the township:
A.
A chain link fence, or other effective safety measures, a minimum of six feet in height, shall be erected where found by the hearing agency to be needed for the safety of persons and also at all places of ingress and egress.
B.
Access to the quarry shall not use any established minor residential access streets except when access to the quarry is presently established from a residential street for a nonconforming use.
C.
A vegetative buffer shall be provided in order to screen the quarry and all its accompanying buildings and processing equipment from the view of adjoining residential areas. The vegetative buffer may consist of existing natural growth or mass evergreen and/or deciduous trees or shrubs of such species or density as will provide adequate buffering through the entire year.
(1)
In addition to the effective buffering of the residential area, landscaping shall be provided in order to lessen the impact of the entire operation on all adjoining properties and roadways.
(2)
In addition to the effective buffering required above, where such quarrying operations abuts a residential use, an additional buffer shall be determined by the hearing agency but in no event shall be less than 50 feet.
D.
All crushing, drilling and processing of quarry materials must be conducted in accordance with U.S.E.P.A. regulations.
E.
Signs shall be maintained at all entrances or exits of the quarry premises indicating the name and address of the permittee and that the business being conducted is a permitted quarry operation. No sign shall exceed 12 square feet in area.
F.
Where conveyors discharge material onto stockpiles of such material, a wet method of dust control or local exhaust system of equivalent effectiveness or other method of dust control of equivalent effectiveness, approved by the hearing agency, shall be utilized.
G.
All roads within the excavation site must be either appropriately designed or treated so as to ensure the reduction of dust dissemination.
H.
The quarry applicant shall provide a low level aerial photo to the Quarry Inspector at the end of each calendar year in conjunction with any application for a license renewal. This photograph should clearly depict the entire site, including the area which has been quarried during the past year. This provision may be waived in any given year by the Township Council based on the scope of work with a recommendation from the Quarry Inspector.[1]
No trash, garbage, junk or debris may be stored in any permitted area, and no safety hazards will be permitted, either during or after the completion of operations. All burning of combustible debris resulting from the quarry operation shall be subject to the regulations established by the Hardyston Township Fire Department or any regulations of a higher authority in effect and be undertaken so as not to create a smoke, nuisance or air pollution safety hazard.
The office of Quarry Inspector is hereby created and established. At the discretion of the Township Council, the Township Engineer may serve as Quarry Inspector and shall receive such compensation as Council shall determine. The duties of the Quarry Inspector shall include:
A.
Frequent inspections as required by the Township Council of permitted quarries in order to determine whether the operations are being conducted in accordance with the permit and application in addition to the terms and provisions of this chapter and all other applicable law.
B.
The submission of written reports detailing the findings of the inspections and any other additional information required by the Township Council.
C.
Acting as the enforcing officer of this chapter and investigating any and all alleged violations.
After 10 days' notice and an opportunity to be heard, the Township Council may revoke or suspend any permit issued under this chapter if it finds that the permittee is violating any of the terms or provisions of the chapter or any applicable statute of the State of New Jersey.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Quarry Inspector, pursuant to his or her responsibilities contained in § 138-23. In addition to those powers specifically enumerated above, the Quarry Inspector shall have the authority to investigate any violation of this chapter coming to his or her attention, whether by complaint or arising from his or her own personal knowledge. If a violation is found to exist, he or she shall serve written notice, by certified mail or personal service, upon the owner or other party in charge of the permitted quarry. The notice shall require the violation to be abated within a ten-day period from the date of service or within a lesser period determined by the Township Engineer, which he or she shall deem reasonable in cases where the danger to public health, safety and welfare is so imminent as to require immediate abatement. Failure to abate, within the time specified, shall enable the Township Council to prosecute a complaint to terminate the violation in Municipal Court.[1]
[Amended 12-8-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-12]
A.
Quarrying activities as defined by § 138-3 shall be conducted only from Monday through Saturday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. except when approved by the governing body of the Township of Hardyston. Applications for limited expansion of these hours during emergencies or other extraordinary projects shall be submitted to the Township Engineer 30 days in advance of the anticipated date the exception to the hours of operation are requested and proposed to begin when practicable. Said request shall be reviewed by the Township Engineer with input from the Township Manager. Approval for said request shall be ratified at the next meeting of the Township Council. Access to the site by customers of the quarry shall be limited to the permitted hours of operation. There shall be no operation of any kind or character on Sundays, except in emergencies authorized by the Township Council. Blasting shall occur only in a manner permitted by state law and regulations.
Following the completion of work in any quarry section as set forth in § 138-7, all respreading of arable soil and reseeding, where applicable, as required by § 138-14, shall be completed within 60 days thereafter, except that if the completion of work in area occurs during the winter months, when it would not be practicable to respread topsoil and reseed it, such work shall be completed within such additional time as specified by the hearing agency.
The hearing agency may modify or waive any of the conditions or regulations when the applicant shows undue hardship by reason of topography, grade or other special conditions, or when such modifications would clearly be in the public interest.