This chapter shall be known as "Surface Mining and Reclamation."
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Sacramento County recognizes that the extraction of minerals
is essential to the continued economic well-being of the County and
to the needs of society and that the reclamation of mined lands is
necessary to prevent or minimize adverse effects on the environment
and to protect the public health and safety. Sacramento County also
recognizes that surface mining takes place in diverse areas where
the geologic, topographic, climatic, biological, and social conditions
are significantly different and that reclamation operations and the
specifications therefor may vary accordingly.
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to ensure the continued availability of important mineral resources, while regulating surface mining operations as required by California's Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (
Public Resources Code Section 2710 et seq., as amended, hereinafter referred to as "SMARA"),
Public Resources Code ("PRC") Section 2207 (relating to annual reporting requirements), and State Mining and Geology Board regulations for surface mining and reclamation practice (
California Code of Regulations, Title
14, Division 2, Chapter
8, Subchapter 1, Section 3500 et seq., hereinafter referred to as "State regulations"), to ensure that:
A. Adverse
environmental effects are prevented or minimized and that mined lands
are reclaimed to a usable condition which is readily adaptable for
alternative land uses.
B. The
production and conservation of minerals are encouraged, while giving
consideration to values relating to recreation, watershed, wildlife,
range and forage, and aesthetic enjoyment.
C. Residual
hazards to the public health and safety are eliminated.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
"Board"
means the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sacramento.
"Existing mine"
means the same as a "surface mining operation" as defined
in this section provided said surface mining operation was in operation
on January 1, 1976.
"Idle mining operation"
means a surface mining operation that has been curtailed
for one year or more by 90% of the operation's previous maximum annual
mineral production with the intent to resume those operations at a
future date.
"Mined lands"
includes the surface, subsurface and groundwater of an area
in which surface mining operations will be, are being, or have been
conducted, including private ways and roads appurtenant to any such
areas in which structures, facilities, equipment, machines, tools
or other materials or property which result from, or are used in surface
mining operations, are located.
"Operator"
means any person who is engaged in surface mining operations
himself, or who contracts with others to conduct operations on his
behalf, except a person who is engaged in surface mining operations
as an employee with wages as his sole compensation.
"Permit"
means a conditional use permit granted by an appropriate
authority pursuant to the Zoning Code of Sacramento County or predecessor
zoning ordinances, or a permit issued through the procedures required
in an existing special planning area zoning designation.
"Person"
means any natural person, firm, association, joint venture,
joint stock company, partnership, club, company, corporation, business
trust, or organization of any kind as well as any city, county, district,
or the state or any department or agency thereof.
"Reclamation"
means the combined process of land treatment that minimizes
water degradation, air pollution, damage to aquatic or wildlife habitat,
flooding, erosion and other adverse effects from surface mining operations,
including adverse surface effects incidental to underground mines,
so that mined lands are reclaimed to a usable condition which is readily
adaptable for alternate land uses and create no danger to public health
or safety. The process may extend to affected lands surrounding mined
lands, and may require backfilling, grading, resoiling, revegetation,
soil compaction stabilization or other measures.
"Surface mining operations"
means all, or any part of, the process involved in the mining
of minerals on mined lands by removing overburden and mining directly
from the mineral deposits, open-pit mining of minerals naturally exposed,
mining by the auger method, dredging and quarrying, borrow pitting,
streambed skimming, segregation and stockpiling of mined materials
and recovery of the same or surface work incident to an underground
mine. Surface mining operations shall include, but are not limited
to in-place distillation, retorting or leaching, the production and
disposal of mining waste, and prospecting and exploratory activities.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
The provisions of SMARA, PRC Section 2207, and State regulations
as those provisions and regulations may be amended from time to time,
are made a part of this chapter by reference with the same force and
effect as if the provisions therein were specifically and fully set
out herein, excepting that when the provisions of this chapter are
more restrictive than correlative State provisions, this chapter shall
prevail.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Except as provided in this chapter, no person shall conduct
surface mining operations unless a Permit, reclamation plan, and financial
assurances for reclamation have first been approved by the County.
