§ 2-20-31. Master mining plan application submittal criteria.

An applicant may submit to the director a master mining plan, either simultaneously with or subsequent to submittal of the application for development of regional impact (DRI) approval, if DRI approval is required. The master mining plan application shall be accompanied by twenty-four (24) copies thereof, and shall include the following information:

(1)

The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant or its authorized agent and, if different, of the owner or owners of the property within the area of the master mining plan. If the applicant and/or property owner(s) are not individual natural persons or individual business entities, the application shall fully identify each person or entity having any interest in the mining activities or ownership of the land, and shall specifically identify the nature of such interests;

(2)

The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant's agent, upon whom service of legal papers can be made, and who may be contacted in case of need;

(3)

The legal description of all lands within the site upon which any phosphate mining activities are proposed, indicating whether owned, leased, or under option for purchase by the applicant; and, where fee simple ownership is not held by the applicant:

a.

The applicant shall submit a legal opinion, prepared by an attorney licensed to practice law in Florida, addressed to Manatee County, stating that the applicant has a legal right to engage in mining activities on the property, together with copies of all documents recorded in the public records of Manatee County, Florida, relied upon or referred to in the legal opinion; and

b.

The applicant shall notify the fee simple owner(s) of such lands at the time the application is submitted to Manatee County and prior to each public hearing on the application;

(4)

The materials to be mined, the estimated yearly production of ore, product, and by-product, and a map showing the locations of proposed tract units;

(5)

The proposed sequence and schedule of mining and reclamation, including specific reclamation units within tract units, for all tract units shown on a year-to-year basis;

(6)

A statement by the applicant identifying any material other than that proposed to be mined in the master mining plan that will be excavated from the property and marketed for use off the mine site;

(7)

An abstract and interpretation of the results of exploratory drilling, showing the elevation of the top and base of the ore zone, the geologic nature of the confining bed and overlying materials, and the pre-operational water levels encountered in the exploratory drilling (where exploratory drilling does not characterize the geologic nature of the confining bed, other available sources may be substituted);

(8)

A description of the beneficiation process used in the mine, including a schematic depiction of the process and process reagents to be used, along with their chemical composition and estimated application rates;

(9)

The purpose and location of any physical plant, structure, permanent pipeline or any other non-mobile object constructed as part of the proposed mining activities;

(10)

The location and dimension of proposed clay settling areas, water recirculation facilities and other impoundments, including the heights of dams and minimum freeboard;

(11)

An inventory of all existing wells on the property, including locations, estimated annual extraction rates, water use, and proposed disposition of wells;

(12)

A transportation analysis, to include estimates of vehicular and rail traffic and any other mode of transportation of materials and products leaving the applicant's property, and of raw materials entering the applicant's property, with emphasis on any disruption of normal traffic movements caused by, and any increase in rail movements, vehicular traffic and road deterioration resulting from, the proposed mining activities;

(13)

A depiction by the applicant, on maps or other suitable drawings, of any proposed crossings of county roads, easements or rights-of-way by draglines. No such crossings shall be permitted without the board's approval;

(14)

Engineering estimates, certified by a registered professional engineer, of the quantity, temperature, chemical and physical properties (including radiological), frequency and duration, points and methods of disposal (whether on or off the applicant's property) of discharges of water, liquid wastes, effluents or sewage to be created. The applicant shall also specify the proposed time schedule for such disposal and estimates of the flow rates in receiving streams at the times of wastewater discharges. Such estimates shall separately and specifically identify and quantify discharges of all substances that could be generated by phosphate mining activities for which the state has promulgated water quality standards. In addition, estimates of the amounts (by volume and weight) of tailings and phosphatic clays to be created, plans for their storage and disposal and the proposed time schedule for disposal, together with the drawings showing the location of any treatment facilities, shall be provided;

(15)

A copy of all applications to or permits issued by all applicable federal, state, and regional agencies, unless such information has been previously submitted to the county;

(16)

Engineering estimates, certified by a registered professional engineer, of all air pollutants that could be emitted, and all emissions for which the State of Florida has promulgated air quality standards. This may be provided by submitting a copy of the Clean Air Act Title V permit for the activities proposed in the master mining plan area;

(17)

Engineering estimates, certified by a registered professional engineer, of the water balance for the projected highest, lowest and average annual rainfall sequence for the operating life of the mine, accounting for:

a.

