This chapter is adopted pursuant to authority
granted by the Wisconsin Statutes, including, without limitation,
§§ 66.0415 and 61.34(1), Wis. Stats. It is intended,
in the event that any of these sources of authority is abrogated or
limited by future enactments of the State Legislature, that this chapter
shall be based upon and construed in light of all other then available
authorities.
The Village Board finds that while quarries
and other nonmetallic mining operations produce socially beneficial
products, and add incrementally to the economic well-being of the
community, such operations, when conducted in a rapidly developing
and urbanizing community such as the Village and its environs, constitute
offensive industry, produce nuisance conditions, adversely affect
the public health, safety, prosperity and general welfare, and otherwise
result in a deterioration of the quality of life and aesthetically
pleasing surroundings that are important to the continued growth,
development and prosperity of the Village, unless such operations,
and the reclamation of the site of such operations, are rigorously
regulated and controlled. In addition to the potential direct impacts
of noise, dust, ground vibration, airblast, fly rock, heavy truck
traffic, groundwater drawdown, erosion, pollution of surface and groundwater
and attractive nuisance conditions that result from quarry and other
nonmetallic mining operations, such operations also result in serious
indirect impacts on neighboring properties and the community as a
whole, such as diminution of property values and resultant property
tax loss, damage to infrastructure such as streets and highways, the
shifting of development patterns so as to be at odds with long-range
land use planning and the resultant inability to recapture in a fair
and equitable manner infrastructure investments made in reliance upon
such planning, and large areas of land left in unproductive, aesthetically
displeasing and dangerous condition and the attendant loss of future
property tax revenue. If not prevented or controlled, such adverse
effects can far outweigh the beneficial aspects of quarries and other
nonmetallic mining operations.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate and
control all quarry and other nonmetallic mining operations, and as
a part of such regulation, to require, regulate and control the reclamation
of all quarry and other nonmetallic mining sites.
It is not intended that this chapter will repeal
any preexisting ordinance provisions affecting quarries or other nonmetallic
mining operations, but whenever this chapter imposes greater or more
stringent requirements or restrictions on quarry or other nonmetallic
mining operations than do preexisting ordinances provisions, the provisions
of this chapter shall control.
The provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted
to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor
of the Village. Headings in this chapter are provided for convenience
and ease of reference. They are not intended to be referred to for
the purpose of interpreting the provisions of this chapter. Words
or phrases that are defined in this chapter shall have the meaning
stated in the definitions. Undefined words or phrases shall have their
common, ordinary meaning unless a particular meaning is clearly suggested
by the context in which a particular word or phrase is used. As used
in this chapter, "shall" is mandatory.
This chapter shall apply to all quarries and
all other nonmetallic mining operations located within the corporate
limits of the Village or within the four-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction
area outside of the Village limits established by § 66.0223,
Wis. Stats., including, without limitation, unreclaimed portions of
the sites of such quarries or other nonmetallic mining operations
that were mined prior to the effective date of this chapter.
This chapter does not apply to the following
activities:
A.
Excavations or grading by a person solely for domestic
use at his or her residence.
B.
Excavations or grading conducted for highway construction
purposes within the highway right-of-way.
C.
Grading conducted for farming, preparing a construction
site or restoring land following a flood or natural disaster.
D.
Excavations for building construction purposes.
E.
Any mining operation, the reclamation of which is
required in a permit obtained under Ch. 293, Wis. Stats.
F.
Any activities conducted at a solid or hazardous waste
disposal site required to prepare, operate or close a solid waste
disposal facility under Ch. 289, Wis. Stats., or a hazardous waste
disposal facility under Ch. 291, Wis. Stats.; provided, however, that
this chapter does apply to activities related to solid or hazardous
waste disposal which are conducted at a quarry or other nonmetallic
mining site separate from the solid or hazardous waste disposal facility,
including, without limitation, activities to obtain stone, sand, gravel
or other nonmetallic minerals to be used for lining, capping, covering
or constructing berms, dikes or roads.
