GRAVEL ORDINANCE
April 8, 2009
SECTION
4. VALIDITY AND SEVERABILITY
SECTION
5. CONFLICT WITH OTHER ORDINANCES
SECTION
8. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
A. Gravel Extraction and Excavation
GRAVEL
ORDINANCE: PERMIT APPLICATION
NOTICE
OF INTENT TO RESTORE A GRAVEL PIT OR MINE
Enacted: March 1982
Revised: March 1985
Revised: November 30, 1989
Revised: March 5, 1996
Revised: April 8, 2009
(Originally entered from an attested copy December
2, 1998)
GRAVEL ORDINANCE
The purposes of this
ordinance are to:
1. define and regulate the excavation, extraction,
processing, storage and transportation of sand, gravel, crushed stone, soil and
loam in the Town of
2. ensure soil stabilization to prevent wind or water
erosion from causing on-site or off-site damage and improve the aesthetic
appeal and ability of the site to support wildlife.
This ordinance is adopted
pursuant to and consistent with Title 30-A MRSA, Sections 3001 and 3105 and may
be known and cited as the "Lamoine Gravel Ordinance".
The effective date of this
Ordinance is March 5, 1996.
Should any section or
provision of this Ordinance be declared by the courts to be invalid, such
decisions shall not invalidate any other sections or provisions of the
Ordinance, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared
to be severable.
This Ordinance shall not
repeal, annul, or in any way impair or remove the necessity of compliance with
any other rule, regulation, by-law, permit, or provision of law. Where this Ordinance imposes a higher
standard for the promotion and protection of health, safety, and welfare, the
provisions of this Ordinance shall prevail.
This Ordinance shall apply
to all proposed and/or operating gravel pits and gravel extractions. A permit will be required for gravel pits and
gravel extraction operations where the area affected exceeds or will exceed one
acre, or from which more than five hundred cubic yards of material has or will
be removed.
After the effective date
of this Ordinance, no person, firm or corporation shall engage in any gravel
excavation or processing operation requiring a permit without the gravel pit
owner first obtaining a permit from the Lamoine
The application for a
permit shall be filed with the
Within
forty-five (45) days of receipt of a complete application for renewal of a
permit not yet expired, the Board shall hold a site visit and may additionally
hold a public hearing.
Within
forty-five (45) days of receipt of a complete application for renewal of a
permit which has expired, the Board shall hold both a site visit and a public
hearing.
Within
forty-five (45) days of receipt of a complete application for a new pit, the
Board shall hold a site visit and a public hearing.
Within
forty-five (45) days of a public hearing, or within seventy-five (75) days of
the receipt of a complete application, or unless an agreement is made between
the applicant and the Planning Board to extend the time, the Planning Board
shall, in writing, either approve, approve with conditions or disapprove the
application.
The application for a
permit shall be submitted to the
1.
The name and current address of the record owner of the property
involved.
2.
The name and current address of the individual, firm or corporation
working the site if different from the record owner.
3.
A to scale plot plan showing the location and boundaries of the site
and the name and location of abutting property owners.
4.
The existing contours of the land within and extending beyond the above
boundaries for 100 feet at intervals not to exceed 10 feet in elevation. The scale used in defining contours shall
appear on the plot plan.
5.
Maps
a. For renewal of a permit (see Section 7. B. Procedure
above), a map which clearly indicates (by color coding or other method):
i.
the area included
in the applicant’s extraction operation for the three years immediately
preceding this permit application
ii.
the area of
intended extraction during the three years covered by this permit application
iii.
any areas of the
pit which have been fully restored
iv.
any area of the
pit from which no further extraction is anticipated (closed portion)
b. For a new permit (see Section 7.B. Procedure above), a
map which clearly indicates (by color coding or other method):
i.
areas restored
(if applicable) during the three years immediately preceding this permit
application
ii.
areas anticipated
to be restored during the three years covered by this permit application
iii.
any areas of the
pit which have been fully restored
6.
The location of
all proposed access roads and temporary structures.
7.
The proposed provisions for drainage and erosion control.
8.
The estimated longevity of the gravel pit and/or extraction operation
based on the annual removal rate of the last 12 consecutive months prior to the
application. For a new pit submit a best
estimate.
9.
An indication of the financial capacity of the applicant to carry out
the necessary site restoration.
10. A detailed
landscaping/vegetation plan defining the manner that the gravel pit shall be
returned to as near a natural state as is practical by grading, filling,
draining and planting. The
landscaping/vegetation plan shall contain a general schedule for implementation
of the restoration of the pit with a detailed schedule for restoration to be
completed within the duration of the permit.