The procedural and substantive requirements for the required Permit
are those set forth in the County's Zoning Code Title II, Chapter
35 Surface Mining, Sections 235-40—235-54, and as set forth
in existing special planning areas. The procedural and substantive
requirements for the reclamation plan and Financial Assurance are
set forth in this chapter. Any applicable exemption from this requirement
does not automatically exempt a project or activity from the application
of other regulations, ordinances or policies of the County, including
but not limited to, the application of the California Environmental
Quality Act ("CEQA"), the payment of development impact fees, or the
imposition of other dedications and exactions as may be permitted
under the law. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all lands
within the County, public and private.
This chapter shall not apply to the following activities, subject
to the above-referenced exemptions:
A. Excavations
or grading conducted for farming or for the purpose of restoring land
following a flood or natural disaster to its prior condition.
B. Onsite
excavation and onsite earthmoving activities which are an integral
and necessary part of a construction project that are undertaken to
prepare a site for construction of structures, landscaping, or other
land improvements associated with those structures, including the
related excavation, grading, compaction, or the creation of fills,
road cuts, and embankments, whether or not surplus materials are exported
from the site, subject to all of the following conditions:
1. All
required permits for the construction, landscaping, or related land
improvements have been approved by a public agency in accordance with
applicable provisions of state law and locally adopted plans and ordinances,
including, but not limited to, CEQA.
2. The
County's approval of the construction project included consideration
of the onsite excavation and onsite earthmoving activities pursuant
to CEQA.
3. The
approved construction project is consistent with the County General
Plan and zoning of the site.
4. Surplus
materials shall not be exported from the site unless and until actual
construction work has commenced and shall cease if it is determined
that construction activities have terminated, have been indefinitely
suspended, or are no longer being actively pursued.
C. Operation
of a plant site used for mineral processing, including associated
onsite structures, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials,
including the onsite stockpiling and onsite recovery of mined materials,
subject to all of the following conditions:
1. The
plant site is located on lands designated for industrial or commercial
uses in the County's General Plan.
2. The
plant site is located on lands zoned industrial or commercial, or
are contained within a zoning category intended exclusively for industrial
activities by the County.
3. None
of the minerals being processed is being extracted onsite.
4. All
reclamation work has been completed pursuant to the approved reclamation
plan for any mineral extraction activities that occurred onsite after
January 1, 1976.
D. Prospecting
for, or the extraction of, minerals for commercial purposes and the
removal of overburden or mineral product totals less than 1,000 cubic
yards in any one location, and the total surface area disturbed is
less than one acre.
E. Surface
mining operations that are required by federal law in order to protect
a mining claim, if those operations are conducted solely for that
purpose.
F. Any
other surface mining operations that the State Mining and Geology
Board determines to be of an infrequent nature and which involve only
minor surface disturbances.
G. The
solar evaporation of sea water or bay water for the production of
salt and related minerals.
H. Emergency
excavations or grading conducted by the Department of Water Resources
or the Reclamation Board for the purpose of averting, alleviating,
repairing, or restoring damage to property due to imminent or recent
floods, disasters, or other emergencies.
I. Road
construction and maintenance for timber or forest operations if the
land is owned by the same person or entity, and if the excavation
is conducted adjacent to timber or forest operation roads. This exemption
is only available if slope stability and erosion are controlled in
accordance with Board regulations and, upon closure of the site, the
person closing the site implements, where necessary, revegetation
measures and post-closure uses in consultation with the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection. This exemption does not apply to
onsite excavation or grading that occurs within 100 feet of a Class
One watercourse or 75 feet of a Class Two watercourse, or to excavations
for materials that are, or have been, sold for commercial purposes.
J. Excavations,
grading, or other earthmoving activities in an oil or gas field that
are integral to, and necessary for, ongoing operations for the extraction
of oil or gas that comply with all of the following conditions:
1. The
operations are being conducted in accordance with PRC Sections 3000
et seq.;
2. The
operations are consistent with the County's General Plan and zoning
applicable to the site;
3. The
earthmoving activities are within oil or gas field properties under
a common owner or operator; and
4. No
excavated materials are sold for commercial purposes.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Reclamation plan amendments that substantially deviate from the approved plan shall be processed according to the procedure set out in Section
20.04.090 of this Code. A reclamation plan amendment, determined by the Planning Department to be a non-substantial deviation from the approved reclamation plan, shall be accepted and approved by the Planning Department.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
The person submitting the reclamation plan shall sign a statement
accepting responsibility for reclaiming the mined lands in accordance
with the reclamation plan. Said statement shall be kept by the Planning
Department in the mining operation's permanent record. Upon sale or
transfer of the operation, the new operator shall submit a signed
statement of responsibility to the Planning Department for placement
in the permanent record.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Surface mining operators shall forward an annual surface mining
report to the State Department of Conservation and to the Planning
Department on a date established by the State Department of Conservation,
upon forms furnished by the State Mining and Geology Board. New mining
operations shall file an initial surface mining report and any applicable
filing fees with the State Department of Conservation within 30 days
of permit approval, or before commencement of operations, whichever
is sooner. Any applicable fees, together with a copy of the annual
inspection report, shall be forwarded to the State Department of Conservation
at the time of filing the annual surface mining report.
