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.
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.
(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.
