§ 18.04.020. Applicability and exemptions.

A.

This chapter shall apply to all surface mining operations in Shasta County, except as exempted in subsection (B) of this section.

B.

This chapter does not apply to any of the following activities:

1.

Excavations or grading conducted for farming or on-site construction or for the purpose of restoring land following a flood or natural disaster;

2.

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:

a.

All required permits for the construction, landscaping or related land improvements have been approved by the county in accordance with applicable provisions of state law and county adopted plans and ordinances, including but not limited to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),

b.

The county's approval of the construction project included consideration of the on-site excavation and on-site earthmoving activities pursuant to CEQA,

c.

The approved construction project is consistent with the general plan or zoning of the site,

d.

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;

3.

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:

a.

The plant site is located on lands designated for industrial uses in the general plan,

b.

The plant site is located on lands zoned industrial,

c.

None of the minerals being processed are being extracted on-site,

d.

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;

4.

Prospecting for, or the extraction of, minerals for commercial purposes and the removal of overburden in total amounts of less than one thousand cubic yards in any one location of one acre or less;

5.

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;

6.

Any other surface mining operations that the State Mining and Geology Board determines to be of an infrequent nature and which involve only minor surface disturbances;

7.

Surface mining operations and emergency excavations or grading conducted by the Department of Water Resources or the Reclamation Board as specified in PRC Sections 2714(h) and (i); (PRC Section 2714)

8.

In addition to the exemptions listed above, any surface mining operation that does not involve either the removal of a total of more than one thousand cubic yards of minerals, ores, and overburden, or involve more than one acre in any one location, shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter; (14 CCR Section 3505(a))

9.

An exemption under this chapter does not automatically exempt a project or activity from the application of other regulations, ordinances or policies of the county, including, but not limited to, application of CEQA (Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.), the requirement of use permits or other permits, or the payment of development impact fees or the imposition of other deductions and extractions as may be permitted under the law.

(Ord. 95-6 § 2 (part), 1995)