[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting
of the Town of Blackstone 4-26-1980 by Art. 32. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter is adopted under authority of MGL
c. 40, § 21(17).
A.
Any removal of soil, loam, sand or gravel from any
premises not in public use in Blackstone shall be allowed only if
authorized by a permit granted under this chapter to the owner of
the premises. Such permit shall expire upon change of ownership of
the premises.
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
B.
Effective July 1, 1996, all earth removal permits
will be renewable at the start of the new fiscal year and every year
thereafter.
[Added by 6-12-1995 ATM, Art. 27]
C.
All permit applications must first be submitted to
the Conservation Commission to determine whether the operation may
impact a natural resource area or conservation area. If the Conservation
Commission finds that such a natural resource area or conservation
area is to be impacted, then a notice of intent must be submitted
and Order of Conditions issued or a superseding order of conditions
by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection prior
to the May 1 review and each May 1 thereafter
[Added by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
D.
This permit does not relieve the permittee or any
other person of the necessity of complying with all other applicable
federal, state or local statutes, ordinances, Town bylaws or regulations.
[Added by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
[Amended by 6-12-1995 ATM, Art. 27]
This chapter shall be administered and enforced
by the Board of Selectmen through an Inspector designated by them.
A.
Inspections and reporting.
(1)
The Inspector will inspect each soil removal operation
every two weeks. Written notice of any violation shall be provided
to the owner of the premises, specifying a time for compliance which
shall not be less than 24 hours nor more than two weeks, depending
upon the feasibility of quick compliance and the hazard or damage
risk involved.
(2)
The Inspector will submit a monthly written report
to the Board of Selectmen which summarizes the findings of all inspections
conducted that month. The report will include a statement of compliance
or noncompliance with this chapter and any permit conditions for each
of the soil removal operations.
B.
Violations and penalties. Violations shall be subject
to the following penalties and may be enforced by MGL c. 40, § 21(17),
including the collection of penalties either by criminal or noncriminal
disposition. Each day that the violation continues beyond the specified
time for compliance will be considered a separate offense.
(1)
The first offense will result in a fifty-dollar fine.
(2)
The second offense will result in a one-hundred-dollar
fine and an informal hearing before the Board of Selectmen.
A.
Permits required. All removal operations require a
removal permit to be acted upon by the Selectmen following a public
hearing with published notice in a newspaper of general circulation
in the Town at least seven days prior to the hearing and with written
notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to all abutters
and to all owners of property on both sides of a servicing street
if having frontage within 300 feet of the center line of any proposed
egress. For existing operations such removal permit is required upon
expiration of any existing permit or by January 1, 1981, if sooner.
Removal permits for operation on parcels currently principally used
for earth removal may be acted upon without a public hearing. Removal
permits shall normally expire one year from date of issue. Removal
permits may be renewed upon application without hearing for the same
length of time as originally issued, following notice that renewal
is contemplated, published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the Town.
[Amended by 6-12-1995 ATM, Art. 27]
B.
Application. Beginning in 1996 renewal applications
must be submitted to the Board of Selectmen by May 1. The application
for an original or renewal removal permit shall include but not be
limited to:
(1)
Site and earth removal boundaries, names and address of all parties entitled to notice. (See Subsection A.)
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
(2)
Estimated amount of materials to be removed in the
next twelve-month period.
(3)
Plans shall be prepared and stamped by both a registered
professional engineer and registered surveyor showing the following:
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
(a)
The location and boundaries of the site and
of any lots proposed and indication of each zoning district involved.
(b)
The use and ownership of adjacent premises,
approximate location of buildings within 50 feet of the site and,
if the proposed operation entails on-site sewage disposal, the approximate
location of any wells on or off the premises within 300 feet of the
leaching field or other discharge location.
(c)
Existing and proposed buildings, streets, ways,
drives, walks, service areas, parking spaces, loading areas, fences
and screening, utilities, waste storage and disposal facilities, wells
and drainage facilities.
(d)
Existing and proposed topography and vegetation
indicating areas of retained vegetation and species of trees and shrubs
to be planted. The contour interval on the plans shall be two feet
for flat areas (twenty-percent slope or flatter) and two feet for
sloped areas (greater than twenty-percent sloped). The scale of the
drawings shall be appropriate for the size of the property but not
smaller than 100 feet equals one inch.
(e)
Indication of wetlands and other areas subject
to control under the Wetlands Protection Act, and the associated buffer
areas surrounding such areas, identified through a field survey acceptable
to the Conservation Commission; floodplain and floodway boundaries;
and erosion-control measures.
