6.1.1 Purpose

This Section is deemed necessary to protect the public safety and property values by preventing the creation of hazards due to deep holes, steep slopes and embankments and by preventing land from becoming worthless due to removal of top soil, sand, gravel or other material. These regulations are designed to insure that land will be useable for residential, commercial or agricultural purposes following the removal of top soil, sand, gravel or other fill and to provide for the reestablishment and protection of the area by suitable cover.

6.1.2 Applicability

No person, firm or corporation shall remove in any one year more than three hundred (300) cubic yards of soil, sand, gravel, stones, or other minerals or materials from any land in the Town without first obtaining a special permit from the Planning Board as provided in the following Sections.

1. The Planning Board may appoint a subcommittee, herein referred to as the Earth Removal Advisory Committee, to advise and recommend the issuance or denial of a permit.

6.1.3 Exemptions

A special permit shall not be required for the following types of excavation:

1. Excavation incidental to the construction of all buildings for which all permits required for construction have been issued, nor to the installation of walks, driveways, septic systems, swimming pools, or other accessory uses and expansions thereto, provided the quantity of materials removed shall not exceed that displaced by the portion of the building or accessory use below finished grade;

2. Excavation in the course of normal and customary agricultural use of land,

3. Excavation in the normal use of a cemetery,

4. The By-law shall not apply to excavations lawfully in existence at the time of the adoption of this Bylaw to the extent that such excavations are protected by G.L. c. 40A, s. 6.

6.1.4 Application

An application for an Earth Removal Permit shall be in writing and shall contain an accurate description of the portion of land in which the excavation will take place, shall state in full the purpose of the excavation, shall include a fee, and shall include plans drawn by a registered surveyor or engineer containing the following information:

1. Property lines, names and addresses of all abutters and other interested parties in interest as defined by G.L. c. 40A, s. 11;

2. Existing contours at five-foot intervals in the area from which materials are to be excavated and in the surrounding areas, together with the contours at fivefoot intervals below which no excavation shall take place;

3. Natural features such as wetlands, the 100-year floodplain, ground cover and surface groundwater. Watertable elevation shall be determined by test pits and soil borings. A log of soil borings shall be included, taken to the depth of the proposed excavation, congruent with the size and geological make-up of the site;

4. A topographical map showing drainage facilities, final grades and proposed vegetation and trees to be planted during restoration;

5. Erosion and sediment control plan; and,

6. The amount and cost of proposed restoration materials, and where the applicant intends to get them.

6.1.5 Decision

The Board shall exercise its powers and may deny, grant or grant with exceptions, permits hereunder based upon:

1. The health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Town;

2. Derogation or detriment to the neighborhood;

3. Effect on natural resources, including but not limited to the recharge of the water table or condition of the surface water.

6.1.6 Conditions

The Board may impose on any permit conditions including but not limited to, conditions upon methods of removal, type and location of structures, fencing, hours of operation, area, location and depth of excavation, steepness of slopes, drainage, disposition of boulders and stumps, restoration and planting.

1. Bond Required. The Board shall require as a condition to the granting of the permit that the applicant shall furnish a performance bond or other security satisfactory to the Board sufficient to insure satisfactory performance of the requirements of this Bylaw and of such other conditions as may be imposed in the permit. The security shall not be released until the surveyor or engineer has filed with the Board an "as-built" plan and has also certified that the restoration has been completed in compliance with the permit and the plans.

2. Every permit shall contain the condition that inspection of the operation may be made at any reasonable hours by an Agent of the Board to determine if conditions of the permit

are being adhered to.

3. Excavation not intended for approved building purposes or any other activity or building shall not be within one hundred (100) feet of an existing public way or an adjacent property line;

4. Excavation not intended for approved building purposes or any other activity or building shall not be within one hundred (100) feet of a wetland as defined under G.L. c. 131, s. 40, and the Town of Douglas Wetland Protection Bylaw or the 100-year flood elevation of any waterbody, except where the appropriate regulatory agency has specifically ordered such excavation as part of a compensatory-storage plan;

5. No area shall be excavated so as to cause accumulation of free standing water unless the Board shall permit creation of a pond in an area not used for drinking water. Permanent drainage shall be provided in accordance with good conservation practices. Drainage shall not lead directly into streams or ponds.

6. No excavation shall be made at less than ten (10) feet above the annual high water table, as established from test pits and soil borings. Observation well(s) shall be monitored to verify this elevation. The Board has the right to adjust the depth of the excavation based upon well monitoring information. The information shall be shown on the topographic plan and a permanent monument shall be erected upon the property.

