3.0 Permit Required

No owner shall permit any excavation of earth on his premises without first obtaining a permit unless the excavation is one of the following exceptions:

3.1 Existing Excavations.

The owner of an excavation which lawfully existed as of August 24, 1979, from which earth material of sufficient weight or volume to be commercially useful has been removed during the 2-year period before August 24, 1979, may continue to excavate without a permit subject to:

1. Such an excavation site shall be exempt from local zoning, provided that at the time the excavation was first begun, it was in compliance with any local ordinances that may have been in effect. The exemption from local zoning includes the quarrying or crushing of bedrock for the production of construction aggregate; provided, however, that no owner shall after August 4, 1989 permit any such quarrying or crushing to occur for the first time on any excavation site without first obtaining an excavation permit from the Planning Board.
2. Such an excavation area may not be expanded beyond the limits of the Town in which it is situated and the area which, on August 24, 1979, and at all times subsequent thereto has been contiguous to and in common ownership with the excavation area of that date, and appraised and inventoried for property tax purposes as part of the same tract as the excavation site. (As defined in RSA 155-E:2, I-b, as amended effective August 23, 1991.)
3. Such an excavation shall be performed in compliance with the express operational and reclamation standards contained in RSA 155-E:4a, RSA 155-E:5 and RSA 155-E:5a.

4. The owners or operators of any existing excavation area for which no permit has been obtained shall file an excavation report with the Planning Board by August 4, 1991. Any existing excavation that fails to file a report within the one year time period shall obtain a permit from the Planning Board before continuing excavation of the site.

   The report shall contain the following information:

   1. the location of the excavation–tax map and lot number;
   2. the date the excavation first began;
   3. a description of the permissible limits of expansion as described in Section 3.1, b;
   4. a description of the existing excavation with a sketch map including an estimate of the area which has been excavated to date; and
   5. an estimate of the amount of commercially-viable earth materials still available on the parcel.

3.2 Stationary Manufacturing Plants.

1. Excavations from an excavation site contiguous to, or contiguous land in common ownership with, stationary manufacturing and processing plants in operation as of August 24, 1979, which use earth from said excavation site; however, such excavations shall be performed solely in compliance with the express operational and reclamation standards contained in RSA 155-E:4-a, RSA 155-E:5, and RSA 155-E:5-a. Loss of non-permit status shall be preceded by written notice from the regulator that the excavation is not in compliance and the owner shall have failed to bring such excavation into compliance within 30 days of receiving this notice.
2. The operation and reclamation of excavations from a site which on August 4, 1989 was contiguous to, or was contiguous land in common ownership with, stationary manufacturing and processing plants which have been granted state or local permits since August 24, 1979 and before August 4, 1989, which use earth obtained from said site shall be governed by the conditions of the state or local permit and any extensions or renewals thereof. (As defined in RSA 155-E:2, III-b.)

3.3 Highway Excavations.

1. A copy of the pit agreement executed by the owner, the agent and the governmental unit shall be filed with and accepted by the Planning Board prior to the start of excavation, except as delineated in RSA 155-E:2.IV.(c) for exemption. Failure to file a copy of the pit agreement with the municipality or to comply with the terms of the agreement constitutes a violation enforceable under the provisions of Section 16.0 of these regulations.
2. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation or its agent may apply to the appeals board created under RSA 21-L to be exempted from the provisions of local land use regulations. The appeals process includes a formal public hearing in the affected municipality as set forth in RSA 155-E:2, IV-(c).
3. The governmental unit or its agents must comply with the following:
   1. the excavation shall comply with the operational and reclamation standards of RSA 155- E:4-a, RSA 155-E:5, and RSA 155-E:5-a;
   2. "section 7.0-a of these regulations;
   3. the excavation shall not be unduly hazardous or injurious to the public welfare;
   4. existing visual barriers in the areas specified in RSA 155-E:3, III shall not be removed, except to provide access to the excavation;
   5. the excavation shall not substantially damage a known aquifer, so designated by the United State Geological Survey (see Section 7.0-h); and
   6. all required permits for the excavation from state or federal agencies have been obtained.

3.4 Other Exceptions.

1. Excavation that is exclusively incidental to the lawful construction or alteration of a building or structure, or the lawful construction or alteration of a parking lot or way including a driveway on a portion of the premises where removal occurs. This excavation cannot be started, however, until all required state and local permits necessary for the construction or alteration of the building, structure, parking lot, or way have been issued. In the event that the incidental excavation results in the removal of more than 500 cubic yards of earth that is transported off site, an excavation permit will be required and shall be submitted per section 5 below.
2. Excavation that is incidental to agricultural or silvicultural activities or normal landscaping. In the event that the incidental excavation results in the removal of more than 500 cubic yards of earth that is transported off site, an excavation permit will be required and shall be submitted per section 5 below.
3. Excavation from a granite quarry for the purpose of producing dimension stone, if such excavation requires a permit under RSA 12-E.
4. A person owning land abutting a site which was taken by eminent domain or by any other governmental taking upon which construction is taking place may stockpile earth taken from the construction site and may remove the earth at a later date after written notification to the Planning Board.