(a) The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to the operation of mining sites in this County and each of the following approval and review processes:
(1) A new Mining Approval, pursuant to Sections 16.54.030 and 16.54.040.
(2) A Certificate of Compliance, pursuant to Section 16.54.100.
(3) A Reclamation Plan Approval only, pursuant to Section 16.54.101.
(4) Mining Approval Amendment, pursuant to Sections 16.54.032 and 16.54.040 or 16.54.045.
(5) A Mining Operation Review, pursuant to Section 16.54.074.
(b) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the following activities:
(1) Excavation or grading conducted for farming or on-site construction or for the purpose of restoring land following a flood or natural disaster.
(2) Prospecting or exploring for, or the excavation of minerals for commercial purposes and the removal of overburden in total amount of less than 1,000 cubic yards in any one location of one acre or less.
(3) Such other surface mining operations which the State Board determines to be of infrequent nature and which involve only minor surface disturbances.
(4) On-site excavation and on-site earthmoving activities which are an integral and necessary part of a construction project that are undertaken to prepare a site for construction of structures, landscaping, or other land improvements, including the related excavation, grading, compaction, or the creation of fills, road cuts, and embankments, whether or not surplus materials are exported from the site subject to all of the following conditions:
(i) All required permits for the construction, landscaping, related land improvements have been approved by a public agency in accordance with applicable provisions of state law and local adopted plans and ordinances, including, but not limited to, CEQA, Division 13 of the Public Resources Code (commencing with Section 21000).
(ii) The County’s approval of the construction project included consideration of the on-site excavation and on-site earthmoving activities pursuant to CEQA, Division 13 of the Public Resources Code (commencing with Section 21000).
(iii) The approved construction project is consistent with the General Plan or zoning of the site.
(iv) Surplus materials shall not be exported from the site unless and until actual construction work has commenced and shall cease if it is determined that construction activities have terminated, have been indefinitely suspended, or are no longer being actively pursued.
(5) Grading or on site excavation incidental to the development of land in accordance with plans which have been approved by the County in accordance with the Development Permit Procedure and which include a post-use rehabilitation, including (without limitation) a Solid Waste Facility Permit.
(6) Surface mining operations that are required by federal law in order to protect a mining claim, if those operations are conducted solely for that purpose.
(7) Operation of a plant site used for mineral processing, including associated on-site structures, equipment, machines, tools, or other materials, including the on-site stockpiling and on-site recovery of mined materials, subject to all of the following conditions:
(i) The plant site is located on lands designated for industrial or commercial uses in the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan.
(ii) The plant site is located on lands zoned industrial or commercial, or are contained within a zoning category intended exclusively for industrial activities by the County.
(iii) None of the minerals being processed are being extracted on-site.
(iv) All reclamation work has been completed pursuant to the approved reclamation plan for any mineral extraction activities that occurred on-site after January 1, 1976.
(8) The solar evaporation of sea water or bay water for the production of salt and related minerals.
(9) Emergency excavations or grading conducted by the Department of Water Resources or the Reclamation Board for the purpose of averting, alleviating, repairing, or restoring damage to property due to imminent or recent floods, disasters or other emergencies.
(10) (i) Surface mining operations conducted on lands owned or leased, or upon which easements or rights-of-way have been obtained, by the Department of Water Resources for the purpose of the State Water Resources Development System or flood control, and surface mining operations on lands owned or leased, or upon which easements or rights-of-way have been obtained, by the Reclamation Board for the purpose of flood control, if the Department of Water Resources adopts, after submission to and consultation with, the Department of Conservation, a reclamation plan for lands affected by these activities, and those lands are reclaimed in conformance with the standards specified in regulations of the board adopted pursuant to this chapter. The Department of Water Resources shall provide an annual report to the Department of Conservation by the date specified by the Department of Conservation on these mining activities.
(ii) Nothing in this chapter shall require the Department of Water Resources or the Reclamation Board to obtain a permit or secure approval of a reclamation plan from any city or county in order to conduct surface mining operations specified in paragraph (1). Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the bringing of an enforcement action pursuant to Section 2774.1 of the Public Resource Code, if it is determined that a surface mine operator, acting under contract with the Department of Water Resources or the Reclamation Board on lands other than those owned or leased, or upon which easements or rights-of-way have been obtained, by the Department of Water Resources or the Reclamation Board, is otherwise not in compliance with this chapter.
(11) Excavations or grading for the exclusive purpose of obtaining materials for roadbed construction and maintenance conducted in connection with timber operations or forest management on land owned by the same person or entity. This exemption is limited to excavation and grading that is conducted adjacent to timber operation or forest management roads and shall not apply to on-site excavation or grading that occurs within 100 feet of a Class One watercourse or 75 feet of a Class Two watercourse, or to excavation for materials that are, or have been, sold for commercial purposes. This exemption shall be available only if slope stability and erosion are controlled in accordance with subdivision (f) of Section 3704 and subdivision (d) of Section 3706 of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 8 of Division 2 of Title 14 the of the California Code of Regulations and, upon closure of the site, the person closing the site implements, where necessary, revegetation measures and post-closure uses, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (Ord. 4421, 6/18/96)