Whatcom County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code

The notification requirements of WCC § 22.05.070(4)(b)(ii) shall be expanded to all property owners within 2,000 feet of the external boundaries of the subject property.

At minimum, the activity adheres to the development and performance standards of WCC § 20.73.650 and § 20.73.700. In addition, no excavation shall occur within the five-year zone of contribution for designated wellhead protection areas. Excavations may occur within the 10-year zone of contribution outside of the five-year zone of contribution if they are not within 10 vertical feet of the seasonal high water table. If a fixed radii method is used to delineate a wellhead protection area, the surface mining applicant may elect to more precisely delineate the wellhead protection boundary using an analytical model; provided, that the delineated boundary proposed by the surface mining applicant is prepared by a professional hydrogeologist; and further provided, that the delineated boundary has been reviewed and approved by the Washington State Department of Health. The hydrogeologist shall be selected by mutual agreement of the county, water purveyor, and applicant; provided, if agreement cannot be reached the applicant shall select a consultant from a list of no less than three qualified consultants supplied by the county and water purveyor.

Buffers are established of sufficient size and with sufficient vegetation or berming to ensure that noise, dust, noxious weeds and other impacts to surrounding property owners are within applicable regulations and performance standards. When completing a reclamation segment, buffers may be reduced for a three-month period to establish the final reclaimed topography.

The applicant provides insurance policies or a similar type of protection as appropriate to cover potential liabilities associated with the proposed activity; renewals of bonds or insurance shall be submitted upon expiration of previous bonds or insurance. The bonding agent shall notify the county on any change of status in the bond.

Application of additional site specific conditions may be required to mitigate potential impacts that are not otherwise regulated through WCC § 20.73.650 and § 20.73.700 or through federal, state, or local regulations.

Notice of the decision shall be mailed to all property owners within 2,000 feet of the external boundaries of the subject property within two days of issuance of the decision. The applicant shall provide typed, self-adhering mailing labels with the names and addresses of all property owners within 2,000 feet of the subject property with the application to facilitate the notice.

Where the underlying zoning is Rural Forestry or Commercial Forestry, any mineral extraction permit shall include the condition that no greater than 40 acres can be mined within the permitted area at any one time. Additional acreage may only be added after an equal amount of previously mined land has met reclamation criteria as identified on an approved Department of Natural Resources surface mining reclamation permit, less the area of any roads constructed in previously mined land, to access a newly permitted area.

When mineral extraction is proposed on a parcel that was not designated Mineral Resource Lands prior to January 1, 2015, all existing mines on parcels contiguous to and held by more than one percent common beneficial ownership or beneficial interest with the proposed mine shall be in complete compliance with all operating permits and regulations before extraction of the proposed mine may commence.

When mineral extraction is proposed within 500 feet of a gas or petroleum transmission pipeline, a site specific geotechnical analysis of potential impacts to the pipeline is required. The analysis shall show that mining will not result in an increased likelihood of the pipeline becoming exposed or rupturing during an earthquake, and shall consider various seismic scenarios with a two percent probability of exceedance in 50 years on both proximal crustal faults and at the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Excavation and loading during and connected to flooding emergencies, and

Early morning (5:00 a.m.) processing of ready mix concrete as necessary to provide beneficial concrete strength (exempt Monday through Saturday only), and

Early morning (5:00 a.m.) work in preparation for hot mix asphalt production and loading (exempt Monday through Saturday only), and

Activity under public contract when in the public interest.

At least 20 feet above the seasonal high ground water level, or

Located upon unexcavated land, or

Located within lines and bermed areas with adequate capacity to accommodate, contain, and allow the removal of chemical spills; provided, that these provisions shall not apply to dredging equipment.