G.
Any quarry or other nonmetallic mining site or portion
of a site which is subject to permit and reclamation requirements
of the Department of Natural Resources under § 30.19, 30.195
or 30.20, Wis. Stats.
The following words or phrases shall have the
meaning specified below when used in this chapter:
The cessation of quarrying or other nonmetallic mining operations
for more than 240 consecutive days, except when the cessation is specifically
provided for in the operator's permit, or in an operations plan approved
and incorporated by reference in the permit, or by written order issued
by the Village Board upon good cause shown. Abandonment does not include
any period of cessation of operations due to labor strikes, natural
disasters or other similar extraordinary causes beyond the control
of the operator (but this exception does not include business reversals,
competitive forces, market conditions, shortage of cash, or other
similar reasons).
Any vertical or horizontal increase in the mined area or
the area occupied by or utilized in connection with any of the operations
or related activities.
Any change in the approved plan of operations or the approved
plan of reclamation which is significant in terms of the concerns
addressed in this chapter, including, without limitation, any nonapproved
enlargement.
See "quarry or other nonmetallic mining operation."
Any person who is engaged in quarry or other nonmetallic
mining operations or in the reclamation of a quarry site or other
nonmetallic mining site, or who applies for or holds a quarry or other
nonmetallic mining permit issued under this chapter, whether individually,
jointly, or through subsidiaries, agents, employees, contractors or
subcontractors.
The owner and operator of a proposed or existing quarry or
other nonmetallic mining site and the owners of all real property
located within 500 feet of the boundaries of a proposed or existing
quarry or nonmetallic mining site.
Any permit which is required or issued under this chapter.
All individuals, partnerships, associations and bodies politic
or corporate, including, without limitation, the state and state agencies.
All of the activities undertaken for the purpose of extracting
from the earth, for sale or use by the operator or any person affiliated
or related to the operator, or any person with whom the operator has
a contractual relationship, mineral aggregates such as stone, sand
and gravel and other nonmetallic minerals such as asbestos, beryl,
clay, feldspar, peat, talc and topsoil, and all related activities
and processes on the site, including, without limitation, stripping,
drilling, shooting, excavating, dredging, grading, scalping, dewatering,
crushing, screening, washing, blending, loading, hauling, stockpiling
and selling.
Waste soil, rock, mineral, liquid, vegetation and other waste
material resulting from a quarry or other nonmetallic mining operation.
This term does not include merchantable by-products resulting directly
from or displaced by the quarry or other nonmetallic mining operation,
provided that the operator intends to market such by-products and
the operation is active.
The location where a quarry or other nonmetallic mining operation
is proposed to be conducted or is conducted, including, without limitation,
all areas where minerals are proposed to be or are removed, processed
or stored, and all areas which are proposed to be or are disturbed
or improved in connection with the operations (but not including public
streets, highways or other public improvements), and all setback areas
surrounding the operations.
The rehabilitation of a quarry or other nonmetallic mining
site, including, but not necessarily including, and not limited to,
removal of quarry or other nonmetallic mining refuse, grading of the
site, modification of sheer rock walls for purposes of safety and
utility, replacement of topsoil, stabilization of soil and rock conditions,
establishment of vegetative cover, landscaping, control of surface
water and groundwater, prevention and remediation of environmental
pollution, construction of fences, returning the site to a safe, useful
and aesthetically pleasing condition, and, if practical, restoration
of plant, fish and wildlife habitat.
The replacement of the topsoil which was removed and disturbed
by a quarry or other nonmetallic mining operation or the provision
and placement of soil which is at least as adequate, in the opinion
of the Village, as the topsoil which was removed or disturbed, for
the purposes of providing adequate vegetative cover and stabilization
of soil conditions.
The horizontal distance from the boundary of the site to
the nearest permitted mining excavation or blasting.
See "quarry or other nonmetallic mining site."
The Village of Pleasant Prairie.