(f)
The location of signs and exterior lighting,
and accompanying materials to describe those elements.
(g)
Each five-acre work area will be identified
by a minimum of four boundary markers six inches square by 40 inches
long made of concrete and set in earth and exposed 12 inches. The
markers are to remain in place until written authorization is given
for removal by the Inspector.
(h)
The site plan shall designate where topsoil
will be stockpiled. Prior to opening an earth removal area, the applicant
shall excavate a minimum of four shallow test pits per acre to determine
the thickness of topsoil and subsoil. The test pits shall be witnessed
by the Inspector, and the site plan shall reflect each test pit location.
(4)
The application shall authorize the Board of Selectmen
or Inspector access to the premises at any time in administration
of this.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article provided that
it shall take effect December 31, 1993.
C.
The application or renewal fee shall be $500 per year
of permit validity, plus $0.15 per cubic yard of material to be removed
for quantities up to 10,000 cubic yards and $0.25 per cubic yard of
material to be removed over 10,000 cubic yards, plus the cost of advertising,
notice and engineering/surveyor services to be performed at the discretion
of the Selectmen to certify compliance with this chapter.
[Amended by 6-12-1995 ATM, Art. 27; 5-28-2013 ATM, Art.
31]
D.
Authorization. A removal permit may authorize having
sand and gravel removed from a total of no more than two five-acre
removal areas, that being one active and one under restoration at
any one site and at any one time in a residential zone. Before any
additional five acres of removal area can be opened, reclamation must
be completed in accordance with the Town bylaw and part of the restoration
plans submitted at the time of the application. Additional acres may
be authorized for operations which are located in an Industrial District
as defined in the Blackstone Zoning Bylaw[2] and which involve substantial on-site investment in fixed
processing equipment.
[Amended by 4-25-1993 ATM, Art. 20; 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
E.
Security. The applicant shall provide security which
will be forfeited to the Town in the event of failure to comply with
the requirements of this chapter or the removal permit issued. Such
security shall equal $4,000 per acre authorized for removal and $500
per acre in an Industrial District as defined in the Blackstone Zoning
Bylaw[3] and which involves substantial on-site investment in fixed
processing equipment or such larger amount determined by the Selectmen
to be necessary in view of site conditions and proposals. Irrevocable
security shall be provided in the form of a certified check, bankbook
and withdrawal slip, or other form satisfactory to the Town Counsel
and Town Treasurer.
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
F.
Decision. In acting upon permit applications, the
Selectmen shall give due consideration to the location of the proposed
operation generally, and more specifically to its relationship to
the spring high-water table; to the general character of the neighborhood
surrounding such location; and to the general safety of the public
ways in the vicinity. Permits shall be granted only upon determination
that the proposed operation will create no substantial hazard, will
not cause environmental degradation outside the premises, and will
not permanently impair the utility of abutting properties for uses
allowed under the Zoning Bylaw.[4] The permit shall state all conditions imposed, including
but not limited to:
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
No removal shall take place within 100 feet
of an existing public way or within 150 feet of a residential structure
unless such removal is to improve grading at the end of the operation
and specifically authorized in the permit; and no removal shall be
less than 100 feet from any other perimeter lot line. Upon completion
of the operation, a plan showing the perimeter of the site can be
submitted for review and consideration will be given to encroach upon
the one-hundred-foot perimeter lot lines. The encroachment will be
determined by use and topography of abutting properties. Natural vegetation
shall be left and maintained on the undisturbed land for screening
and noise reduction purposes and surge piles and overburden piles
shall be located for similar purposes.
All roads leading from removal areas to public
ways shall be treated with calcium chloride, stone or other nonpolluting
materials for a distance of 100 feet from said public way to reduce
dust and mud. Roads leading from removal areas to public ways shall
be constructed at an angle to the public way or constructed with a
curve so as to help screen the operation from public view.
No materials shall be removed within four feet
of spring high-water table and six feet in groundwater protection
areas, as established by groundwater monitoring wells approved by
the Town of Blackstone and the Inspector.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article provided that
it shall take effect December 31, 1993.
During removal operations no face shall be left
at the end of a work day in excess of 20 feet vertical rise. No face
inactive for a week or more shall be left with a slope in excess of
one foot vertical to 1 1/2 feet horizontal, or the natural angle
of repose of the material in a dry state, if lower.
