[Adopted 7-20-2000 by Ord. No. 1491]
A. 
The following words, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
BORE
To make a hole in or through with a rotating tool to produce a boring, the majority of which is to be filled by piping or conduit.
PERSON
Includes any natural person, partnership, firm, general contractor, association, corporation or public utility company.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The legally established right-of-way of any dedicated or adopted street or road and any right-of-way dedicated for public use, including but not limited to utility easements, sanitary sewer easements and access easements and stormwater management easements.
STREET
Any adopted public street, avenue, road, square, alley, highway or other public place located in the City of Butler and established for the use of vehicles, including the entire legal right-of-way of the street.
TUNNEL
A passageway, as under a street, building or sidewalk, to provide access to underground facilities.
B. 
In this article, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to open or to make any excavation of any kind in any of the streets or rights-of-way in the City of Butler without first securing a permit therefor, as hereinafter provided.
Any person desiring to make any opening or excavation in any of the streets or rights-of-way in the City of Butler shall make application to the Zoning Officer, in writing, upon blanks furnished by the City setting forth the name of the applicant, the exact location of the proposed opening or excavation and the approximate width or depth thereof, and the application shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant that the work shall be done in full compliance with the ordinances of the City and the laws of the commonwealth in relation thereto and that the applicant shall well and truly save, defend and keep harmless the City of Butler from and indemnify it against any and all actions, suits, demands, payments, costs and charges for or by reason of the proposed opening or excavation and all damages to persons or property resulting in any manner therefrom, or from any other matter, cause or thing relating thereto, or by any leak, explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit or any other matter placed in said excavation.
Before any permit shall be issued to open or excavate in any street or rights-of-way in the City, the applicants shall pay to the City of Butler a permit fee as designated by resolution of the Mayor and City Council. Utility companies may make arrangements with the City of Butler to be billed on a monthly basis.
All work done pursuant to a validly issued permit shall comply with all rules, regulations, policies, specifications and/or procedures approved from time to time by the City of Butler.
Any person opening a street or right-of-way shall assume all risks for the presence or proximity of pipes, wires, poles, tracks, walls, buildings and other structures and property, of every kind and description, in or over his trenches or in the vicinity of his work, whether above or below the surface of the ground; and he shall be responsible for all damages and assume all expense for direct or indirect damage caused by his work to any of them or injury to any person or property, whether such structures are or are not shown on the drawings. In no case shall a permittee open or remove a greater area of street surface than specified in the original application unless such work is under emergency conditions or a continuation of work beyond the regular workday. The permittee shall not open any street area at any location not specified in the original street opening permit. If the permittee determines during construction that an additional area of the street will have to be opened, he shall notify and secure permission from the Zoning Officer for the additional opening. Upon receipt of permission, the pennittee shall file a supplementary application for the work no later than the next workday. Fee amounts specified in the City's fee schedule shall be followed for any subsequent fees associated with supplementary applications.
The permittee shall guarantee and maintain his work for 36 months from the completion of the restoration and replacement work. Within this thirty-six-month period, upon notification from the City of necessary correction work required, the permittee shall correct or cause to be corrected all restoration work required within five working days of receipt of the notification. The Zoning Officer shall determine the extent of restoration required and the method of correction. Any and all work not completed within this five-day period may be completed by the City at the discretion of the Zoning Officer. The City shall invoice the permittee for all costs incurred by the City in perfomiance of this work. Utility companies are required to make permanent repairs within 30 days of all street openings except on those occasions when the thirty-day period covers more than one construction season.
The contractor shall be responsible for the condition of all excavations made by him and the proper shoring and bracing thereof. All slides and cave-ins shall be removed without extra compensation, whenever and however they may occur.
All work in connection with openings in any street or right-of-way, including but not limited to excavation protection, refilling and temporary paving, shall be done by the applicant at his sole expense, and such work shall be subject to the provisions of this article and to the approval of the City of Butler or such employee of the City as it may from time to time designate for that purpose, provided that the Mayor and Council may require that cutting the surface of improved streets and the backfilling of all excavations therein shall be done by the City and the charge therefore shall be paid by the applicant on the basis of actual cost of the work.
No tunneling shall be permitted without the express written approval of the Mayor and Council or its designee and permission therefor endorsed upon the permit. The backfilling of a tunnel excavation shall be made only in the presence of the City Engineer or an inspector designated by the City and shall be done only in a method approved by the City or its designee. All costs of inspection and supervision shall be paid by the applicant.
Backfilling shall be performed in a manner consistent with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) standards according to PennDOT Publication 408 as modified by the City of Butler and shall only be done after the Zoning Officer is notified and when completed by proper backfilling in the case of unimproved streets and by temporary paving in the case of improved streets and shall again notify the Zoning Officer. When backfilling must be completed after the regular workday, the permittee shall notify the Zoning Officer as soon as possible on the next regular workday.
In the case of any leak, explosion or other accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus, it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe, line, construction or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy such condition before securing a permit, provided that an application for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the second business day thereafter and that all other provisions of this article are fully complied with.
No opening shall be made in any street, alley or public place, or any permit issued therefor, during the months of January and February in any year, except in the case of emergency or absolute necessity, and then only upon express written authority of the City Engineer or his designee.
Any person violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than $100 nor more than $300 for each and every offense, together with costs, and, in default of payment thereof, shall be imprisoned not more than 30 days. Each failure to obtain a permit or to comply with the requirements of this article, and each and every day during which such violation continues, shall constitute a separate offense. The Zoning Officer reserves the right to deny the issuance of future street opening permits to any person who violates the provisions of this article. This provision in no way shall prohibit or limit the right of the City to bring legal action against the permittee.
Any person who fails to obtain a permit or who fails to properly conduct, replace or repair a street opening shall pay all reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the City of Butler to enforce the provisions of this article.