11. Prior to the October CEO
annual inspection each operator shall provide a written statement to the CEO
stating whether or not 200 cubic yards were removed during the previous 1
October to 30 September 12 month period.
12. Any other information the
13. Plans for any anticipated
washing operation, to include any proposal to use ground water extraction from
the site to provide for same, demonstrating that the operation will not lower
the ground water level at the boundaries of the area by more than two feet, or
to the detriment of any existing ground water use.
14. A plan for monitoring
separation of excavation limits from the average seasonally high water table.
The
1. Will not unreasonably result
in unsafe or unhealthful conditions.
2. Will not unreasonably result
in erosion or sedimentation.
3. Will not unreasonably result
in water pollution, nor affect adversely existing ground water, springs, or
ponds.
4. Will conserve natural beauty
in keeping with the restoration provisions of this ordinance.
5. Will not adversely affect
public ways.
6. Will not adversely affect
surrounding properties.
7. Is in conformance with the
performance standards of Section 8.
No permit shall be issued for a period to
exceed three years.
1. Waiver and Modification of
this Ordinance.
a. Where the
b. In granting any waiver, the
If the
This Ordinance shall be
administered by the
1. Inspection - The Code Enforcement Officer shall inspect
all gravel extraction operations on an annual basis usually during the month of
October for the purpose of enforcing the Ordinance. Documentation of his
inspection findings are required. All violations noted will be reported to the
2. Right of Entry - The Code Enforcement
Officer in the performance of his duties may with permission enter any site for
the purpose of assuring compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance. In
accepting a permit under the provisions of this Ordinance, permission shall be
deemed to have been given by the landowners for the right of entry. If the landowner denies entry to the Code
Enforcement Officer, the Code Enforcement Officer shall not enter the property
without first obtaining an administrative warrant pursuant to the Maine Rules
of Civil Procedure.
3. Violations - In all cases of
violations of this Ordinance the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify in
writing the owner and if applicable the lessee of the gravel extraction
operation and the Selectmen of the nature of the violation and the proposed
correction of the same if possible. Said
notification shall be deemed to have been made when sent to the owner and if
applicable to the lessee by certified or registered mail to the address
supplied in the permit application or subsequent notice to the
4. Prosecution - The Selectmen are charged
with the prosecution of all violations of the provisions of this
Ordinance. In case the owner or lessee
does not comply within 60 days with the corrective action requested by the Code
Enforcement Officer, the Selectmen shall make such complaints to the courts as
in their judgement are proper or may institute such actions or proceedings at
law or in equity as are proper to restrain, correct, remove or punish such
violations.
5. Fines - Any person, firm or
corporation being the owner or having control or use of any gravel pit who
shall violate any of the provisions of this Ordinance or fail to comply with
any of the requirements thereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 per offense. Each day a violation exists shall constitute
a separate offense. Violation of any of
the standards or provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed just cause for
revoking the permit after reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
All gravel extraction operations
shall conform to the following applicable standards. The gravel pit owner is ultimately
responsible for ensuring that these standards are met.
A natural buffer strip
of at least 50 feet wide must be maintained between any excavation and a
property boundary. This distance may be reduced to not less than 10 feet with
the written permission of the affected abutting property owner or owners,
except that the distance may not be reduced to less than 25 feet from the
boundary of a cemetery or burial ground.
The buffer strip between borrow pits owned by abutting owners may be
eliminated with the abutter's written permission, provided elimination does not
increase the runoff from either excavation across the property boundary. All property boundaries must be identified in
the field by markings such as metal posts, stakes, flagging or blazed
trees. A variance from this provision
cannot be granted.
No gravel pit operation
shall result in increased erosion or runoff that will adversely affect any
adjoining properties.
No gravel pit shall be
worked at a level less than five (5) feet above the average seasonally high
water tables.
All gravel extraction
operations shall be screened from view from adjacent public ways with fencing or
vegetation. Screening shall be no less
than six (6) feet in height.
No gravel pit shall be
worked at a level less than five (5) feet above the average seasonally high
water table. The Lamoine
a) refueling facilities and
procedures are implemented that will provide reasonable protection of the groundwater
b) a spill prevention control
and counter measure (spcc) plan is implemented, and
c) plans for conditions a and b
above are submitted to and approved by the Lamoine
No substance or item
harmful to groundwater quality, including but not limited to salt, creosoted
timber, tree stumps, building waste, petroleum products, metal products or
rubbish shall be dumped or stored in a gravel pit. This paragraph does not
apply to salt sand piles kept in accordance with State law or regulations.
Petroleum products such
as fuel and lubricants being used in the gravel extraction operation must be
kept under cover and upon an impermeable spill proof base.