[Amended 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
Provision shall be made for safe drainage of
water and for prevention of wind or water erosion carrying material
beyond buffer zones and/or onto other adjoining properties and shall
be in accordance with the requirements of the Conservation Commission
as set forth in its Order of Conditions.
[Amended by 4-26-1993 ATM, Art. 33[1]]
All topsoil displaced shall be stockpiled on the site until termination of the operation or restoration. The Board of Selectmen may issue a permit to remove excess topsoil only after it has been demonstrated that § 109-14, Restoration, has been fully complied with.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article provided that
it shall take effect December 31, 1993.
Removal and truck departures shall take place
only between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, excluding
holidays.
All trucking routes and methods will be subject
to approval by the Selectmen after review by the Chief of Police.
[Amended by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
Forthwith following the expiration or withdrawal
of a limited operation permit or standard operation permit, or upon
voluntary cessation of operations, or upon completion of removal in
a substantial area, all unbuilt-upon land area shall be restored as
follows:
A.
Grading. All land shall be so graded that no slope
exceeds one foot vertical rise in three feet horizontal distance and
shall be so graded as to safely provide for drainage without erosion.
B.
Elevations. Final grade shall not be below a level
that would reasonably be considered a desirable grade for the later
development of the area, shall not normally be below the grade of
adjacent streets, and shall not be below the grades indicated on the
plan accompanying the permit application.
C.
Cleanup. All boulders and stumps shall be removed
or buried, trees removed or chipped and equipment and temporary buildings
removed.
D.
Planting. The entire area, except exposed rock, shall
be covered with not less than four inches of topsoil, which shall
be planted with cover vegetation adequate to prevent soil erosion,
using either perennial grasses or ground cover, depending upon conditions.
E.
Security release. Security shall not be released until
sufficient time has lapsed to ascertain that the vegetation planted
has successfully been established and that drainage is satisfactory.
[Added by 5-28-1996 ATM, Art. 17]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The above materials shall be determined on the basis of particle
size in accordance with ASTMD422, using either mechanical grain size
or hydrometer methods, as appropriate for the materials. The particle
sizes for each category are as follows:
|
Material
|
Range of Particle Size (millimeters)
|
|---|---|
|
Clay
|
0.002 and smaller Silt 0.074 (No. 200 Sieve)
to 0.002
|
|
Sand
|
4.76 (No 4 Sieve) to 0.074
|
|
Gravel
|
76.2 (3-inch) to 4.76
|
|
Cobbles
|
3-inch to 12-inch
|
|
Boulders
|
Greater than 12 inches
|
An area as designated on plans and at a site of a gravel
mining operation.
The piezometric surface of water in the ground.
A PVC pipe (minimum one-and-one-half-inch inside diameter)
installed in a borehole created by drilling or excavating a test boring.
Wells shall consist of a minimum of 10 feet of slotted PVC screen
set to span the surface of groundwater, with solid riser pipe extending
to a minimum of one foot above the ground surface. The annular space
of the well screen shall be backfilled with a filter of sand. The
annular space surrounding the solid riser pipe may be backfilled with
borehole cuttings. A locking guard pipe shall be cement grouted in
place at the ground surface. Logs of all boreholes and well installations
shall be provided to the Inspector after installation.
A series of monitoring wells designed to provide representative
depths to groundwater across a site.
The individual or organization authorized by the Town to
conduct inspections at gravel mining sites within the limits of the
Town of Blackstone.
An environmentally sensitive area that falls within the jurisdiction
of the Conservation Commission or an area within the Zone 1 or Zone
2 of a municipal well or an interim wellhead protection area or the
watershed areas of a surface water supply.
An individual or an organization that is authorized by the
Town to conduct earth removal or mining operations at a site.
An individual parcel of land, as indicated on the Town's
Assessors' Plat plans from which earth removal or mining is proposed
or is ongoing.
A physical plant that is set up at a site for the purpose
of manufacturing a product of clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobbles, boulders
and screening topsoil or subsoil.
The zone of accumulation of illuvial material. The coloration
of subsoil ranges from orange-brown to yellow-brown for well drained
areas to dark gray for poorly drained wet areas.
The A horizon, as defined by the United States Department
of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Topsoil is
comprised of a dark brown to black mineral horizon formed at the ground
surface, characterized by an accumulation of humidified organic matter
intimately mixed with the mineral fraction.
The Town of Blackstone, Massachusetts.
Earth removal that is not in accordance with the Earth Removal
Bylaws of the Town.
