Any person seeking a mining permit to undertake the excavation, storage and removal of sand and gravel as permitted by Section 4.18.230 of the Newtown Zoning Regulations or the renewal of a legally nonconforming operation shall file the following documents with the Zoning Enforcement Officer:
A. 
A written application on a form supplied by the Planning and Zoning Commission, signed by the owner(s) of the premises and the person, firm or corporation intending to carry out the work sought under the permit.
B. 
An A-2 class survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor and a licensed professional engineer, where required by state statute, which survey shall be drawn to a scale of one inch equals 40 feet for permit areas and to a scale of one inch equals 100 feet for permit areas 10 acres or greater, and shall describe and delineate the following:
(1) 
The location and elevation of all existing and proposed streets, roads, highways, ponds, watercourses, wetlands, wells and septic systems on the permit area and within 200 feet thereof on all sides; the details of regarding and re-vegetation of the premises at the conclusion of excavation; an area for the stockpiling of topsoil; the foliage lines; and proposed means of access to the area of proposed excavation to and from the public highways.
(2) 
Soil data, including boring logs or open test pits and locations to lowest excavated grade and finished grade shown on the permit cross section. Such borings or open test pits shall indicate soil types and groundwater table data.
(3) 
Provisions for proper surface and subsurface drainage of the premises and the adjoining area during said excavation and after completion thereof.
(4) 
The existing and the proposed contours and elevation at five-foot intervals of the premises upon which the excavation is to be made and of the area surrounding it within 100 feet; at least five interior transverse cross-section drawings on both the longest axis and axis perpendicular thereto at equal intervals not to exceed 100 feet, with the outermost drawing in each direction being no further than 50 feet from the outside extremities of the proposed excavation.
(5) 
The acreage or square footage of the actual area to be excavated, the volume expressed in cubic yards to be removed during the life of the permit, and, where the applicant expects to continue excavation under a renewal permit, the total volume in cubic yards of all material expected to be excavated.
C. 
An erosion and sedimentation control plan as provided for in Chapter 595, Zoning, Article XLI.
D. 
A valid inland wetlands license or a statement from said Commission that such a license is not required.
E. 
If the applicant expects to make an excavation below the normal groundwater table so that a pond will result, a drainage analysis map and drainage computations prepared by a licensed professional engineer showing the watershed area of said pond, all sources of water which would supply said pond with water, a computation of the flow of water into and out of said pond, other pertinent hydrological factors, and a statement by said licensed professional engineer that the water supply of said pond is sufficient to avoid stagnation and will not create a hazard to any existing land uses or facilities.
F. 
Proof that written notice of the excavation has been given to the holders of any mortgages or other encumbrances on the property as recorded with the Town Clerk of the Town of Newtown.
G. 
A written statement from the Tax Collector of the Town of Newtown certifying that all taxes levied against the property on the current Grand List or previous Grand Lists have been paid in full and that there are no unreleased tax liens encumbering said property.
H. 
A permit fee of $1,000, payable in cash or by bank or certified check to the order of the Town of Newtown.
I. 
Proof in the form of a certificate of insurance that the applicant carries sufficient liability insurance to save the Town of Newtown harmless from any liability resulting from his/her operations as approved by Town Counsel.
J. 
A performance security payable to the Town of Newtown, either in the form of a certified check or a letter of credit. The security shall be in terms satisfactory to Town Counsel and in an amount equivalent to the cost of site recovery as determined by the applicant's professional engineer and approved by the Town Engineer. The security shall be held for a period of one year beyond the date of the site recovery. Such security shall assure the Town of Newtown that the area for which the mining permit is issued shall be graded, recovered with topsoil and successfully planted with grass or other ground cover pursuant to these regulations within one year following the expiration of the mining permit. Such security shall also assure to the Town full compliance with all the other requirements of these regulations, including, without limitation, that any pond created hereunder shall conform to the slope and size requirements set forth herein and shall not stagnate or create a health hazard; and that if said pond does stagnate or create a hazard within a year following the expiration of the mining permit, then such stagnation or hazard shall be mitigated within three months after stagnation or the creation or the creation of the hazard occurs.
K. 
The terms of the performance security shall allow the Town access to such funds and shall be accompanied by a written agreement by the owner of the premises executed with the same formalities as a Connecticut deed of real estate containing terms satisfactory to Town Counsel which permits the Town of Newtown or its designee to enter upon the premises, grade the area under permit, cover all disturbed areas with topsoil and plant grass or other suitable ground cover thereon in the event that the permittee fails or refuses to complete the grading recovery and planting in accordance with the mining permit as issued and/or abandonment thereof within one year from the expiration of the mining permit.
A. 
All mining permits shall expire on the first day of June in the year following the date of issuance. Any mining permit may be renewed upon the payment of the permit fee, required by § 550-10G hereof, the filing of a new performance security and the submission of an updated application, insurance certificate, and information required pursuant to these regulations. Renewal applications containing all the required documents shall be submitted at least 30 days but no more than 60 days prior to the expiration of the mining permit being renewed.