The Planning Department shall forward a copy of each approved
site approval for mining operations and/or approved reclamation plan,
and a copy of the approved financial assurances to the State Department
of Conservation. By July 1 of each year, the Planning Department shall
submit to the State Department of Conservation for each active or
idle mining operation a copy of the site approval or reclamation plan
amendments, as applicable, or a statement that there have been no
changes during the previous year.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
The Planning Department shall arrange for inspection of a surface mining operation within six months of receipt of the annual report required in Section
20.04.110, to determine whether the surface mining operation is in compliance with the approved permit and/or reclamation plan, approved financial assurances, and applicable State regulations. In no event shall less than one inspection be conducted in any calendar year. Said inspections may be made by a state-registered geologist, state-registered civil engineer, state-licensed landscape architect, or state-registered forester, who is experienced in land reclamation and who has not been employed by the mining operation in any capacity during the previous 12 months, or other qualified specialists, as selected by the Planning Director. All inspections shall be conducted using a form approved and provided by the State Mining and Geology Board. The Planning Department shall notify the State Department of Conservation within 30 days of completion of the inspection that said inspection has been conducted, and shall forward a copy of said inspection notice and any supporting documentation to the mining operator. The operator shall be solely responsible for the reasonable cost of such inspection.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
If the Planning Director, based upon an annual inspection or
otherwise confirmed by an inspection of the mining operation, determines
that a surface mining operation is not in compliance with this chapter,
the permit and/or the reclamation plan, the County shall follow the
procedures set forth in PRC Sections 2774.1 and 2774.2.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Any person aggrieved by an act or determination of the Planning
Department in the exercise of authority granted herein, shall have
the right to appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals. An appeal shall
be filed on forms provided, within (15) calendar days after the rendition,
in writing, of the appealed decision.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
Fees for any of the review, reports, inspections, hearings or
other procedures required or authorized pursuant to this chapter shall
be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors which may
be amended from time to time and shall reflect the reasonable costs
incurred by the County. To the extent no fee is set by resolution
or to the extent that actual costs exceed the fees established by
such resolution, additional amounts may be required to be paid subject
to review and approval of such amounts by the Office of Auditor-Controller.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)
The Board must make the following findings before granting final
approval of a reclamation plan:
A. That
the reclamation plan complies with SMARA Sections 2772 and 2773, and
any other applicable provisions;
B. That
the reclamation plan complies with applicable requirements of State
regulations (
CCR Sections 3500-3505, and Sections 3700-3713);
C. That
the reclamation plan and potential use of reclaimed land pursuant
to the plan are consistent with this chapter and the County's General
Plan and any applicable resource plan or element;
D. That
the reclamation plan has been reviewed pursuant to CEQA and the County's
environmental review guidelines, and all significant adverse impacts
from reclamation of the surface mining operations are mitigated to
the maximum extent feasible;
E. That
the land and/or resources such as water bodies to be reclaimed will
be restored to a condition that is compatible with, and blends in
with, the surrounding natural environment, topography, and other resources,
or that suitable off-site development will compensate for related
disturbance to resource values;
F. That
the reclamation plan will restore the mined lands to a usable condition
that is readily adaptable for alternative land uses consistent with
the County General Plan and applicable resource plan; and
G. That
a written response to the State Department of Conservation has been
prepared, describing the disposition of major issues raised by that
Department. Where the County's position is at variance with the recommendations
and objections raised by the State Department of Conservation, said
response shall address, in detail, why specific comments and suggestions
were not accepted.
(SCC 1391 § 2, 2008)