The provisions in this chapter of any remedy to the County, or to any board or officer of the County, for noncompliance with or default in the performance of any reclamation plan or the financial assurances therefore, or of any condition of any permit or reclamation plan, shall not be deemed as a limitation on any other remedy at law or in equity which the County, or any board or officer of the County, or any other public officer or agency, nor any member of the public, may otherwise have. The remedies set out in this chapter are in and may be used in the alternative at the discretion of the initiating body or officer.
(a)
If the Planning and Development Director at any time determines that the mining operator or owner is financially incapable of performing the required reclamation, or has abandoned its surface mining operation without commencing or completing reclamation, he/she shall immediately notify the Board of Supervisors.
(b)
Upon receipt of such a report, the Board of Supervisors shall schedule a public hearing. The hearing shall be set and notice shall be provided as set forth in section 7-25-1110(b) of this Article.
(c)
If the Board of Supervisors, following the public hearing, determines that the operator or owner is financially incapable of performing reclamation in accordance with the approved reclamation plan, or has abandoned the surface mining operation without commencing or completing reclamation, the Board shall, in compliance with section 2773.1(b) of the Act, notify the operator of the surface mining operations by personal service or certified mail that the Board intends to take appropriate action to forfeit the surface mining operation’s financial assurances. The notice shall specify the reasons for so doing. The Board of Supervisors shall allow and the notice shall advise the operator that the operator will have sixty (60) days to commence or cause to be commenced reclamation of the surface mining operation site in accordance with the approved reclamation plan. The notice shall require that reclamation be completed within the time limits specified by the approved reclamation plan or within some other time period mutually agreed upon by the Board of Supervisors and the operator.
(d)
If the operator or owner has not commenced reclamation or caused reclamation to be commenced within sixty (60) days of the notice given under subsection (c) or does not substantially complete the reclamation within the time limits specified in the notice given under subsection (c), the Board of Supervisors may require forfeiture of financial assurances in accordance with section 2773.1 of the Act and section 7-25-1335 of this Article.
(a)
If the owners or operators of a surface mining operation fail to commence or complete reclamation in accordance with the approved reclamation plan, then the Board of Supervisors shall have authority to order and otherwise undertake the planning and conduct of all or any part of the work necessary to accomplish the reclamation plan, to perform any conditions in default, to demand performance of any surety company issuing the security, or to otherwise cure any default.
(b)
The officers, employees, and agents of the County, and any contractor hired by the County, and his/her employees, subcontractors, and agents, and any engineers, surveyors and other experts retained by the County, may enter the mining site and any adjacent property of the owners and operators of the surface mining operations for the purposes of planning or conducting all or any part of the work described in subsection (a) of this section, bringing and using thereon any and all equipment and machines necessary for doing such work, and using any equipment, supplies, earth, or other materials found thereon.
(c)
The County shall follow the previously approved reclamation plan or conditions in the conduct of such work. However, if the physical site and/or mining operation has changed from that contemplated at the time the reclamation plan or conditions in the conduct of such work were approved so as to cause the previously approved reclamation plan to conflict with the provisions and requirements of this Chapter or the Act, the County may review and approve appropriate modifications or amendments to the reclamation plan before commencing reclamation.
(d)
The Board of Supervisors is authorized to order retention and deposit into the County general fund, all or any portion of the proceeds from the financial assurances for its costs and reasonable expenses and fees, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred in enforcing the obligations secured by the financial assurances, and for its reasonable expenses incurred in any inspections, giving notices, conducting hearings pursuant to sections 7-25-1110 through 7-25-1155, 7-25-1265 through 7-25-1275, and 7-25-1325 through 7-25-1350 of this Chapter, and for any expenses incurred in the planning, surveying, testing, and administration in preparation for the letting of any contracts, administration and enforcement of contracts, and otherwise doing any of the work mentioned in this section.
(e)
If the financial assurances are insufficient to cover the costs incurred by the County under subsection (d) or (f), the owners and operators of the surface mining operation shall be responsible for the costs incurred by the County for conducting and completing reclamation in accordance with this section which costs are in excess of the proceeds from the forfeited financial assurances. The County may take, or assign its right to take, all appropriate action to collect such costs from the owners and operators of the surface mining operation.
