20.30.13 RECLAMATION

1. The objectives of Reclamation shall be: 1. To return the land, concurrently with the Mining Operation or within a reasonable amount of time thereafter to a predetermined condition defined by the Reclamation plan as submitted and approved, compatible with past, present or probable future local land uses; 2. To minimize or prevent present and future On-site or Off-site environmental degradations to the ecologic and hydrologic regimes caused by Mining Operations, and to meet other pertinent state and federal regulations regarding air and water quality standards and health and safety criteria; 3. To minimize or prevent future hazards to public safety and welfare. 2. Simultaneous Excavation and Reclamation. a. The Reclamation or rehabilitation of Excavation sites with a projected life of more than one year shall be carried out simultaneously with the Excavation of the resource. Objectives of simultaneous Excavation and Reclamation shall be: 1. To create a usable land resource and to eliminate waste heaps; 2. To prevent shallow, stagnant, small bodies of water, small unusable remnants of land, and eroding, barren slopes all normally associated with open pit operations, except to provide storm water detention facilities as described in the hydrologic report. b. Excavations shall be planned so as progressively to develop the proposed final landforms by grading and by stockpiling overburden materials in areas designated for future landforms or in Excavation where the material will be spread over the pit floor where no future Excavation is anticipated. Such areas shall be seeded and planted immediately after grading is completed or within appropriate planting seasons, but in any case, the grading and planting shall be completed within one year. The Reclamation plan shall contain a description of the phased rehabilitation process throughout the anticipated life of the mine. 3. Final Reclamation. Final Reclamation shall begin immediately for any site where operations authorized under an Excavation Permit have been abandoned for a period of one year or otherwise terminated. The final Reclamation shall conform to the plan approved (including approved modifications) in the Excavation Permit. All Reclamation plans shall conform at least to the minimum standard listed below and requirements listed elsewhere in the ordinance; provided however, that the Town Council may require more stringent standards where special hazards exist in order to protect the health, safety, or general welfare of the public, and to prevent injury to property or improvements. a. Grading. Slopes, overburden stockpiles and abandoned soil piles shall be graded and smoothed so as to control erosion and prevent the creation of potentially dangerous areas in accordance with the direction of the public works director. b. Water-Filled Areas. All Excavations which create standing water or ponds shall be refilled with inert materials. This requirement shall not apply, however, to any water-filled Excavations scheduled to become an integral part of the final Reclamation plan. The rehabilitation of these areas shall be done in such a manner that the groundwater is not polluted as determined by the Public Works Director through consultation with the Utah County Health Department. Fill material shall be porous enough to allow for water dispersion unless otherwise specified in the Reclamation plan. c. Landscaping. Unless inconsistent with the final approved use of the reclaimed land, the excavated areas and all other disturbed areas shall be replanted and maintained with trees, shrubs, grasses or other vegetative ground cover, native to the area, in order to minimize erosion and to restore the land to a natural appearance previously approved by the Town Council. d. Removal of Buildings and Equipment. As soon as Excavation and/or manufacturing has been permanently terminated, all buildings and equipment (including electrical conduits) used in the administration of the operations shall be removed unless deemed necessary to the approved final use of the reclaimed site. 4. Reclamation Verification. At the conclusion of a Mining Operation and Reclamation of the Excavation site, the Public Works Director shall present to the Town Council a statement verifying that the permit area has been reclaimed in compliance with the requirements of the Town of Genola Excavation ordinance and Reclamation plans previously submitted in compliance with this Chapter. The Public Works Director shall certify to the Town Council that all requirements of this Chapter have been met.