Any earth materials operation requiring a permit under this chapter shall be conducted in compliance with the following regulations, in addition to any more restrictive stipulations contained in any approved permit:
A. 
Location of operation. The permit area and work area shall be field delineated before excavation or deposition commences. No excavation, deposition, processing, or other disturbance of preexisting ground cover shall occur on the premises outside the permit area. The permit area shall be worked in conformance with the approved plans and this chapter.
B. 
Size of operation. At no time during any permit year shall more than one contiguous area (herein called the "work area") be disturbed for excavation or fill within the permit area and said area shall not exceed three acres. The remainder of the premises, including the permit area, shall, except for the storage area and access routes, be either undisturbed land or shall be graded to the proposed final contours and elevations, and be otherwise restored, seasonal planting factors considered, pursuant to approved plans and the provisions of § 75-11 herein. If, at any time during the permit period, more than one area on the premises is disturbed, or the entire premises, including the permit area, with the exception of a three-acre contiguous excavation area, does not meet existing or proposed final contours, or is not properly regraded and reseeded in accordance with § 75-11 herein, the permit shall be revoked unless the premises are so restored within 30 days of notice to the permittee. Revocation shall have the effect of requiring complete restoration of the entire premises in accordance with § 75-11 within 90 days thereafter.
C. 
Depth above ledge. No excavation shall be made lower than three feet above ledge, or such greater distance above ledge as may be required to permit the regrading site to meet the proposed final contours at slopes not exceeding the maximum provided in § 75-11A.
D. 
Relationship of work area to existing features. No excavation or fill shall be made within 200 feet of any river, stream or other watercourse, or which would reduce the final elevation below the floodplain or reduce the area of the floodplain, without specific prior approval of the Board, which shall be given only when, by proper analysis, it is determined that no pollution or silting of existing watercourses, or increased flood or erosion hazards, or other effect on water supply or purity, will result, and proper approvals have been obtained from all appropriate governmental organizations. No excavation shall be made below the grade of any abutting highway within 150 feet thereof, unless approved by the Board, or below the grade of any adjoining property at the property line within 25 feet thereof, or within 150 feet of any dwelling existing at the date the permit is issued, provided that, with the written approval of the abutting owner of private property or of the owner of the dwelling to be affected filed with the Board, such excavation may be made below the grade of such abutting property or closer than 150 feet to a dwelling to the extent approved by the Board.
E. 
Slopes during excavation. Notwithstanding Subsection D, no slopes having a grade greater than one foot vertical to two feet horizontal shall be created during excavation within 150 feet of any property or street line unless the operator shall demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board that material to regrade the slope in accordance with § 75-11A is available on the premises and the slope is so regraded within 60 days after excavation of the slope is commenced. In no event shall slopes having a grade greater than one foot vertical to one foot horizontal be created.
F. 
Reuse and development. The excavation and grading shall not result in sharp declivities, pits or depressions or cause soil erosion, drainage or sewerage problems or conditions which would impair the reasonable reuse and development of the premises.
G. 
Runoff and erosion controls. At all stages of the work, proper drainage shall be provided to avoid stagnant water, erosion, excessive runoff, silting of streams and damage to public or private property, streams, roads, or drainage facilities.
H. 
Equipment. No equipment directly or indirectly engaged in the excavation, processing or transporting of earth materials shall be operated on the premises other than that listed in the application for a permit and approved by the Board. No vehicles or equipment not used in connection with the work covered by the permit shall be operated, parked, repaired or serviced within the permit area. No processing machinery not in place on the effective date of this chapter shall be erected, maintained or operated within 300 feet of any property or street line. Such machinery shall be used only to process material from the permit area, and it and all foundations for such machinery shall be removed from the premises upon termination of the permit.
I. 
Time of operation. No equipment, processing plant or vehicles directly or indirectly engaged in the excavation, processing or transportation of earth materials shall be operated, repaired, or serviced on the premises earlier than 10:00 a.m. nor later than 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. All such operations on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are prohibited.
J. 
Tree protection. All trees outside the work area, as defined in Subsection B above, shall be protected from damage. Measures shall be taken by the permittee to ensure that the boundaries of the work area are maintained for the duration of the permit.
K. 
Pollution controls. Adequate provision shall be made for the muffling of sound and vibration and the prevention or dissemination of dust, including the treatment of all on-premises access routes with calcium chloride or similar material (provisions to be made to prevent the runoff of such chemicals).
L. 
Warning signs. Adequate provisions shall be made for warning signs as may be necessary or required, all subject to the approval of the Board, which may also require the permittee to install permanent guard fencing where needed for public safety.
M. 
Stockpile of arable soil. Sufficient arable soil (and topsoil) should be retained on the site for restoration as shown on the approved plans.
N. 
Depth to water table. No excavation shall be made below the normal groundwater table, nor soil contours changed, which results in a lake or pond or drainage ditch, unless, prior to initiating excavation, the owner of the premises submits the documents required under § 75-6D, and the plan presented is expressly approved by the Board and, if necessary, by the Inland Wetlands Agency.
O. 
