Arizona Laws 27-444. Community notice; public meeting
A. Within twenty-one days after the state mine inspector notifies an owner or operator of an aggregate mining operation that the application for a community notice for a new aggregate mining operation or a major modification for an approved community notice is complete, or within twenty-one days after the application is considered to be complete, the owner or operator shall send by certified mail a copy of the community notice:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 27-444
- Aggregate: means cinders, crushed rock or stone, decomposed granite, gravel, pumice, pumicite and sand. See Arizona Laws 27-441
- Aggregate mining: means clearing, covering or moving land using mechanized earth-moving equipment on privately owned property for aggregate development and production purposes, including ancillary aggregate finished product activities. See Arizona Laws 27-441
- Inspector: means the state mine inspector and except in article 7 of this chapter his deputies. See Arizona Laws 27-301
- Major modification: means a change in an approved community notice that is one or more of the following:
(a) An increase of more than twenty acres from that stated in the currently approved community notice for the aggregate mining operation. See Arizona Laws 27-441
- Mine: means all lands containing excavations, underground passageways, shafts, tunnels and workings, structures, facilities, equipment, machines or other property including impoundments, retention dams, tailings and waste dumps, on the surface or underground, used in, to be used in or resulting from the work of extracting minerals or other materials, excluding hydrocarbons. See Arizona Laws 27-301
- Mining: means those activities conducted to develop or extract materials from a mine including on-site transportation, concentrating, milling, leaching, smelting or other processing of ores or other materials. See Arizona Laws 27-301
- New aggregate mining operation: means an aggregate mining operation that begins operations after the date the aggregate mining operations zoning district is established pursuant to section 11-812. See Arizona Laws 27-441
- operation: means property that is owned, operated or managed by the same person for mining aggregate and is located in an aggregate mining operations zoning district established pursuant to section 11-812. See Arizona Laws 27-441
- Operator: means a natural person, corporation, partnership association, agent, governmental entity or other public or private organization or representative owning, controlling or managing a mine. See Arizona Laws 27-301
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
1. To each residential property owner, as shown on the current property tax roll, within a one-half mile radius of the aggregate mining operation. The owner or operator shall submit the list of notified residential property owners to the inspector. The community notice shall include a statement that the property owner may request the state mine inspector to hold a public meeting and may submit written comments as provided by this section.
2. To the aggregate mining operations recommendation committee for the district in which the operation is located.
3. If the operation is located in a county in which a multi-county water conservation district is established pursuant to Title 48, Chapter 22, to the multi-county water conservation district.
B. If there is sufficient public interest, the inspector shall schedule and conduct a public meeting within forty-five days after the community notice for a new aggregate mining operation or major modification is filed with the inspector. The inspector shall give at least fifteen days’ notice of the meeting by filing the notice in the office of the secretary of state and by mail to the residential property owners who requested the public meeting pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1.
C. The inspector or an employee of the inspector shall conduct any public meeting on a community notice. The aggregate mining operation’s designated representative shall attend and respond to questions relating to information in the community notice. If a notified residential property owner cannot attend the public meeting, the owner may submit written comments to the inspector before the meeting regarding the community notice. The inspector or the inspector’s employee and the aggregate mining operator’s designated representative shall receive and consider comments from persons attending the meeting and the written comments submitted before the meeting.