Woodbine City Zoning Code
§ 26-43.12
Resource Extraction.
[Added 6-16-2022 by Ord. No. 606-2022; amended 5-2-2024 by Ord. No. 625-2024]
a.
Resource Extraction Application Requirements. Except as otherwise authorized in this Chapter, the extraction or mining of mineral resources other than sand, gravel, clay, and ilmenite is prohibited.
Any application filed for approval of resource extraction operations in the Pinelands shall include at least the following information:
1.
The applicant's name and address and his interest in the subject property;
2.
The owner's name and address, if different from the applicant's, and the owner's signed consent to the filing of the application;
3.
The legal description, including block and lot designation and street address, if any, of the subject property;
4.
A description of all existing uses of the subject property;
5.
A brief written statement generally describing the proposed development;
6.
A USGS Quadrangle map, or copy thereof, and a copy of the municipal tax map sheet on which the boundaries of the subject property and the Pinelands management area designation and zoning designation are shown;
7.
A topographic map at a scale of one-inch equals 200 feet, showing the proposed dimensions, location and operations on the subject property;
8.
The location, size and intended use of all buildings;
9.
The location of all points of ingress and egress;
10.
A location map, including the area extending at least 300 feet beyond each boundary of the subject property, showing all streams, wetlands and significant vegetation, forest associations and wildlife habitats;
11.
The location of all existing and proposed streets and rights-of-way, including railroad rights-of-way;
12.
A soils map;
13.
A reclamation plan which includes:
(a)
Method of stockpiling topsoil and overburden;
(b)
Proposed grading and final elevations;
(c)
Topsoil material application and preparation;
(d)
Type, quantity and age of vegetation to be used;
(e)
Fertilizer application including method and rates;
(f)
Planting method and schedules; and
(g)
Maintenance requirements schedule;
14.
A signed acknowledgment from both the owner and the applicant that they are responsible for any resource extraction activities which are contrary to any provision of this Chapter or of the approved resource extraction plan done by any agent, employee, contractor, subcontractor or any other person authorized to be on the parcel by either the owner or the applicant;
15.
A financial surety, guaranteeing performance of the requirements of paragraph c. hereof in the form of a letter of credit, certified check, surety bond or other recognized form of financial surety acceptable to the Municipal Attorney. The financial surety shall be equal to the cost of restoration of the area to be excavated during the two-year duration of any approval which is granted and in no event shall it be less than 10% of the commercial value of the material to be extracted. The financial surety, which shall name the Commission and the Borough of Woodbine as the obligee, shall be posted by the property owner or his agent with the Municipal Attorney;
16.
A certificate of filing from the Pinelands Commission issued pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.34 or, until January 14, 1991, evidence of prior approval from the Pinelands Development Review Board or the Pinelands Commission pursuant to the Interim Rules and Regulations; and
17.
When prior approval for the development has been granted by the Borough of Woodbine, evidence of Pinelands Commission review pursuant to subsection 26-65.5 (Review by Pinelands Commission).
18.
If the application includes a proposed diversion from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, a hydrogeologic report that identifies the volume of the diversion, the volume of water to be returned to the source, a description of the route of return to the source, the methodology used to quantify the volume of water returned to the source and a description of any other existing or proposed water diversions or discharges on or from the parcel. The report shall also include a map that depicts the location of the diversion, the location of the return to source, the location of all existing or proposed resource extraction operations and the location of all wetlands on or within 300 feet of the parcel on which the diversion is proposed.
b.
Time Limit on Board Approval. Board approvals authorizing resource extraction shall be effective for a period of two years. Additional approvals shall be considered by the Board only if the requirements of this section have been met.
c.
Resource Extraction Standards. Resource extraction activities shall:
1.
Be designed so that no area of excavation, sedimentation on pond, storage area equipment or machinery or other structure or facility is closer than:
2.
Be located on a parcel of land at least 20 acres;
3.
Provide that all topsoil that is necessary for restoration will be stored on the site and will be protected from wind or water erosion;
4.
Be fenced or blocked so as to prevent unauthorized entry into the resource extraction operation through access roads;
5.
Provide ingress and egress to the resource extraction operation from public roads by way of gravel or porous paved roadways;
6.
Be designed so that the surface runoff will be maintained on the parcel in a manner that will provide for on-site recharge to ground water;
7.