Restoration activity
shall be required for any pit or portion thereof which has been discontinued
(e.g. that portion of an excavated pit which has reached its boundary limits
may be deemed discontinued). Restoration
shall be completed within one year of the date on which discontinuance occurred.
All gravel extraction
operations shall be restored with perennial vegetation. (See
All slopes shall be
capable of sustaining vegetation upon discontinuance of the gravel extraction operation. For two years from the
restoration completion date the applicant shall guarantee that at least
eighty-five (85) percent of planted vegetation thrives. If at the end of two years more than fifteen
(15) percent of planted areas does not sustain vegetation, failed areas shall
be replanted. (See
If no restoration is
proposed for the duration of the permit, the applicant shall pay to the Town of
Lamoine 5 cents per cubic yard removed within the period of the permit. Payments received by the Town will be held in
an interest bearing escrow account for the reclamation of the gravel pit. Money may be withdrawn from the escrow
account to perform gravel pit reclamation on a schedule determined by the pit
owner and
To insure that the
gravel pit will be restored as agreed to in the performance standards of
Section 8, Subsection D, the owner/operator shall be required to record the
restoration agreement with the Hancock County Registry of Deeds on a completed
agreement form provided by the Town of
All vehicles on the
public roads of Lamoine with a load of sand, gravel, crushed stone or soil
shall be covered and tailgates secured so as to prevent spillage or leakage of
any part of said load.
Access to gravel
extraction areas shall be strictly controlled by the owner with locking gates
or cables at the entrance of access roads.
Gates or cables shall be closed and locked except during hours of
operation. When the pit is inoperable
all vehicular entrances shall be made impassible.
The hours of operation
for all Gravel Extraction, Processing, and Loading operations will be 6 A.M.
until 6 P.M. or sunset whichever is later; except on Sunday when all gravel
operations are prohibited, with the following exceptions:
Excessive noise at
unreasonable hours shall be required to be muffled so as not to be objectionable
due to intermittence, beat frequency, shrillness, or volume (please refer to
table below). The maximum permissible sound pressure level of any continuous,
regular or frequent source of sound produced by any activity regulated by this
ordinance shall be established by the time period and type of land use listed
below. Sound pressure levels shall be
measured on a sound level meter at all major lot lines of the proposed site, at
a height of four (4) feet above the ground surface.
|
Sound Pressure Level Limit (500 to 10,000 Hz range) |
||
|
|
7am -8 pm |
8pm - 7am |
|
Non Industrial
Establishments |
65dB |
55dB |
|
Industrial Establishments |
70dB |
65dB |
On a site abutting any
residential use, construction activities occurring between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00
a.m. shall be subject to the maximum permissible sound level specified for
industrial establishments.
Such maximum sound
levels will also apply to noises created by all agricultural, excavation,
construction, and maintenance activities between 7:00am and 8:00 pm
Prior to July 1 of each
year, the pit owner shall provide a written report containing the following
information:
1) Volume of materials removed
from the pit, including truck logs, for the previous 12 month period.
2) Results of measurement of
vertical separation between the excavation limits and the average seasonally
high water table. Measurements shall be made and certified by a
3) Any restoration completed
during the previous 12 month period.
The term gravel
extraction and/or gravel excavation shall mean the removal of sand and gravel,
bedrock or soil from its natural site of geologic deposition or formation.
The term gravel
processing shall mean the screening, sorting, crushing or other processing of
geologic material extracted or excavated.
The term gravel storage
shall mean the storage of sand, gravel, crushed stone, or soil stock piles or
other forms.
The term gravel transportation
shall mean using the public roads in Lamoine to haul sand, gravel, crushed
stone or soil except for snow plowing and sanding operations.
The term gravel pit shall mean:
1. All of the land area used in
the excavation, processing, or storage of sand, gravel, crushed stone or soil;
and
2. All of the land area owned
by the gravel pit owner that is contiguous to an excavated area unless the
gravel pit owner can show that some portion of that land cannot or will not be
used as a site for gravel extraction or excavation.
Gravel pits owned and/or operated by the
same person, firm, or corporation, and separated by less than 800 horizontal
feet of land shall be considered one and the same gravel pit.
Land
which has been restored in accordance with Section 7.C.9. will no longer be
considered as part of the gravel pit.
Gravel pit owner shall
mean the owner of the land where gravel is excavated, processed or stored. The responsibility to ensure restoration of
the gravel pit shall be the obligation of the gravel pit owner.
G. Gravel Pit Restoration
The
term means the stabilization of inactive borrow areas with herbaceous perennial
plants
Discontinued gravel pit
shall mean a gravel pit from which less than 200 cubic yards have been removed
within twelve (12) consecutive months.
