General plan required -- Content -- Resource management plan -- Provisions related to radioactive waste facility.

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  • (1) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, each county shall prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-range general plan:
    • (a) for present and future needs of the county;
    • (b)
      • (i) for growth and development of all or any part of the land within the unincorporated portions of the county; or
      • (ii) if a county has designated a mountainous planning district, for growth and development of all or any part of the land within the mountainous planning district; and
    • (c) as a basis for communicating and coordinating with the federal government on land and resource management issues.
  • (2) To promote health, safety, and welfare, the general plan may provide for:
    • (a) health, general welfare, safety, energy conservation, transportation, prosperity, civic activities, aesthetics, and recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities;
    • (b) the reduction of the waste of physical, financial, or human resources that result from either excessive congestion or excessive scattering of population;
    • (c) the efficient and economical use, conservation, and production of the supply of:
      • (i) food and water; and
      • (ii) drainage, sanitary, and other facilities and resources;
    • (d) the use of energy conservation and solar and renewable energy resources;
    • (e) the protection of urban development;
    • (f) the protection and promotion of air quality;
    • (g) historic preservation;
    • (h) identifying future uses of land that are likely to require an expansion or significant modification of services or facilities provided by each affected entity; and
    • (i) an official map.
  • (3)
    • (a) The general plan shall:
      • (i) allow and plan for moderate income housing growth; and
      • (ii) contain a resource management plan for the public lands, as defined in Section 63L-6-102, within the county.
    • (b) On or before December 1, 2019, a county with a general plan that does not comply with Subsection (3)(a)(i) shall amend the general plan to comply with Subsection (3)(a)(i).
    • (c) The resource management plan described in Subsection (3)(a)(ii) shall address:
      • (i) mining;
      • (ii) land use;
      • (iii) livestock and grazing;
      • (iv) irrigation;
      • (v) agriculture;
      • (vi) fire management;
      • (vii) noxious weeds;
      • (viii) forest management;
      • (ix) water rights;
      • (x) ditches and canals;
      • (xi) water quality and hydrology;
      • (xii) flood plains and river terraces;
      • (xiii) wetlands;
      • (xiv) riparian areas;
      • (xv) predator control;
      • (xvi) wildlife;
      • (xvii) fisheries;
      • (xviii) recreation and tourism;
      • (xix) energy resources;
      • (xx) mineral resources;
      • (xxi) cultural, historical, geological, and paleontological resources;
      • (xxii) wilderness;
      • (xxiii) wild and scenic rivers;
      • (xxiv) threatened, endangered, and sensitive species;
      • (xxv) land access;
      • (xxvi) law enforcement;
      • (xxvii) economic considerations; and
      • (xxviii) air.
    • (d) For each item listed under Subsection (3)(c), a county's resource management plan shall:
      • (i) establish findings pertaining to the item;
      • (ii) establish defined objectives; and
      • (iii) outline general policies and guidelines on how the objectives described in Subsection (3)(d)(ii) are to be accomplished.
  • (4)
    • (a) The general plan shall include specific provisions related to any areas within, or partially within, the exterior boundaries of the county, or contiguous to the boundaries of a county, which are proposed for the siting of a storage facility or transfer facility for the placement of high-level nuclear waste or greater than class C radioactive nuclear waste, as these wastes are defined in Section 19-3-303. The provisions shall address the effects of the proposed site upon the health and general welfare of citizens of the state, and shall provide:
      • (i) the information identified in Section 19-3-305;
      • (ii) information supported by credible studies that demonstrates that the provisions of Subsection 19-3-307(2) have been satisfied; and
      • (iii) specific measures to mitigate the effects of high-level nuclear waste and greater than class C radioactive waste and guarantee the health and safety of the citizens of the state.
    • (b) A county may, in lieu of complying with Subsection (4)(a), adopt an ordinance indicating that all proposals for the siting of a storage facility or transfer facility for the placement of high-level nuclear waste or greater than class C radioactive waste wholly or partially within the county are rejected.
    • (c) A county may adopt the ordinance listed in Subsection (4)(b) at any time.
    • (d) The county shall send a certified copy of the ordinance described in Subsection (4)(b) to the executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality by certified mail within 30 days of enactment.
    • (e) If a county repeals an ordinance adopted under Subsection (4)(b) the county shall:
      • (i) comply with Subsection (4)(a) as soon as reasonably possible; and
      • (ii) send a certified copy of the repeal to the executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality by certified mail within 30 days after the repeal.
  • (5) The general plan may define the county's local customs, local culture, and the components necessary for the county's economic stability.
  • (6) Subject to Subsection 17-27a-403(2), the county may determine the comprehensiveness, extent, and format of the general plan.
  • (7) If a county has designated a mountainous planning district, the general plan for the mountainous planning district is the controlling plan.
  • (8) Nothing in this part may be construed to limit the authority of the state to manage and protect wildlife under Title 23, Wildlife Resources Code of Utah.




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