[HISTORY: 1988 Code §§ 56-1 — 56-12
adopted as amended through December 31, 2013. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
It is the intent of this chapter to license and regulate quarries
for the protection of persons and property and for the preservation
of the public health, safety and welfare of the Township and its inhabitants
and to ensure that quarrying operations shall be conducted in such
a manner as to create a minimum of annoyance from noise and dust to
nearby owners or occupants of property, to provide for the safety
of persons, particularly children, and further to ensure that the
quarried area shall be suitably and reasonably rehabilitated after
quarrying operations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person engaged in and controlling the business of conducting
a quarry.
A place where stone, shale or slate is excavated and crushed,
washed, graded or otherwise processed.
Those aspects of the business of conducting a quarry as relate
directly to the excavation and processing of stone, shale and slate
and the removal thereof from quarry premises.
The reconditioning of the area of land affected by quarrying
operations to restore the same to a productive use after termination
of quarrying operations consistent with the Master Plan adopted by
the Planning Board of the Township.
A written proposal approved by the Planning Board of the
Township for reclamation of the area of land affected by quarrying
operations, including land use objectives, specifications for grading
and manner and type of vegetation, and such maps and other supporting
documents as may be required by the Planning Board.
It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct the business
of quarrying within the Township without first having obtained a license
therefor in accordance with this chapter.
Applications for licenses required by this chapter shall be
made upon forms provided by the Township Clerk and shall be signed
and verified by the applicant, setting forth or accompanied by the
following information:
A.
The
name and address of the applicant, if an individual; the name, residence
and business address of each partner, if a partnership; and the name,
date and state under which organized, if a corporation, and if a foreign
corporation, whether the same is authorized to do business in the
State of New Jersey. (A corporate applicant shall indicate the names
of directors, principal officers and local representatives, their
residences and business addresses.)
B.
A
legal description of the premises where the business is to be conducted
and a map of the premises prepared by an engineer or land surveyor
licensed in the State of New Jersey showing the entire tract involved,
all roads or buildings within 500 feet thereof, existing and proposed
final contours of the land involved and adjoining lands, contours
to be created by the quarrying operation at twenty-foot intervals
and all brooks, streams or bodies of water on the tract involved and
within 500 feet therefrom.
C.
Date
relative to the ownership of the tract involved or any interest of
the applicant, its officers, directors or stockholders in adjoining
property. In the event that the applicant is not the owner, written
consent of the owner must be furnished.
D.
Plans
and specifications indicating places where quarrying is to be conducted;
all entrances or exits to the tract involved; fences, gates or buildings
erected or to be erected; equipment used or to be used in the operation;
and a narrative describing the method of operation.
E.
The
hours during which the quarry will be operated.
F.
Certificates
of insurance attached to the application evidencing liability insurance
coverage in amounts of not less than $1,000,000 for personal injury,
including death (for each person or each occurrence), and $300,000
for property damage.
A.
Prior
to approval of any application, a plan for reclamation of the site
shall be submitted to the Township Clerk and referred to the Planning
Board for report in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-26.
The Planning Board shall make its report within a period of 35 days
after the referral. The reclamation plan shall, in addition to showing
the ultimate plans therefor, indicate measures to be taken during
the course of quarrying operations which will lead to reclamation
of the site and shall include the following:
(2)
Wherever practicable, provisions shall be made for grading of all
slopes to a rolling topography not to exceed 45 degrees. After the
effective date of this chapter, ultimate quarry faces sloped in excess
of 45 degrees shall be benched at heights not exceeding 50 feet to
permit trimming of faces and removal of loose material. Adequate accessways
shall be provided to all benches.
(3)
Where topsoil has been removed, provisions shall be made for setting
aside and retention on the premises of sufficient arable soil to be
distributed over the premises to a depth capable of supporting vegetation.
Where final contours are of such slope as to make the replacement
of topsoil impractical, such slopes (except quarry faces in excess
of 45 degrees) shall be planted with rootable plant material in sufficient
number and of sufficient size to minimize erosion.
(4)
Provisions shall be made for reasonable portions of initial or existing
quarrying operations to be reclaimed prior to the opening of new areas.
To the extent practicable, the reclamation plan shall make provisions
for simultaneous quarrying and reclamation.
(5)
Provisions shall be made for adequate drainage during quarrying operations
and after termination of the same.
(6)
Provisions shall be made for lateral support of slopes and grades
abutting streets and lands during quarrying operations and after termination
of the same.
(7)
Provisions shall be made for the preservation of land values and
uses of the quarry premises and surrounding areas after quarrying
operations have been terminated.
(8)
Such other factors that may bear upon or relate to the coordinated,
adjusted and harmonious physical development of the Township.
B.
The
reclamation plan shall remain in effect until such time as quarrying
operations are terminated. Nothing herein shall require that a reclamation
plan be resubmitted annually; however, reclamation plans may be amended
or revised from time to time as quarrying operations proceed.
C.
Provisions
shall be made for the completion of all reclamation within a period
of one year after termination of quarrying operations.
D.
An
original reproducible copy of the reclamation plan and any amendments
or revisions thereof shall be filed with the Township Clerk.
Prior to approval of any application for a license, the applicant shall submit a performance bond with adequate surety to assure reclamation of the site of operations pursuant to the provisions of § 56-5 above in accordance with the following standards:
A.
