[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Mine Hill by Ord. No. 110-64 (Ch. XIII, Sec. 13-1, of the 1986 Revised General Ordinances).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended by Ord. No. 300-82]
No person shall excavate or otherwise remove soil for sale or
for use other than on the premises from which the soil shall be taken
without first applying for and securing a soil removal permit from
the Township Council in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
[Amended by Ord. No. 300-82]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes the dredging of soil from the bottom of areas covered
by water but shall not be deemed to include the mining, quarrying,
crushing or removal of rock or the conducting of underground mining
activities for iron ore or other similar minerals by means of tunneling
and/or the construction of shafts.
All unconsolidated mineral and organic material of whatever
origin, including waste material piled or stored on the premises as
the result of iron-ore mining activities, which overlies the bedrock
and which can readily be excavated, including, but not limited to,
earth, dirt, stone, gravel, sand, humus, clay, loam and mixtures of
any and all such materials.
[Amended by Ord. No. 300-82; 4-16-2015 by Ord. No.
13-15]
Except in those areas of the Township where the mining, excavation, and removal of soil is allowed as a permitted, conditional, or accessory use under Chapter 310, Land Use, no soil removal permit shall be issued unless such a permit is requested in connection with the construction or alteration of a building on the subject premises and excavation or grading is incidental thereto. Projects which have received site plan approval from the Planning Board, have met the conditions of that site plan, and have had a preconstruction meeting with the Township Engineer are exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
[Amended by Ord. No. 139-69; Ord. No. 300-82]
A.
Before the issuance of a soil removal permit, the applicant shall file written application therefor with the Township Clerk, together with a fee as set forth in Chapter 235, Fees, plus payment of the reasonable cost to the Township, as estimated and determined by the Township Council, for the special engineering and legal services required because of the application.[1]
B.
In addition to the permit fee, additional fees shall be paid to the
Township as follows:
C.
These additional fees are intended to cover all reasonable and necessary
engineering and other fees and expenses which it is anticipated the
Township will incur in supervising, policing and regulating soil removal
operations to assure any such operation is orderly and in full compliance
with the provisions of this chapter and any and all other controlling
regulations and requirements of the Township, including legal fees
and costs in connection with any administrative or court proceeding
for the enforcement of the requirements of this chapter and other
Township ordinances regulating soil removal and excavation.
D.
These additional fees shall be paid to the Township monthly and shall
be based upon the actual quantity of soil removed during the previous
month as certified to and set forth in the monthly report of such
soil removal operation which the holder of the permit shall furnish
to the Township, as approved and verified by the Township Engineer.
Each such monthly payment shall accompany the monthly report for the
month in question, which report and payment shall be delivered to
the Township Clerk on or before the 15th day of the month for which
payment is being made. Failure to make such monthly reports and monthly
payments shall be grounds for immediate revocation of the soil removal
permit by the Township Council.
E.
The application for a soil removal permit or the accompanying documents
shall show and include the following:
(1)
The name and address of the owner or owners of the tract involved
and the name and address of the applicant, if a different person is
involved, and the signed consent of the owner shall be required if
the applicant is not the owner.
(2)
A map of the premises for which the permit is sought showing the
existing topographical contour lines of the land involved and abutting
lands and roads, the proposed topographical contour grades which will
result from the intended soil removal, and the location of any streams
or other bodies of water near the premises.
(3)
The tax block and lot number of the property involved.
(4)
A description of the equipment and motor vehicles to be brought upon
the site to carry out the operations.
(5)
The name and address of the person who will do the work of removing
the soil.
(6)
The number of cubic yards to be removed pursuant to the permit.
(7)
Routes to and from the proposed site to be used in transporting soil
removed.
(8)
Period for which the permit is sought.
A.
The application and accompanying documents shall promptly be referred
to the Township Engineer for investigation, and he shall make his
written report and recommendations to the Township Council. Upon written
request for a hearing made by the applicant to the Township Council,
an opportunity to be heard shall be granted within 30 days thereafter.
The Township Council in considering and reviewing the application
and in arriving at its decisions shall be guided and take into consideration
the public health, safety and general welfare, and particular consideration
shall be given to the following factors:
B.
If after examining the application and the map provided for in § 448-4 and after the hearing in the event a hearing is requested by the applicant, the Township Council shall be of the opinion that the proposed soil removal will not create conditions inimical to the public health, welfare and safety, and will not result in the creation of any sharp declivities, pits or depressions, soil erosion or fertility problems, depressed land values, nor create any drainage, sewerage problems or other conditions of danger, permission to remove the soil shall be granted.
[Amended by Ord. No. 300-82]
If a soil removal permit is issued, the owner or person in charge
shall comply with the following in conducting the soil removal operations:
A.
There shall be no sharp declivities, pits or depressions, and all
disturbed areas shall be leveled off (where appropriate), cleared
of debris, and graded to conform to the contour lines and grades approved
by the Township Council as a part of the soil removal permit.
B.
Dust shall be controlled in such a manner that adjoining and nearby
residential and nonresidential properties are adequately and efficiently
protected.
C.
No blasting, dynamiting or use of any type of explosives or charges
shall take place.
D.
All public streets and rights-of-way used in the trucking of soil
from the site shall be periodically cleaned by the holder of the soil
removal permit to insure all dust, soil and other materials spilled
from or otherwise resulting from such trucking operations are removed.
E.
