Appendix 532. Mining.
Unless exempt, a certificate of zoning compliance must be obtained by the property owner or operator of any mining operation prior to removal of excavated materials to be hauled off-site. If all excavated material is kept on-site, no review or approval is required. The following levels of review and approval are hereby established for mining operations where the excavated material is hauled off-site.
1.
Ponds less than ten thousand (10,000) square feet in size are exempt from the requirements of this section. The final slopes are to be at a 3:1 slope to minimize the possibility of slides.
2.
Ponds no greater than two (2) acres in size shall be allowed as conditional uses in all zoning districts subject to the following conditions:
a)
Ponds shall be a minimum of fifty (50) feet from wetlands, and a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet from a property line unless a written agreement with an adjacent property owner is obtained.
3.
Farm ponds for irrigation and livestock no greater than five (5) acres shall be allowed as conditional uses in the AG1, AG2, LFA, FA, CFA, SF 40, SF 20, and RE zoning districts subject to the following conditions:
a)
There shall be no more than one (1) farm pond for every ten (10) acres of land.
b)
Ponds shall be a minimum of fifty (50) feet from wetlands, and a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet from a property line unless a written agreement with an adjacent property owner is obtained.
c)
The parcel must have a farm number issued by the Farm Services Agency.
d)
The property owner must have a Critical Area Plan approved by the U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service.
e)
Hauling of material from the site must be done between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
f)
Where an unpaved county road is used to access the site, the owner and/or operator shall maintain five hundred (500) feet in the direction of traffic to and from the site, using Best Management Practices and maintaining the road in good condition.
4.
All other mining activity shall be allowed only as a conditional use in the AG1, AG2, FA and CFA zoning districts subject to the following conditions:
a)
A pre-construction meeting with county engineering must be held to assess road conditions and develop a maintenance plan, regarding grading and watering, that addresses impacts of the mining operation to include dust in populated areas and road conditions.
b)
Mine operator must maintain paved roads accessing site for two hundred (200) feet of site access in the direction of travel and control dust in populated areas.
c)
Mining operations must be screened and buffered by a six (6) foot high opaque screen of natural vegetation within a one hundred (100) foot buffer area or a six (6) foot high berm within a fifty (50) foot buffer area. Berms must be graded, shaped and grassed. Provided, however, that no screen is required along any property boundary where the mining operations are setback five hundred (500) feet, or more from the property line. These screening and buffering provisions shall supercede the requirements of the landscape, buffer and tree preservation standards.
d)
Mine operator will submit a traffic routing plan to county engineering. Traffic plan should minimize impacts to surrounding residences to the greatest reasonably extent possible. Reasonableness analysis should include but is not limited to physical limitations and financial costs. Plan may be modified if conditions warrant.
e)
Operational hours are 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. unless otherwise authorized by County Council. Hours may be extended for public projects of limited duration upon notice to the zoning administrator.
f)
Mining operations will be conducted in accordance with Horry County and DHEC regulations. Mine operator will obtain a county stormwater permit.
g)
Mining operations must be conducted in accordance with all county, state, and federal regulations.
h)
Mines are required to obtain a Mining Permit from Horry County Council. Refer to Chapter 13, Article VI, Mining Permits, of the Horry County Code of Ordinance.
5.
The removal and hauling of excavated material for the construction of a commercial or residential subdivision that has received preliminary plan approval (major subdivisions) or sketch plan approval (minor subdivisions) and a county stormwater permit is exempt from the provisions of this section.
6.
The provisions of this section are not applicable if all excavated materials from a site are used solely for the construction of a public project by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
a)
In order to establish the right to an exemption for a state project, the property owner and/or site operator must provide the Zoning Administrator with a letter from the SCDOT project engineer identifying the contractor, the SCDOT file#, the start date and end date of the contract, and the cubic yards to be excavated.
b)
A county stormwater permit must be obtained.
c)
The property owner must provide the zoning administrator with a statement acknowledging that:
(1)
Any future use of the property would have to be consistent with the zoning on the property; and
(2)
The exemption is limited to the duration and extent of the SCDOT contract; and
(3)
Any use of the excavated materials for any project outside the scope of the SCDOT contract will result in the loss of the exemption.
(Ord. No. 141-05, § 1, 2-7-06; Ord. No. 67-07, § 1, 5-1-07; Ord. No. 06-17, § 1, 2-21-17; Ord. No. 38-18, § 2, 6-5-18)