TOWN OF
Map # ____
Date rec'd __/___/______
1. Owner of record and current address:
Name:__________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________
Phone:
(home)______________________(work)______________________
2. Operator (if not owner)
Name:__________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________
Phone:
(home)______________________(work)______________________
Please attach a plot plan
drawn to scale. It must show:
3. the location and boundaries
of the site and the name and location of all abutting property owners.
4. the existing contours of the
land within the boundaries and extending beyond the boundaries for 100 feet;
the contours must be shown at no more than 10 foot intervals. The scale used to define the contours must be
included on the plan.
5. The location of all existing
or proposed access roads and of any existing or proposed temporary structures.
Further requirements
according to the current Gravel Ordinance:
6. Attach a description of the
proposed provisions for drainage and erosion control.
7. What is the estimated
longevity of this pit, based on the removal rate over the 12 months immediately
past?
(For a new pit, give your best estimate) __________________
8. Explain how your financial
capacity is enough to allow you to restore the pit after it is no longer in
operation.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
9. Attach a detailed landscaping
and vegetation plan defining how you will restore the pit to as nearly a
natural state as is practical by grading, filling, draining and/or planting.
10. Attach copies of your annual statements to the Code Enforcement
Officer stating whether 200 cubic yards or more were removed from the pit
during each yearly period from October 1 through September 30. One statement per year is required.
11. At the request of the
12. Attach a statement of whether you intend to have a washing
operation in the pit. If a washing
operation is proposed, include any proposal to use ground water extraction from
the site to provide for the washing, with a demonstration that the water
extraction will not lower the ground water level at the boundaries of the area
by more than two feet or will not lower the ground water level to the detriment
of existing ground water use.
13. Attach a plan for monitoring separation of
excavation limits from the average seasonally high water table.
CERTIFICATION
The undersigned applicant
(and the owner, if the applicant is not the owner) hereby certifies:
·
that the information provided in this application is accurate;
·
that the estimates made herein are in good faith after a review of the
records of the operation; and
·
that the undersigned has read and will comply with the Performance
Standards set out in Section 8 of the
Lamoine Gravel Ordinance.
________ _______________________________________
(date) (signature
of applicant)
_______________________________________
(signature of owner, if not
applicant)
_____________________________________________________________________
FOR USE BY PLANNING BOARD ONLY
Date
considered______________
Approved [ ]___________
Date
reconsidered____________
Incomplete [ ]___________
Denied [
]___________
Conditions for
approval:________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Reason(s) for
denial:___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
TOWN OF
LAMOINE PLANNING BOARD
Date:_______________
Owner's Name:
First_________________ Last________________________________________
Property Location
Town/City
_____________________ Street/Road ________________________
The Gravel pit or Mine
Restoration Plan specified on the attached plan has been designed to restore
the land areas to their pre- existing condition, or a condition which is in
compliance with the Maine State Department of Environmental Protection and the
Town of
The system replacement
design is in accordance with Section 8, Performance Standards, Subsection D,
Restoration, Items a., b., c., and d. of the Lamoine Land Use Ordinance and the
State of Maine's Chapter 38 MRSA § 490-D Sec. 14A, B, C, and D.
Upon sale or transfer of
property, the new owners will comply with the recorded Plan if the Gravel Pit
or Mining Operations are continued.
Otherwise, the new owners will restore the land in compliance with the
Plan recorded within 60 (sixty) days of ownership.
_____________________________ _____________________________
Land owner's Name (printed) Land owner's signature
State of
(county) Date
Subscribed and sworn to by
the above named _________________________
This _____day of
________________________, _____ at ____________,
Before
me, ____________________________
(Notary Public)
Signature Page
March 13, 1996
The attached ordinance
entitled Gravel Ordinance is approved as of March 5, 1996 on an affirmative
referendum vote by the Town of
Signed this 13th day of March,
1996
/s/ William Collier,
Chairman
/s/Arthur Alley
/s/Glenn Crawford
The Lamoine Board of
Selectmen
April 16, 2009
The attached ordinance
entitled Gravel Ordinance was approved as of April 8, 2009 by an affirmative
vote at the Annual Lamoine Town Meeting
Signed this 16th
day of April, 2009 by
___________________________ S.
Josephine Cooper
___________________________ Richard E. Fennelly, Jr.
___________________________ Kermit Theall
___________________________ Gary McFarland
___________________________ Cynthia Donaldson
The Lamoine Board of
Selectmen
Attest: A True Copy
____________________________, Stuart Marckoon, Deputy Town Clerk