Legislation

BE IT RESOLVED that the following be and the same is hereby adopted and enacted as a By-law of Halifax County Municipality when and if the same has received the approval of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and that the Municipal Clerk be and he is hereby instructed to forward the same to the Minister and request his approval hereof.

Title

1. (1) This By-Law shall be known as and may be cited as the "Excavation By-Law".

(2) This By-Law shall apply to the following districts of the Municipality: 1, 3, 6, 7, 13, 14, "excluding however, that portion of District 14 consisting of the communities of Gays River, Carroll's Corner, Dutch Settlement, Devon, Antrim and East Milford which are more particularly shown on Schedule 'B' attached hereto.", 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and that portion of District 9 known as the community of Porters lake as is more particularly identified in Schedule "A" attached hereto. (Passed January 17, 1989; Approved February 15, 1989) (Passed April 19, 1994; Approved May 18, 1994) (Passed March 21, 1995; Approved May 25, 1995).

Prohibited without a permit

2. No person in the Municipality shall own, operator or work, or prepare to operate or work, or commence to operate or work a gravel pit, or cause the same to be done, or make or cause to be made an excavation for the purposes of quarrying or otherwise, without first obtaining from the Engineer a permit therefor.

Application for permit

3. The applicant for a permit under this By-Law shall state in his application for such permit:

(a) the name, occupation and address of the applicant;

(b) the location of the proposed gravel pit or where the proposed excavating or quarrying is to be carried out;

(c) the purpose of the proposed excavating or quarrying, the area to be involved in the excavating or quarrying and the depth to which it is proposed to excavate or quarry;

(d) the date when such excavating or quarrying is proposed to commence and the probable duration of the same;

3. (e) the name and address of the owner of the land upon which such excavation or quarrying is to take place;

(f) if the applicant is not the owner of the said land, the written consent of the owner to such excavating and quarrying;

(g) the name of the contractor engaged in the work, if any;

(h) whether blasting will be necessary in connection with the work and if so to what extent;

(i) such other information as the Engineer may reasonably require to determine whether the proposed excavation meets the requirements of this By-Law, including, if deemed necessary, maps, plans, drawings, test results and surveys.

Terms and conditions

4. The Engineer may issue a permit for the carrying out of such work to the applicant and may impose such reasonable terms and conditions for the carrying on of the proposed work as are necessary for the purpose of protecting health, lives and property from injury as a result of the quarrying or excavating operations and from the creation of a public nuisance and the restoration of the surface of the land upon which any excavating or quarrying has been or is proposed to be carried on so that the property is no more unsightly than before such quarrying or excavation occurred.

Board

5. The Engineer before issuing a permit hereunder and as a condition precedent to his doing so may require the applicant or the owner of the property to upon which such quarrying or excavating is proposed to be carried on to provide a bond to the satisfaction of the Engineer conditioned upon compliance by the applicant for such permit, the owner of the property and the contractor engaged in the work (if any) with the provisions of this By-Law and the terms and conditions prescribed by the Engineer or the Public Works Committee of the Municipality as herein provided in an amount sufficient to indemnify the Municipality for any probable costs it might incur under Section 14. Appeal to Council

6. (1) The applicant, if the Engineer refuses to grant a permit hereunder or if the applicant is aggrieved by the terms and conditions so imposed, may appeal to the Council from the refusal of the Engineer or such terms and conditions by notice in writing filed with the Clerk stating the grounds upon which he appeals and a copy of such notice shall be delivered by the Clerk to the Engineer.

Hearing of Appeal

(2) The Council shall hear such appeal at a time and place to be decided by the Clerk and may grant or refuse the application or may grant the application upon such terms and conditions as are necessary for the effective carrying out of the purposes of this By-Law.

Restoration of lands

7. Any person who has operated or is operating a gravel pit or quarry or who has conducted or is conducting quarrying operations in the Municipality, or who has made any excavation in the Municipality, and the owner of the land upon which such operations are being or have been conducted or upon which an excavation has been made, if the person operating such gravel pit or quarry or conducting such quarrying operations or who has made such excavation is not the owner of such land, shall restore the surface of such land to such condition, no more unsightly than before the operations were conducted, as the Engineer, or the Council if an appeal has been made as hereinbefore provided, may require, within such time, but not less than thirty (30) days, as the Engineer or the Council may direct and failure to comply with such requirement and direction of the Engineer or the Council shall constitute a violation of this By-Law.

Report

8. The Council may direct the Engineer to report upon any gravel pit, excavation or quarry in the Municipality, or the Engineer may, without such direction, make such a report.

Preparing of report

9. If the Engineer reports that, in his opinion, such gravel pit, excavation or quarry is a blighted, unsightly or disfigured area or if the Council of its own motion so considers it to be, the Council may appoint a time and place for a hearing upon such report or motion and shall give the owner of the land upon which such quarrying operations are being or have been conducted or upon which such excavation has been made, the operator of such gravel pit, quarry, or the person making such excavation, not less than ten (10) days' notice in writing of the time and place so appointed and shall furnish him at the same time with a copy of such report or motion.

Owner etc. to be heard

10. Such owner, operator or person may appear at the hearing and be heard respecting the matter of such report or motion.

Council may order

11. The Council may, upon the conclusion of the hearing

(a) if Council has reasonable belief that this By-Law has been violated instruct the Engineer to revoke or suspend any permit issued in respect of such gravel pit, excavation or quarry;

(b) order such owner, operator or person to restore the surface of such land to such condition, no more unsightly than before the operations were conducted, as the Council may direct within such time, but not less than thirty (3) days, as the Council may require.

12. The provisions of Sections 7 to 11 inclusive do not apply to an excavation or gravel pit opened before the coming into force of this By-Law.

Service of order

13. A copy of any order made by the Engineer, the Public Works Committee or the Council directing the restoration of the surface of such land shall be served upon such owner, operator or person if resident in the Municipality, or mailed to him if not so resident and his address is known; if his address is not known a copy of such order shall be published in one newspaper published in the Municipality by two insertions, and a copy of the order shall be posted on the land in question.

Failure to comply

14. If any person fails to comply with an order made under this By-Law directing the restoration of any land the Municipality may enter upon such land and perform the work required by the order and recover the cost thereof from the person or persons to whom the order was lawfully given by action commenced by the Clerk in the name of the Municipality. Offence

15. Every person who fails to comply with an order respecting the restoration of the surface of any land shall be guilty of a violation of this By-Law.

Penalty

16. Every person who violates any of the provisions of this By-Law or who fails to comply with the terms and conditions of any permit issued under the authority of this By-Law or who fails to comply with an order respecting the restoration of the surface of any land shall on conviction be liable to a penalty not exceeding Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00) and in default of payment thereof to imprisonment for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days.

THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the By-Law of which the foregoing is a true copy was duly passed at a duly called meeting of the Municipal Council of Halifax County Municipality duly held on the 17th day of August A.D. 1976.

GIVEN under the hand of the Municipal Clerk and under the corporate seal of the said Municipality this 20th day of August A.D. 1976.

H.G. Bensted (sgd.)
Municipal Clerk

DEPARTMENT OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS Recommended for approval of the Minister

(sgd) F. Robertson
Departmental Solicitor

APPROVED this 28th day of September, 1976.

(sgd) J.F. Mooney
Minister of Municipal Affairs