In accordance with the soil erosion and sedimentation control plan
forming a part of the application for the soil removal permit in question,
protective measures shall be taken to adequately protect private wells
in the vicinity, as well as sources of public water supply and all
streams, brooks, watercourses, ponds and other bodies of water in
the immediate area.
F.
All details of the approved soil erosion and sedimentation control
plan shall be complied with throughout each phase and day of the soil
removal operations.
G.
Noise resulting from equipment and trucks used to carry out the soil
removal operations shall be kept to a minimum. The noise level resulting
from such operations measured along the property lines of the property
from which soil is being removed shall not exceed 65 decibels.
H.
No equipment or facilities for the crushing, mixing, processing or
other treatment of soil (materials) shall be permitted. The only equipment
permitted on site shall be equipment required for excavation, removal,
screening, grading, seeding, restoring and reclaiming the site, and
for loading the soil onto and into trucks and vehicles for removal
from the site. None of such equipment shall be attached to the site
(ground), but shall be movable, and all such equipment shall immediately
be removed from the site once soil removal operations are concluded
and/or the equipment in question is no longer needed.
I.
No soil removal operations shall be conducted on Sundays or holidays.
All soil removal activities shall be conducted between the hours of
7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on those days which such operations are permitted.
The owner of the premises or the person in charge of the removal
of soil, when permission has been duly granted, shall not take away
the top layer of arable soil for a compacted depth of at least six
inches, but such top layer of arable soil to a compacted depth of
at least six inches shall be set aside for retention on the premises
and shall be respread over the premises when the rest of the soil
has been removed, pursuant to levels and contour lines approved by
the Township Council.
Before any permit or permission for soil removal shall be granted
or issued, the owner or applicant shall file with the Township Council
a bond, in a form and with surety acceptable to the Township, in such
amount as in the opinion of the Township Council shall be sufficient
to insure the faithful performance of the work to be undertaken pursuant
to the Council pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. At such
times as the Township Council shall designate, the permittee shall
give the Township a certificate of compliance stating that it is faithfully
complying with the terms and conditions of any permit granted hereunder.
[Amended by Ord. No. 139-69; Ord. No. 300-82]
A.
Monitoring and inspections. Throughout the entire period and course
of any soil removal operation, there shall be constant and continuous
monitoring of such operation by the Township Engineer and/or other
officials and representatives designated by the Township to determine
whether or not all conditions and requirements governing issuance
and use of the soil removal permit are being complied with in full.
The Township Engineer shall make on-site inspections not less than
once per month during all times where soil removal activities are
being conducted and shall file monthly written reports to the Township
Council setting forth the results of such inspections. As a required
condition of all approvals for soil removal, the Township Engineer
and/or other designated Township officials and representatives shall
be permitted at all times to enter the soil removal site for the purpose
of monitoring and inspecting.
B.
Periodic review. Where soil removal operations extend for a period
of three years or longer, there shall be a comprehensive review of
such operations by the Township Council to assure that the owner of
the subject property or holder of the soil removal permit continues
to be in full compliance with the requirements of this chapter and
all the terms and conditions governing the issuance and use of such
permit, as well as compliance with any and all other regulations of
the Township governing such operations. Such initial comprehensive
review shall take place three years following the date on which the
soil removal operations were commenced and every three years thereafter
on such anniversary date. Each such comprehensive review shall:
(1)
Verify that all fees required to be paid have been paid by the holder
of the soil removal permit.
(2)
Confirm that all reports, plans, drawings, certifications and documentation
required by this chapter and any other applicable ordinances and the
terms of the soil removal permit in question have been provided to
the Township.
(3)
Verify that the soil removal operations continue to be conducted
in accordance with all the requirements and standards of this chapter
and all other applicable ordinances and the terms and conditions forming
a part of the soil removal permit, including, but not limited to,
soil erosion and sedimentation control measures, restoration and reclamation
measures, storage and reservation of topsoil, measures for the control
of stormwaters, and measures for the protection of private wells,
public sources of water and streams, brooks, watercourses, ponds and
other bodies of water.
(4)
Determine the adequacy and status of all performance guarantees posted
in connection with such operations.
C.
Stop-work order; suspension and revocation. If, as a result of these monthly inspections and reports and/or one of the said three-year comprehensive reviews, the Township determines that, at any particular time, any one or more conditions or requirements of this chapter or any other applicable section or regulation or of the soil removal permit are not being satisfactorily met or complied with, a ten-day written notice of violation(s) shall be served upon the owner and the holder of the soil removal permit, if other than the owner, and upon the failure to correct such violation(s) within this ten-day period, a stop-work order pending the correction of such violation(s) shall be issued. No soil removal operations shall be permitted following the issuance of such a stop-work order until all violations have been corrected and the Township Engineer has inspected the premises and certified in writing that such violations have been corrected. A violation by the owner (or holder) of any such stop-work order shall constitute a violation of this chapter. Upon the request of the owner or holder of the soil removal permit, the Township Council shall afford such owner or holder the opportunity to be heard regarding such violation(s) and the issuance of such a stop-work order. The determination by the Township of the existence of such violations shall also constitute valid grounds for suspension or revocation of the soil removal permit following a hearing in accordance with § 448-10 of this chapter.
After reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard before
the Township Council, the permit of any permittee may be revoked by
the Township Council or suspended for such period as it may determine
for any violation of the terms hereof or the terms and conditions
of any permit granted hereunder.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to the penalty established in § 1-3 of the Code of the Township of Mine Hill.