The
form of the performance bond shall be subject to approval by the Township
Attorney and shall be in such amount as may be approved by the Township
Council, but in no event to exceed one percent of the highest annual
gross sales of quarry material over the preceding six-year period.
B.
The
surety thereon shall be a recognized surety company authorized to
do business in the State of New Jersey and approved by the Township
Council. In lieu of a corporate surety, the applicant may assign to
the Township a savings account in the amount of the bond as aforesaid
and in such form as approved by the Township Attorney.
C.
Periodic
inspections shall be made by the Quarry Inspector to evaluate performance
of the applicant with respect to reclamation procedures. A report
of his/her findings shall be submitted from time to time to the Township
Council.
D.
At
the request of the applicant, the amount of the performance guaranty
shall be adjusted annually, provided that the basis therefor is substantiated
by said applicant.
E.
The
performance guaranty shall remain in full force and effect during
the entire period that quarrying operations are conducted and until
completion of reclamation after termination of the same.
The Zoning Officer or the Township Engineer shall serve as the
Quarry Inspector. The duty of the Quarry Inspector shall be to conduct
a periodic inspection of the licensed premises in order to determine
whether operations are being conducted in accordance with the application
therefor and the terms and provisions of this chapter. The Quarry
Inspector shall also submit written reports of such inspections from
time to time and as may be required by the Township Council. The Quarry
Inspector is further designated as the enforcing officer of this chapter
and shall investigate any and all alleged violations thereof.
B.
All
drilling must be done by the wet drilling method or by any other method
of equivalent effectiveness for dust control.
C.
All
roads or traveled rights-of-way within the licensed premises must
be treated with State-approved agents in order to reduce the accumulation
and dissemination of dust. State-approved agents must be applied at
least once every 10 days during the period of May 1 to November 15
of each year.
D.
No
quarrying shall be permitted which will reduce the quarried area below
the lowest grade of adjoining properties or roads, nor shall any quarrying
be permitted which will endanger the lateral support of abutting properties.
In the event that quarrying or excavation should result in face slopes
in excess of 45 degrees, a minimum leveled (or natural) buffer area
of 50 feet shall be provided between any quarry boundary line and
the commencement of the slope.
E.
In
no case shall any quarry products, equipment or other materials be
deposited or stored on any property, public or private, other than
the licensed premises. No buildings, equipment, quarry products or
other materials shall be erected or stored within a distance of 50
feet of any quarry boundary line.
F.
A
chain link fence of a minimum height of 6 feet shall be erected around
the perimeter of the licensed premises, and all means of ingress and
egress shall be controlled by substantial gates of similar height,
which gates shall be closed and securely locked when not in actual
use. Reasonable variations of fence alignment may be made along the
perimeter in order to accommodate existing natural features and terrain,
thereby making erection of the fence practicable within the boundary
lines of the quarry premises.
G.
(Reserved)
H.
Signs
shall be maintained at all entrances or exits of the quarried premises
indicating the name and address of the licensee and that the business
being conducted is a licensed quarry operation.
I.
Where
conveyors discharge material of less than one inch in diameter onto
stockpiles of such material, either of the following requirements
shall be observed:
(1)
The free and uncontained fall of the material being stockpiled from
the conveyor to the highest point of the stockpile shall not exceed
a distance of 6 feet; or
(2)
Where the free and uncontained fall of the material being stockpiled
from the conveyor to the highest point of the stockpile shall exceed
a distance of 6 feet, a high-pressure water mist spray shall be directed
onto the material as it falls from the conveyor to the stockpile in
such a manner as to reduce the accumulation and dissemination of dust.
J.
Wherever
the licensed premises abuts a public street or road, a solid and continuous
landscape screen shall be planted and maintained. The landscaping
shall consist of massed evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs of
such species and density as will provide a solid and continuous screen
throughout the full course of the year.
K.
All
crushing and processing of quarry materials must be conducted by use
of a wet method of dust control or by local exhaust systems of equivalent
effectiveness.
All license applications shall be reviewed by the Quarry Inspector
and certified as to whether or not they comply with the requirements
of this chapter and, if so certified, the Township Council shall approve
the issuance of a license to operate the quarry described therein.
Licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year and shall be renewed
annually upon filing an application therefor in accordance with the
standards outlined above. Initial licenses issued during a calendar
year shall expire on December 31 of the same year. A quarry presently
in operation may, upon filing an application for a license as provided
above, continue operation pending action upon said application by
the Township Council.
After 10 days' notice and an opportunity to be heard, the
Township Council may revoke or suspend any license issued under this
chapter if it finds that the licensee is violating the terms or provisions
hereof or of any applicable statute or regulation of the State of
New Jersey.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Quarry Inspector, who
shall investigate any violation of this chapter coming to his/her
attention, whether by complaint or arising from his/her own personal
knowledge. If a violation is found to exist, he/she shall serve a
written notice by certified mail or personal service upon the owner
or other party in charge of the licensed premises, which notice shall
require the violation to be abated within a period of 10 days from
the date of service thereof or within such lesser period of time as
the Quarry Inspector shall deem reasonable in cases where the danger
to public health, safety and general welfare is so imminent as to
require more immediate abatement. If such person fails to abate the
violation within the time specified, the Quarry Inspector shall notify
the Township Council and prosecute a complaint to terminate the violation
in Municipal Court.