All sources of water input to water recirculation facilities and ore processing steps, including water contained in overburden and matrix, pump seal water, and deep well and surface water make-up;

b.

All water outputs and losses from the system, including but not limited to water contained in the overburden, product, clay, reject materials, tailings, evaporation, seepage and recharge ditch systems, and discharges to ground and surface waters; and

c.

An assessment of the impact of the proposed mining activities on surface and groundwater hydrology, including effects on peak and average stream base flow.

(18)

A detailed explanation of computational methods and models used in preparing the master mining plan, plus the assumptions that were used as inputs to the models and computations;

(19)

If the applicant requests approval to undertake construction of a beneficiation plant or water recirculation facility, the applicant shall also provide a conceptual flow diagram of beneficiation plant processes, illustrating the type and quantities of material flow between major equipment components, the functional size of such components, and a conceptual site plan and flow diagram showing the relationship between the beneficiation plant and water recirculation facilities;

(20)

Composite aerial photographs of the master mining plan area that, through overlays or other graphical depictions, clearly show:

a.

The boundary of the area included in the master mining plan application;

b.

Relation of master mining plan area to any watershed protection overlay districts;

c.

Depiction of pre-mining land use onsite (residential, agricultural, commercial, school, etc.) and on adjacent properties within twenty-six hundred (2,600) feet of the applicant's property boundaries;

d.

Onsite baseline data depicting specific location of habitats of listed animal species, and locations of listed plant species and historic resources. The applicant shall also include a narrative detailing how the above resources are to be protected, preserved, or relocated (if relocation is allowed by agencies exercising jurisdiction) during and after mining;

e.

Locations of tract units proposed for mining;

f.

Locations of proposed clay settling areas and other impoundments and their construction schedules;

g.

Locations of permanent pipelines, beneficiation plants, and other permanent structures;

h.

The location and limits of all existing wetlands, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, streams, creeks and other waterbodies within the master mining plan area up to the 100-year floodplain created by those waterbodies, including a general description of all waters of the state as defined in section 403.031, Florida Statutes, and all navigable waters determined pursuant to Chapter 253, Florida Statutes;

i.

The location of drainage and flood control features, including topographic contours at one-foot intervals before and after mining activities;

j.

The location of all proposed storage and transportation facilities, including permanent roads, railroads, or other permanent means of transportation for products and raw materials shipped to and from the site; and

k.

A depiction of the proposed FLUCFCS (Florida Land Use Cover and Forms Classification Code System, FDOT 1999) codes upon completion of reclamation.

Such composites and overlays shall be provided at a scale acceptable to the director, and extending at least twenty-six hundred (2,600) feet beyond the property boundary;

(21)

An evaluation and scoring of all wetlands greater than one-half acre in size within the master mining plan area in according with Parts I and II of the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Methodology (UMAM) as employed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and as set forth in Chapter 62-345, Florida Administrative Code. Applicant's mitigation proposal shall conform to UMAM requirements. In the event that FDEP or a successor agency develops and implements a different methodology for evaluating and scoring wetlands, that methodology shall be employed;

(22)

An environmental monitoring program developed in conformity with the requirements of Appendix A of Ordinance No. 04-39;

(23)

An analysis of the cumulative impacts on Manatee County of the proposed phosphate mining activities, taking into consideration past, current and reasonably foreseeable phosphate mining activities within Manatee County, on the county's natural resources, according to the guidelines set forth in Appendix D of Ordinance No. 04-39;

(24)

A reclamation plan developed in conformity with the requirements of the Manatee County Phosphate Mining Reclamation Manual, which is Appendix E of Ordinance No. 04-39;

(25)

The signature and seal of a registered professional engineer responsible for the preparation of the master mining plan and a written certification by said engineer that he or she is personally familiar with the proposed mining activities; that he or she has personally reviewed all elements of the master mining plan or such elements to which said engineer is certifying; and that all engineering methods, estimates or computations conform with generally accepted engineering practices;

(26)

The fee required for review of a master mining plan application, as prescribed in a fee resolution adopted by the board pursuant to section 2-20-9;

(27)

Any application for a vested rights exemption; preliminary vested rights exemption or specific approval exemption, which shall identify the specific provisions of this chapter from which the applicant seeks an exemption, and the basis for granting such an exemption; and

(28)

Any other relevant information requested in writing by the director at or no later than thirty (30) days after the preapplication conference.

(Ord. No. 04-39, § IV(A), 11-2-04)