§ 2-20-21. Application of standards and requirements.

The following minimum standards and requirements shall apply to all phosphate mining activities within Manatee County:

(1)

All mining activities conducted within Manatee County shall be in conformity with requirements of the Comprehensive Plan.

(2)

All proposed mining activities shall occur in a manner and sequence that results in the minimum adverse impacts necessary to carry out such mining activities, in light of both direct anticipated impacts of such mining activities, and the cumulative impacts of such mining activities together with the impacts of other mining activities addressed under a cumulative impacts assessment conducted pursuant to Appendix D of Ordinance No. 04-39.

(3)

All mining activities shall provide reasonable protection and conservation of natural and environmental resources.

(4)

All mining activities shall employ best operating practices, and shall be conducted in a manner that will minimize undesirable effects of mining activities and maximize protection of public facilities and natural resources.

(5)

If approved by the board, all mining activities proposed for watershed protection overlay districts (Evers Reservoir, Lake Manatee and Peace River Watershed areas) shall be consistent with the use of best possible technology as well as best operating practices.

(6)

Tract unit boundaries shall conform, wherever possible, with watershed or subbasin boundaries, or conform to Florida Department of Environmental Protection conceptual reclamation plan boundaries.

(7)

Clay settling areas shall be located only on lands that have been previously mined, or which have approval for future mining.

(8)

Phosphate mining activities or the construction of permanent buildings on historic resources shall be in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan.

(9)

All mining activities shall be in compliance with all local, state and federal noise regulations.

(10)

The conduct of pre-mining construction, mining activities, or the placement of isolator berms in areas where listed species have been identified, shall be in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan.

(11)

Unless otherwise specifically excluded, mining activities shall be subject to the setback limitations specified herein, which describe offsite conditions in effect at the time of application for master mining plan approval.

a.

Setback for phosphate mining extraction activities. Except as authorized pursuant to subsection e., below, no phosphate mining extraction activities shall be performed within:

1.

One thousand (1,000) feet of any church, school or habitable structure on adjacent property not located within the boundary of the master mining plan and existing at the time of application for master mining plan approval;

2.

Five hundred (500) feet of applicant's property line in areas where the structures listed in subsection 1., immediately above, are not present;

3.

Two hundred (200) feet of any existing public right-of-way in areas where the structures listed in subsection 1., above, are not present; or

4.

One thousand (1,000) feet of any wetlands on adjacent property not owned, leased or otherwise legally controlled by the applicant.

b.

Setback for clay settling areas and beneficiation facilities. Except as authorized pursuant to subsection e., below, no clay settling areas or beneficiation facilities shall be located within:

1.

Two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of any church, school or habitable structure that is not located within the boundary of the master mining plan and is existing at the time of application for master mining plan approval; and

2.

Five hundred (500) feet from the applicant's property line or any public right-of-way in areas where none of the structures listed in subsection 1., immediately above, is present.

c.

Setback for stockpiles. Except as authorized pursuant to subsection e., below, no excavated materials or stockpiles shall be left on the applicant's property longer than sixty (60) days within:

1.

Five hundred (500) feet of any church, school, or habitable structure that is not located within the boundary of the master mining plan and is existing at the time of application for master mining plan approval; and

2.

One hundred (100) feet from applicant's property line or a public right-of-way or in areas that do not contain any of the structures or resources listed in subsection c.1., immediately above.

d.

Setback for related activities and structures. Except to the extent authorized pursuant to subsection e., below, and notwithstanding that they are not included in the definition of mining extraction activities, pole barns; equipment storage and repair building; office buildings; recharge wells; potable wells; monitor wells; power lines, substations and poles; roads or detour roads; fences; isolator berms; nonprocess water pipelines; habitat enhancements and habitat management projects; and pumps less or equal to ten (10) horsepower, shall not be located within fifty (50) feet of the applicant's property line.

e.

Reduction of setbacks.

1.

The above setback requirements shall not apply where owners of the land protected by such restrictions have expressly consented to a reduction thereof by written instrument executed with the formality of a deed and recorded in the official records of Manatee County, Florida.

2.

Such consent and recordation must occur prior to commencement of any mining activities by the applicant in areas protected by this setback provision. Certified copies of said recorded instrument shall be furnished to the director, who shall acknowledge receipt in writing.

3.

The applicant shall provide a stability analysis, performed by a professional engineer registered in the State of Florida, for consideration of setback reductions from roadways, utilities or public infrastructure.

4.