7. All top soil and subsoil stripped from operation areas shall be stock-piled, seeded with an erosion control seed mixture, and used in restoring the area.

8. Any shelters or buildings erected on the premises for use by personnel or storage of equipment shall be screened from public view and shall be removed from the premises within sixty (60) days after they are no longer needed for work upon that site.

9. The active excavation operation shall be determined by the Board but, in no instance, shall it exceed a total of ten (10) acres at any one time. Natural vegetation shall be left and maintained on undisturbed land for screening and noise reduction purposes.

10. Trucking routes and methods shall be specified by the Board which shall seek the advice of the Chief of Police with regard thereto.

11. All access roads leading to public ways shall be treated with suitable material to reduce dust and mud for a distance of 200 feet back from the public way.

12. Access roads shall be constructed at an angle to the public way or with a curve so as to help screen the operation from public view.

13. Standard Massachusetts accepted road signs warning of "Trucks Entering" shall be placed on the road on each side of the entrance.

14. The boundaries of the area of operation must be clearly marked by the applicant and maintained at all times.

15. Operators shall immediately clean up any spillage on public ways.

6.1.7 Restoration

Every permit shall state that restoration is to be carried out according to the plans submitted, conditions of permit, and the following minimum conditions:

1. Restoration shall be carried on simultaneously with excavation, so that when any active excavation operation area, as determined in Section 6.1.6, Paragraph 9, has been excavated, at least two/thirds (2/3) of the active excavation operation acreage shall be restored before work commences, including building haul roads, on the next contiguous active excavation operation. Final restoration work shall be complete within 120 days after excavation or withdrawal of a permit or upon cessation of operations.

2. No slope shall be steeper than 2:1. 4:1 if preferred for erosion control and shall be required in sensitive areas.

3. All debris, stumps, etc. shall be removed from the site and disposed of in an

approved location or, in the case of inorganic material, buried and covered with at least two (2) feet of soil.

4. Retained subsoil and topsoil shall be spread over the disturbed area to a minimum depth of four inches and treated with three tons of lime per acre (unless otherwise determined by permit conditions) and seeded with a grass of legume mixture prescribed by the Southern Worcester County Conservation District or the Massachusetts Department of Public Works for slope erosion control. Trees or shrubs of prescribed species will be planted to provide screening and reduce erosion during the establishment period.

5. Unless the permit conditions expressly require alteration of drainage patterns, the land shall be left so that the natural storm drainage shall leave the property at the original natural drainage points; and so that the total discharge at peak flow, and the area of drainage to any one point, is not increased, and so that the hydrography of any post-development stream is the same as that of the pre-development stream.

6. All equipment, buildings and structures shall be removed from the area covered by the permit within sixty (60) days after earth removal, pursuant to the permit, ceases.

6.1.8 Limit

No permit shall be issued for an initial period of more than three (3) years. The Board may in its discretion grant a further permit for each additional year beyond the initial period, but no such permit shall be issued unless the applicant has conformed to all requirements of the permit.

6.1.9 Revocation

The Board may revoke any permit which it has issued for good cause, including, but not limited to, violations of any terms of a permit issued hereunder. Vioaltions shall be deemed good cause to revoke. The Board shall first offer to the operator an opportunity for a hearing prior to revocation of the permit, in order to avoid violations of due process. The Board can reserve the right to suspend the permit without a hearing in the event of an imminent danger to the public health or safety, prior to a hearing on whether to revoke the permit.

6.1.10 Special Permit Relief

Strict compliance with the requirements of this Bylaw may be waived by special permit only when, in the judgment of the Board, such action is in the public interest and not inconsistent with the Earth Removal Zoning Bylaw. In waiving strict compliance the Board may require such alternative conditions as will serve substantially the same objective as the standards waived.

6.1.11 Survey

The Board has the right, in its discretion, to require the applicant, at this own expense, to have the site surveyed by an engineer to be specified by the Board, and to have said engineer report to the Board on a periodic basis to assure compliance with any permit issued hereunder.

6.1.12 Application to Town

This Bylaw will also apply to Agencies/Departments in the Municipality. However, the following exemptions will apply.

1. The Municipality will be exempt from the requirement of a bond; and exempt from subsections 6.1.6.10 and 11.

6.1.13 Regulations

The Board may establish rules and regulations to implement this Bylaw, including the establishment and assessment of fees for permit application.

6.1.14 Violations

Every violation of this Bylaw shall be subject to the following fines: $50.00 for the first offense; $100.00 for the second offense,- and, $150.00 for all offenses after the second offense. Each day on which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.