§ 45-5. Operating standards.

A. 

Operating standards for sand bank and pit excavations shall be as follows:

(1) 

No pit excavations shall be made unless provisions for the prevention of any accumulations of water are made, the method of planning of such prevention to be approved by the Commissioner of Public Works of the Town of North Hempstead. No such excavation shall be carried below the grade of the public roads that provide access to the land being excavated.

(2) 

All pit and bank excavations shall be so conducted and maintained to assure safe angles of repose for all slopes not supported by retaining walls. Such angles of repose shall in no event be less than two (2) horizontal feet for each vertical foot.

(3) 

No pit or bank excavation shall be made within fifty (50) feet of any property line except where such property line abuts another property being excavated pursuant to a permit issued in compliance with this ordinance. Within the fifty-foot area a berm shall be established between the property line and the top of the slope, which berm shall have a minimum slope of one (1) inch per foot from the top of the slope downward to the property line. Where the existing topography is such that a fifty-foot berm area has not heretofore been established and maintained, the plan required under § 45-4 herein shall indicate the berm area available, the drainage to be provided and the proposed method of protecting all slope areas.

(4) 

The entire perimeter of any mining operation where adjacent slopes exceed twenty-five (25) feet in length shall be surrounded by chain-link or similar fencing no less than seven (7) feet high, until such time as conditions required in § 45-4 of this ordinance have been completed and approved by the Commissioner of Public Works of the Town of North Hempstead.

(5) 

Dust-down or a similar dust layer shall be spread on access roads and other traveled areas used in connection with every pit or bank excavation where required to protect the public and surrounding area against windblown sand and dust.

(6) 

No removal of earth from the ground shall be so made as to undermine, weaken or deprive of support other lands in the vicinity or to substantially obstruct, impede or change the course of or the natural movement of flow of the water in, or change the natural shoreline or high-water line, or otherwise adversely affect any public waterway or public body of water or any waterway or body of water which is used as a part of any public drainage system.

(7) 

No removal of earth from the ground shall be made so as to expose to possible pollution, by salt water intrusion or otherwise, any underground water used as a public water supply.

(8) 

No excavation shall be made below five (5) feet above the maximum groundwater level at the site.

(9) 

The Commissioner of Public Works of the Town of North Hempstead may deny any application for a permit if he shall find that the proposed excavation will violate any of the provisions of this section, and may revoke or suspend any permit issued hereunder if he shall find that the removal of earth thereunder violates any of such provisions.

(10) 

All structures within a planned mining area shall be maintained so as to assure that they will not fall into disrepair, or will not become dilapidated and will conform with all applicable local codes. A schedule of maintenance, subject to municipal approval, shall be submitted on January 1 of each year indicating the maintenance to be undertaken during that year. Failure to submit or to conform to such schedule shall be grounds for the suspension of the mining permit. All structures that have not been used or maintained for a period of one (1) year shall be removed by the permit holder from the planned mining area.

(11) 

All equipment, structures and foundations, except fences, shall be dismantled and removed by the mining site operator not later than six (6) months after termination of mining operations or expiration of the permit. Fencing shall be removed at the expense of the operator only upon the Town Board's request.

(12) 

All equipment used in a planned mining area shall be maintained in good repair and operated in such a manner as to minimize noise, vibration, smoke and dust.

(13) 

Operating hours for excavating, mining or processing shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Building Zone Ordinance and the Anti-Noise Ordinance of the Town of North Hempstead, except in case of a public emergency or whenever repairs to equipment are required.

Editor's Note: See Ch. 70, Zoning, and Ch. 38, Noise.

(14) 

No waste products or process residues or any other material from a planned mining area shall be disposed of in any stream, harbor, bay or other natural drainage system. Dumping and storage shall be prohibited pursuant to the provisions of Article XX, Section 20.41, of the Building Zone Ordinance of the Town of North Hempstead.

Editor's Note: See § 70-211 of Ch. 70, Zoning.

(15) 

Safety regulations within the site and in surrounding areas are to be strictly adhered to.

(16) 

To prevent spillage from loaded vehicles and windblown air pollution, vehicle loads of mined material on the site shall be so operated as to comply with § 45-5A(11) of this ordinance.

(17) 

All operations shall be conducted in a safe manner with respect to hazards to persons, physical damage to adjacent land or improvements, and damage to any street by reason of slides, sinking or collapse.

(18) 

Where topsoil is removed, sufficient arable soil shall be set aside for respreading over the excavated area in accordance with the rehabilitation plan. Such overburden stockpiles shall be treated to minimize the effects of erosion by wind or water upon public roads, streams or adjacent land uses and shall not be sold or removed from the property.

(19) 

All overburden shall be stockpiled in windrows or concentrated piles and stabilized in an acceptable manner so that it does not become a source of dust.

(20) 

The inactive banks of all excavations not subject to rehabilitation shall be maintained at a slope not greater than one and one-half (1 1/2) feet horizontal to one (1) foot vertical.

(21) 

All existing trees and ground covers contiguous to public road frontage and residential developments shall be preserved, maintained and supplemented by selective cutting, transplanting wherever practicable and the addition of ground cover for the remaining depth of the area required under § 45-5A(3) of this ordinance. Where no natural screening exists, it shall be necessary to install perimeter screening consisting of a staggered row of evergreen shrubs five (5) to six (6) feet high, planted ten (10) feet on centers.

(22) 

Rehabilitation shall be a continuing operation, subject to field and aerial review by the Commissioner of Public Works of the Town of North Hempstead. Grading, topsoil replacement and replanting of the area designated for rehabilitation shall continue during the permit period.

(23) 

All banks shall be left in accordance with topography established in restoration plans, with no slope greater than two (2) feet horizontal to one (1) foot vertical.

(24) 

Where topsoil is naturally available on the site, no less than six (6) inches of such topsoil shall be respread as part of the rehabilitation operation. Where less than four (4) inches of topsoil is available, material shall be brought to the site to provide a minimum four-inch cover.

(25) 

Upon replacement of the topsoil, a ground cover shall be planted to hold the soil, according to standards established by the Commissioner of Public Works of the Town of North Hempstead.

(26) 

If on-site mining or processing operations are not carried out for one (1) year at any location covered by permit, the same will be considered to have been abandoned and, prior to any further excavation or processing, a new permit will be required.

(27) 

All material used as fill shall be free from garbage, refuse, offal, combustibles or any deleterious matter, unless a specific permit to operate a controlled sanitary landfill has been granted by the Nassau County Department of Health.

(28) 

Natural vegetation is to remain undisturbed within the setback area as specified in § 45-5A(3) to the maximum extent practicable. In cases where natural vegetation is inadequate to provide proper screening, a suitable planting of approved shrubbery shall be required as described in § 45-5A(20).

(29) 

The issuance of a permit under this ordinance shall not constitute authorization for the construction of structures used in the processing of excavated materials.