Outside material. No earth materials from outside the premises shall be brought into the permit area strictly for processing and subsequent removal.
P. 
Securing loads. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to ensure that vehicles removing earth materials from the premises are so loaded and/or secured that there will be no spillage of such materials within the Town of Bethlehem. Any permittee under a permit granted under the terms of this chapter or any person acting for or under him who shall cause damage to any road or roads, whether private or public, within the Town of Bethlehem shall be liable for the cost of repairing said damage.
Q. 
Inspection. The Board or its agents shall at all times have reasonable access to premises on which work is being performed for the purpose of inspection and determination of compliance with this chapter. Each permittee and owner, by his agreement in the application to this chapter, shall be deemed to have granted such reasonable rights of access to the Board or its agents for this inspection purpose.
Within 90 days (excluding from said period the months of November, December, January, February, and March) of the completion of the work authorized or the expiration or revocation of the permit, whether initial or renewed, the area of excavation, deposition or disturbed ground shall be restored as follows:
A. 
Finished slopes. The area shall be refilled, if necessary, with clean, nonburnable fill containing no garbage, refuse or other deleterious or unwholesome matter and evenly regraded to the final contours and elevations shown in the approved plans with slopes not in excess of one foot vertical in two feet horizontal or to such a lesser slope necessary for soil stability, safety or reasonable reuse and development of the land but yet with sufficient grade to ensure adequate drainage.
B. 
Drainage swales. Adequate drainage swales of gradual contour shall be provided as needed as shown on the approved plans.
C. 
Debris removal. All loose boulders of less than 10 cubic yards shall be buried or removed from the site. All other material, including stumps and other wood debris, shall be removed from the site and disposed in a lawful manner.
D. 
Vegetation restoration. A layer of topsoil, substantially free of stones, meeting the standards set forth in Section M.13 of Connecticut Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Roads, Bridges and Incidental Construction (CTDOT Form 818 and subsequent versions), shall be spread evenly over the entire area to a minimum depth of six inches, noncompressed and then fertilized, limed and seeded with a perennial grass/ground cover and maintained until the ground shall be stabilized with a dense cover in accordance with the provisions hereunder specified and there exists no danger of erosion as determined by the Board. Restoration stipulations are:
(1) 
The amount of fertilizer and lime to be applied shall be determined by a soil test prepared and/or approved by the University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, or another accredited soil testing laboratory approved by the Board.
(2) 
Grass/ground cover shall be installed in accordance with the standards set forth in CTDOT Form 818.
(3) 
The grass/ground cover mix shall conform to recommendations for permanent seeding in Section 5.3 of the CTDEEP 2002 Guidelines and shall be applied at a rate of 55 pounds per acre.
(4) 
Seeding shall be performed in accordance with Section 9.50 of CTDOT Form 818.
(5) 
Seedling trees shall be planted wherever trees have been removed and shall be limited to one or more of the following species: Norway spruce (Picea abies), white pine (Pinus strobus), or larch (Larix decidua) or other species approved by the Board.
(6) 
Seedling trees, minimum of 12 inches in height measured from tip to soil line, shall be planted during the time from April 1 to May 15 and shall be spaced no closer than 12 feet nor further apart than 20 feet measured from center. Both grass/ground cover and trees shall be planted during the same season. The Board may require larger trees to be planted in areas where a vegetative buffer adjacent to residential properties would be needed.
(7) 
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 reseeded and repaired to the satisfaction of the Board.
(8) 
The Board may waive the requirements of this provision with respect to any area which shall be restored and stabilized in any other manner in conformance with the standards of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and approved in writing by the Board.
E. 
Stockpile maintenance. All arable soil set aside in accordance with § 75-10M for a period of more than 30 days shall be seeded with annual ryegrass.
F. 
Restoration adjacent to water bodies. Areas shown as existing or proposed water bodies on the approved plans shall be considered restored when and to the extent that they have been excavated to the approved depth and all shorelines, other than those remaining within the work area, have been regraded to a slope not exceeding one foot vertical and two feet horizontal and have been stabilized to the satisfaction of the Board.
The failure of a permit holder, without the prior written approval of the Board, to actively work the area covered by the permit for a period of six months (excluding the months of November, December, January, February and March) shall be prima facie evidence that the work authorized by the permit has been completed, and the burden shall be upon the permit holder to prove to the contrary. Any failure to initiate restoration within the ninety-day period following completion, expiration or revocation of the permit, such as to reasonably assure complete restoration by the end of said ninety-day period (seasonal planting excepted), shall be a separate violation of this chapter.
Upon completion of the work authorized by a permit and the restoration of the premises pursuant to §§ 75-10 and 75-11, the permit holder may file with the Board an application for a return of the bond filed, together with a written statement from the Tax Collector of the Town of Bethlehem certifying that all taxes levied against the premises and the machinery, equipment and vehicles used or located thereon and assessable in the Town of Bethlehem have been paid in full. If the Board is satisfied that the work and restoration have been completed as required by the permit and this chapter, the bond shall be returned to the permit holder, but otherwise the bond shall remain in full force and effect.