§ 13-116. Annual reports/inspections.

(a)

In compliance with Section 2207 of the Public Resources Code, the owner, manager, or other person in charge of any surface mining operation shall forward an annual report to the Director of the Department of Conservation not later than July 1 upon forms furnished by the State Board. Such annual report shall be in accord with instructions included with the forms. The designated copy shall be submitted to the Planning Division on or before July 1.

(b)

The Development Services Department, and such technical specialists as it may deem necessary, shall conduct inspections at least once each calendar year, in accordance with Section 2774(b) of the Public Resources Code, for each mining operation to determine whether the surface mining operation is in compliance with the mining permit, reclamation plan, and, if required, mining use permit, and with the spirit and intent of this article and the State regulations, and the provisions thereof. Such inspection shall be conducted using a form provided by the Director of the Department of Conservation for that purpose, and shall be conducted no later than six (6) months after receiving the surface mining operation's annual report submitted pursuant to Section 2207 of the Public Resources Code and Section 13-116(a) of this article. Pursuant to Section 13-111(a)(3) of this article, the annual inspection report shall state if surface mining operations have or have not commenced. If surface mining operations have not commenced at the time of the annual inspection, the annual inspection report shall state in full all pertinent activities undertaken in preparation for the commencement of operations. This section does not preclude the County from requiring additional inspections for the purpose of ensuring appropriate environmental protection.

(c)

The cost of the annual inspection required by Section 13-116(b) of this article, above, shall be borne by the operator. The County shall establish and annually review a fee recovery program to cover the reasonable costs incurred in implementing this article.

(d)

If the Operator fails to file a report as required by this section, the Director of Development Services shall commence proceedings to revoke the mining permit and mining use permit, if any, in the same manner as specified in Section 13-121(b) of this article.

(Ord. No. 4035, § 2, 10-11-2011)