Not involve excavation below the seasonal high water table, unless the excavation will serve as a recreational or wildlife resource or a water reservoir for public, agricultural or industrial uses or for any other use authorized in the zoning district in which the site is located; provided that in no case shall excavation have a depth exceeding 65 feet below the natural surface of the ground existing prior to excavation unless it can be demonstrated that a depth greater than 65 feet will result in no significant adverse impact relative to the proposed final use or on off-site areas;
8.
Be carried out in accordance with an extraction schedule which depicts the anticipated sequence, as well as the anticipated length of time, that each of the twenty acre units of the parcel proposed for extraction will be worked. This shall not preclude more than twenty acre unit from being worked at any one time, provided that there is a demonstrated need for additional units, restoration is proceeding on previously mined units and the area of clearing does not exceed that specified in paragraph c9 below;
9.
Not involve clearing adjacent to ponds in excess of 20 acres or an area necessary to complete scheduled operations; or will not involve unreclaimed clearing exceeding 150 acres for surface excavation at any time.
10.
Involve restoration of disturbed areas at the completion of the resource extraction operation in accordance with the following requirements:
(a)
Restoration shall be a continuous process, and each portion of the parcel shall be restored such that the ground cover be established within two years and tree cover established within three years after resource extraction is completed for each portion of the site mined;
(b)
Restoration shall proceed in the same sequence and time frame set out in the extraction schedule required in the application;
(c)
All restored areas shall be graded so as to conform to the natural contours of the parcel to the maximum extent practical; grading techniques that help to control erosion and foster revegetation shall be utilized; the slope of surface of restored surfaces shall not exceed one-foot vertical to three feet horizontal except as provided in paragraph c10(f) below;
(d)
Topsoil shall be restored in approximately the same quality and quantity as existed at the time the resource extraction operation was initiated. All topsoil removed shall be stockpiled and used for the next area to be restored, unless it is immediately reused for reclamation that is currently underway;
(e)
Drainage flows, including direction and volume, shall be restored to the maximum extent practical to those flows existing at the time the resource extraction operation was initiated;
(f)
Any body of water created by the resource extraction operation shall have a shoreline not less than three feet above and three feet below the projected average water table elevation. The shoreline both above and below the surface water elevation shall have a slope of not less than five feet horizontal to one-foot vertical. This requirement shall apply to any water body or portion of a water body created after December 5, 1994. For any water body or portion of a water body created prior to December 5, 1994, this requirement shall apply to the extent that it does not require grading of areas which have not been disturbed by mining activities. Where grading would require such disturbance, a reduction in the distance of the graded shoreline above and below the average water table elevation shall be permitted;
(g)
All equipment, machinery and structures, except for structures that are usable for recreational purposes or any other use authorized in the area, shall be removed within six months after the resource extraction operation is terminated and restoration is completed;
(h)
Reclamation shall to the maximum extent practical result in the reestablishment of the vegetation association which existed prior to the extraction activity and shall include:
(1)
Stabilization of exposed areas by establishing ground cover vegetation; and
(2)
Reestablishment of the composition of the natural forest and shrub types that existed prior to the extraction activity through one of the following:
(i)
The planting of a minimum of 1,000 one-year-old pitch pine seedlings or other native Pinelands tree species per acre in a random pattern;
(ii)
Cluster planting of characteristic Pinelands oak species, such as blackjack oak, bear oak, chestnut oak, and black oak, and shrubs such as black huckleberry, sheep laurel and mountain laurel, at a spacing sufficient to ensure establishment of these species;
(iii)
A combination of the planting techniques set forth in items (i) and (ii) above; or
(iv)
The use of other planting techniques or native Pinelands species as may be necessary to restore the vegetation association which existed prior to the extraction activity.
(i)
Slopes beyond a water body's shoreline shall be permitted at the natural angle of repose to the bottom of the pond.
11.
Not result in a substantial adverse impact upon those significant resources depicted on the Special Areas Map appearing as Figure 7.1 in the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan.
12.
The letter of credit, surety bond, or other guarantee of performance which secures restoration of each section shall be released after the Borough of Woodbine has determined that the requirements of paragraph 10 above are being met and the guarantee of performance is replaced with a maintenance guarantee for a period of two years thereafter.