(f)
The Board of Supervisors may enter into an agreement with any public agency or public entity under which the public agency or public entity would agree to do the work needed to complete the reclamation plan or a specified portion thereof, or to perform all or any of the conditions in default or such other work needed to cure any default, in consideration of transfer or payment to such agency or entity of all or any part of the remaining proceeds from the financial assurances.
(g)
If the Board of Supervisors determines that the work has been completed for the accomplishment of the reclamation plan, or for the performance of conditions in default or as otherwise needed to cure any default, or if the Board determines that there is no reasonable prospect that such work can be accomplished by any means mentioned in this section and if the Board determines that by reason of changed circumstances no public purpose would be served by completion of such work, the Board shall order any portion of the proceeds from such security not retained by the County under subsection (d) of this section or not expended under the provisions of this section, to be refunded to the owners, operators or their sureties, as their interests may appear, in accordance with section 7-25-1150.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3238, effective 3-30-00)
(a)
Failure of an owner or operator to comply with all conditions of approval of the permit, the Act, the regulations or this Chapter shall be a basis for revocation of any permit or vested right to conduct a surface mining operation. When noncompliance or a violation is discovered during an inspection or at any other time, the Planning and Development Director shall give the owner or operator of the surface mining operation written notice of the acts of noncompliance or violation and direct that they be corrected within a specified period of time. If such corrections are not made in compliance with the notice, the Planning and Development Director shall report the noncompliance to the Planning Commission which may commence revocation proceedings.
(b)
Before revoking a permit, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing and render a decision pursuant to the procedure set forth in section 7-25-1110 of this Chapter.
(c)
At the hearing the Planning Commission may change the financial assurances originally required. The Planning Commission may revoke the permit and require that the reclamation plan be implemented immediately or may allow the continuation of the surface mining operations with or without additional conditions.
Upon determination that a surface mining operation is not in compliance with the Act or Public Resources Code section 2207, the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors may impose administrative penalties in accordance with sections 2774.1 and 2774.2 of the Act and the following procedure:
(a)
If the Planning and Development Director determines, based upon the annual inspection or otherwise confirmed by inspection of the surface mining operation, that the surface mining operation is in violation of the Act or Public Resources Code section 2207, the Planning and Development Director may give notice of the violation or violations to the operator by personal service or certified mail with a copy to the Director of the State Department of Conservation. If the violation or violations extend or continue beyond thirty (30) days of the date of notification, the Planning and Development Director may issue an order requiring compliance in accordance with section 2774.1(a) and 2774.1(b) of the Act, which order shall specify a time for compliance and set a date for a hearing on such order before the Planning Commission, which date will not be sooner than thirty (30) days after the date of the order. A copy of the order shall be forwarded to the Director of the State Department of Conservation.
(b)
The hearing before the Planning Commission shall be noticed in accordance with section 7-25-1110(b). At the close of the hearing or at a later date announced before the close of the hearing, the Planning Commission shall do one of the following:
(c)
If the Planning Commission either approves or modifies and approves the order of the Planning Director, the Planning Commission’s decision will become final and the order so approved will take effect ten (10) days after such decision unless the decision is appealed to the Board of Supervisors pursuant to section 7-25-1265. The Planning Commission’s decision shall be mailed as provided in section 7-25-1110(d). The mailing to the operator shall be by certified mail.
(d)
If the operator violates or fails to comply with an effective order requiring compliance with the Act or Public Resources Code section 2207 and issued according to section 2774.1 and this section, the Planning Commission may issue an order imposing administrative penalties allowed in accordance with section 2774.1 of the Act. Any order imposing administrative penalties shall become effective upon issuance and the penalties imposed thereby shall be paid to the Planning and Development Director unless such order is appealed or a petition for review of such order is made to the Board of Supervisors within thirty (30) days of the date the order is issued. Such appeal or petition for review shall be made and considered in accordance with section 7-25-1265 and section 2774.2 of the Act. The Board of Supervisors decision and order on such an appeal or petition for review shall comply with the requirements of section 7-25-1265 and section 2774.2 of the Act.
Any surface mining and/or reclamation operations or activities which violate any provision of this Chapter, or any permit or reclamation plan granted or approved pursuant to this Chapter, shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated pursuant to the procedures of the Tulare County Public Nuisance Ordinance.
Every person violating any provision of this Chapter, or of any permit or reclamation plan granted or approved pursuant to this Chapter, is guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable as provided in section 125 of this Ordinance Code. Such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of this Chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such person, and shall be punishable therefore as hereinabove provided.