In no event shall any of the setbacks described above be reduced to less than fifty (50) feet, even if the applicant receives the setback waivers as described in subsection e.1., immediately above, unless the property is adjacent to land controlled by a phosphate company, in which case the minimum setback is not required.

(12)

Post-reclamation lands, excluding land reclaimed over clay settling areas or land underlying disturbed areas reclaimed as lakes or wetlands, mined or disturbed, pursuant to an operating permit, shall meet the following radiation standards to be eligible for release:

a.

The gamma radiation exposure rate at one meter (3.3 feet) above the surface at any measurement point shall not exceed ten (10) microentgens per hour above the average pre-mining background for the tract unit;

b.

The soil radium-226 concentration (average over a 1.8 meter (six (6) feet) core) at any measurement point shall not exceed five (5) picocuries per gram (pCi/g) above the average pre-mining background for the tract unit;

c.

Gamma radiation measurements shall be taken at the density of one per acre, and soil cores shall be collected at the density of one per twenty (20) acres;

d.

All monitoring of radiation on reclaimed sites shall be conducted according to procedures approved by Manatee County and set forth in Appendix A of Ordinance No. 04-39;

e.

If the results reported for any measured site exceed either of the limits in subsection a. and b., above, additional sampling or measurements may be required, and the average over one hundred (100) square meters (or one thousand (1,000) square feet) shall not exceed the above limits. Additional sampling and sampling densities may also be required by Manatee County to resolve anomalies; however, in lieu of additional testing, applicant may comply with subsection h.

f.

The above-described radiation standards shall apply to all disturbed lands, with the exception of land reclaimed over clay settling areas, and land underlying disturbed areas reclaimed as lakes or wetlands;

g.

Radioactivity concentrations in all groundwater of reclaimed lands shall not exceed applicable standards in Chapter 62-520.400, Florida Administrative Code; and radioactivity concentrations in all surface waters in areas reclaimed as lakes or wetlands shall not exceed applicable standards in Chapter 62-302. Florida Administrative Code, as amended, or their successor provisions, regardless of whether such waters constitute "waters of the state" as defined in sections 373.019 and 403.031, Florida Statutes; and

h.

No more than fifteen (15) per cent of such lands may exceed the above standards. For those portions of reclaimed lands that do not and cannot meet the above standards, the applicant shall record in official records of the county a clearly-stated notice informing the purchaser of the property that the land has been mined for phosphate, and exceeds the radiation standards set forth in this chapter, and that any habitable structures and appurtenances (e.g., potable wells) to be built or installed on the property should be constructed using radon resistant techniques.

(13)

No water shall be diverted from pre-mining perennial stream channels or lakes greater than five (5) acres in size that are not wholly owned by the applicant, unless specifically approved by the board and all other applicable authorities. Stream diversions shall be permitted only after a thorough analysis of stream flow conditions, and shall be limited to quantities that are not detrimental to upstream or downstream property owners or the environment.

(14)

Mining activities shall produce no vibrations exceeding the limits set forth in section 723.3.3 of the Manatee County Land Development Code, as amended or renumbered.

(15)

Blasting or other use of explosives for mining purposes shall not be performed without the written permission of the director, who may issue appropriate conditions for the public safety and control of nuisance conditions. Blasting or other use of dynamite and other explosives shall be directed and supervised by a person licensed in blasting operations.

(16)

All lighting associated with mining activities shall be in compliance with section 723.3.5 of the Land Development Code, as amended, or its successor provisions.

(17)

Where the transportation analysis of the applicant's development of regional impact or master mining plan indicates that the safety, circulation capacity, or stability of county-maintained roads or rights-of-way must be improved to allow utilization of such roads or rights-of-way by an operating permit applicant, the applicant shall design and construct such improvements, after such design has been approved by the Manatee County Transportation Department. An applicant shall not be required to make improvements relating to preexisting conditions unrelated to its activities, except when such improvements are an integral part of the work necessary to ensure the safety, circulation capacity, or stability of the affected roads or rights-of-way. Prior to any construction required under this section, the applicant shall furnish a performance bond sufficient to indemnify the county against failure of the applicant to complete such construction.

(18)

Except for clay settling areas, no later than five (5) years after cessation of mining extraction activities on a specific reclamation unit, as identified in the master mining plan, the applicant shall have completed the backfilling, contouring and initial planting of the area in accordance with the reclamation plan approved in the master mining plan and operating permit.

(Ord. No. 04-39, § III, 11-2-04)