§ 13-103. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

"Area of regional significance" means an area or location designated by the State Mining and Geology Board pursuant to PRC Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction of which is judged to be of prime importance in meeting future needs for minerals in a particular region of the State within which the minerals are located and which, if prematurely developed for alternate incompatible land uses, could result in the premature loss of minerals that are of more than local significance.

"Area of Statewide significance" means an area designated by the State Mining and Geology Board pursuant to PRC Section 2790 which is known to contain a deposit of minerals, the extraction of which is judged to be of prime importance in meeting future needs for minerals in the State and which, if prematurely developed for alternate incompatible land uses, could result in the permanent loss of minerals that are of more than local or regional significance.

"Borrow pits" means excavations created by the surface mining of rock, unconsolidated geologic deposits or soil to provide material (borrow) for fill elsewhere.

"Committee" means the five-member Surface Mining Aggregate Operations Committee created by Resolution 84-197 as subsequently amended by Resolution 99-101 or future resolutions. The Committee's purpose is to advise the Board of Supervisors on all matters pertaining to surface mining including, but not limited to, mining permit and reclamation plan applications, financial assurances, and mining operation compliance with this article and the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act.

"Exploration" or "prospecting" means the search for minerals by geological, geophysical, geochemical or other techniques, including, but not limited to, sampling, assaying, drilling, or any surface or underground works needed to determine the type, extent or quality of the minerals present.

"Financial assurance" means the financial guarantee provided by the operator to assure the reclamation of all mined lands in the event of default by the operator. Financial assurances are limited to the following forms per Section 2773.1 of the Public Resources Code:

(a)

Surety bonds;

(b)

Irrevocable letters of credit;

(c)

Trust funds; and

(d)

Other forms of financial assurances specified by the State Board pursuant to PRC Section 2773.1(e).

"Idle" means to curtail for a period of one (1) year or more surface mining operations by more than ninety percent (90%) of the operation's previous maximum annual mineral production, with the intent to resume those surface mining operations at a future date.

"Incompatible land uses" means land uses inherently incompatible with mining and/or that require public or private investment in structures, land improvements, and landscaping and that may prevent mining because of the greater economic value of the land and its improvements. Examples of such uses may include, but shall not be limited to, high density residential, low density residential with high unit value, public facilities, geographically limited but impact intensive industrial and commercial uses.

"Mined lands" includes the surface, subsurface and ground water 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 area, land excavations, workings, mining waste, and 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.

"Minerals" means any naturally occurring chemical element or compound, or groups of elements and compounds, formed from inorganic processes and organic substances, including, but not limited to, sand, gravel, aggregate, soil, landscape rock, coal, peat and bituminous rock, but excluding geothermal resources, natural gas and petroleum.

"Mining waste" includes the residual of soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation, equipment, machines, tools or other materials or property directly resulting from, or displaced by, surface mining operations.

"Minor modification" means a change to a mining operation that does not result in a substantial change, as defined in this section, in the activities allowed by the approved mining permit, or a substantial deviation from the approved reclamation plan as defined by 14 CCR Section 3502(d). A minor modification shall not result in new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects which were not considered or mitigated for in the environmental review conducted for the mining permit approval pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. A surface mining operation for which a minor modification is approved shall remain in compliance with the terms or conditions of the applicable mining permit and use permit, if required. Examples of minor modifications shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a)

Expansion of the depth of extraction by not more than ten percent (10%) of the area or depth permitted by the permit and/or reclamation plan;

(b)

Expansion of the area of disturbance by not more than ten percent (10%);

(c)

Minor internal operational changes in order to achieve efficiencies in energy use;

(d)

Minor operational changes to address market fluctuations;

(e)

Minor recontouring of final topography affecting no more than ten percent (10%) of the site, provided that slope stability is maintained and substantiated;

(f)

Minor modification or addition of site access including new on-site roads and encroachments directly from the site to a public road, but not including new off-site roads;

(g)

Minor substitution in the reclamation plan such as a substitution in the type and/or number of plant species, minor change in topsoil treatment, etc., provided said change does not substantially alter the intended end-use described in the approved reclamation plan;

(h)

Minor technological or administrative changes in methods used to achieve reclamation; minor modifications to measures necessary to ensure or maintain public safety (for example, fences, gates, signs, or hazard removal), provided such measures do not substantially alter the intended end-use described in the approved reclamation plan;

(i)

Minor modifications to a previously approved phasing plan; and

(j)

Minor modifications to comply with the requirements of other public agencies, provided the requirements are not inconsistent with the applicable mining permit and use permit, if required.

"Operator" means any person who is engaged in surface mining operations, himself or herself, or who contracts with others to conduct operations on his or her behalf, except a person who is engaged in surface mining operations as an employee with wages as his or her sole compensation.

"Overburden" means soil, rock or other materials that lie above a natural mineral deposit or in between deposits, before or after their removal by surface mining operations.

"Mining permit" means any authorization from, or approval by, the County under this article, the absence of which would preclude surface mining operations.

"Person" means any individual, firm, association, corporation, organization or partnership, or 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.

"Reclamation plan" means the plan required by Section 13-108 of this article, and by the Act, as amended, and meeting all the requirements of Sections 2772 and 2773 of the Public Resources Code, State administrative guidelines and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, including, but not limited to, 14 CCR Sections 3500—3505 and Sections 3700—3713, and ordinances and resolutions of the County adopted in accordance therewith.

"Special-status species and plant communities" are those plant and animal species and plant communities that are legally protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. Section 1531 et seq.), California Endangered Species Act (CESA) (California Fish and Game Code Section 2050 et seq.) and are typically the focus of avoidance, minimization, and mitigation requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

"State Board" means the State Mining and Geology Board, in the Department of Conservation, State of California.

"State Geologist" means the individual holding office as structured in Section 677 of Article 3, Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code.

"Streambed skimming" means excavation of sand and gravel from streambed deposits above the mean summer water level or stream bottom, whichever is higher.

"Substantial change" shall mean a change in a mining operation that:

(a)

Is not a minor modification as defined in this section; or

(b)

Results in operations causing new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects which were not considered in the environmental review conducted pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act; or

(c)

Is not in compliance with the terms or conditions of the applicable mining permit and use permit, if required, including, but not limited to, terms or conditions relating to the area and depth of disturbance, rate of extraction, hours and days of operation, removal of vegetation, removal of overburden, dust, noise and vibration control, salvaging of topsoil and vegetation, and setbacks from property lines, roads, water channels and other features.

"Substantial deviation" shall mean a substantial deviation from a reclamation plan, as defined in 14 CCR Section 3502(d).

"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, stream bed skimming, and segregation or 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:

(a)

In-place distillation, retorting or leaching;

(b)

The production and disposal of mining waste;

(c)

Prospecting and exploratory activities;

(d)

Accessory processing of minerals such as crushing and batch plants.

(Ord. No. 4035, § 2, 10-11-2011)