B. 
Prior to issuing a new or renewed mining permit, the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall expressly find that no violation of any mining permit held by the applicant, these regulations or the Sanitary Code or Chapter 185, Road Construction, of the Town of Newtown exists.
C. 
Should the Zoning Enforcement Officer find that an applicant's performance is in violation of the mining permit, such permit shall be revoked. An applicant's failure to comply with any requirements of Chapter 595, Zoning, Building Code, Sanitary Code or Chapter 185, Road Construction, of the Town of Newtown shall be cause for the revocation of a permit, provided that notice of said violation has been given to the permittee, together with an order to comply therewith within a reasonable time, and the permittee has failed to comply with said order.
D. 
Upon the request of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, the permittee shall submit a progress report that clearly demonstrates the extent of excavation or removal that will or has occurred during any period covered by the permit to assure compliance with all terms of the mining permit.
E. 
Adequate barricades or fences shall be erected and maintained, together with adequate provisions for prevention of accumulation of groundwater or surface water; adequate provisions shall be made for the muffling of sound and the prevention of dissemination of dust; provisions shall be made for such highway warning or similar signs as may be necessary or required, all subject to the approval of the Zoning Enforcement Officer or Commission, which may also require the permittee to install permanent guard fencing where needed for public safety and it shall be required around all ponds both during and after the excavation. The permittee shall also treat all access roads and excavation areas with calcium chloride or similar material for the prevention of dissemination of dust.
F. 
At the conclusion of the work of excavation, or of any portion thereof, the area where excavation and removal or grading has taken place shall be covered with not less than six inches of topsoil, seeded or covered with an approved ground cover and properly mulched to ensure stability. Grass seed used should be fresh, recleaned seed of the latest crop of lawn or meadow mix in a conformance with Connecticut Highway Department Specification 810, and young trees shall be planted wherever trees have been removed. No excavation shall be made lower than three feet above ledge. Seeding or planting of ground cover or trees shall be done at the first suitable planting season following completion of any part of the operation. If the seeding or planting fails in whole, or in part, the area shall be reseeded, replanted, and remulched until all eroded or uncovered areas have been restored and repaired to the satisfaction of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
G. 
All trees outside the excavated area shall be protected from damage.
H. 
The permittee shall provide at his expense any special police or flagmen deemed necessary by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
I. 
The permittee shall grant the right of entry to the Planning and Zoning Commission and to the Zoning Enforcement Officer at any reasonable time for the purposes of inspecting the premises and the permittee's operations thereon.
J. 
Any topsoil stripped in connection with a mining permit shall be stockpiled on site and used to recover the disturbed area following the completion of excavation. No topsoil shall be removed from any premises.
K. 
No mining permit shall be issued or renewed:
(1) 
For an excavation outside the Industrial M-6 Zone which is nonconforming but legally preexisting the Newtown Zoning Regulations[1] during any permit year of an area in excess of five acres, nor within 200 yards of any other excavation unless said other excavation is conducted on other premises not then or previously owned by the permittee or the then record title holder of the aforesaid five-acre area.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 595, Zoning.
(2) 
For an excavation in the Industrial M-6 Zone during any permit year of an area in excess of a total of 20 acres on any piece or pieces of property which are owned or controlled by the same person or persons.
(3) 
Within 50 feet of any property or street line, or within 100 feet of any dwelling.
(4) 
If the resulting embankment remains at an incline in excess of three feet horizontal to one foot vertical, and if the top of the resulting embankment ends in a vertical curve with a radius of less than 10 feet tangent to the existing ground surface.
(5) 
Unless the permittee shall agree to all requirements of a mining permit as set forth in these regulations.
For the health, welfare, and safety of the residents of the Town of Newtown, no work of any nature shall be performed under any mining permit granted under the terms of this regulation, except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily, and no such work shall be performed on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays of the State of Connecticut.
Any permittee under permit granted under the terms of these regulations or any person acting for or under him who shall cause damage to any road or roads of the Town of Newtown shall be liable for the cost of repairing said damage. The permittee shall be responsible for cleaning, when necessary, any state, Town or private road over which earth materials shall have been transported.
No excavation shall be made below the normal groundwater table which causes a lake or pond to stagnate or cause a hazard to health or safety or to existing land uses or facilities. The bottom of any pond created shall not slope down from the shoreline at a slope in excess of one foot vertical for each three feet horizontal. The final area of an pond created shall not be so large as to lessen the full residual use of the land for purposes other than sand and gravel mining, and shall in no event exceed 50% of the area of the lot devoted to sand and gravel mining use at the time this regulation or preceding regulation was adopted. If any such lake or pond is expected to be created, the applicant shall file the documents required by § 550-10D hereof.
No machinery or equipment not required for the actual removal or excavation of the material shall be used or stored on the site.