A. 
Maximum slope steepness of a cut shall be two horizontal to one vertical for minimizing erosion and landslide hazards. However, a governmental review agency or a registered soils engineer may determine the types of soil on the site from the soil survey, other standard surveys, geological surveys, or core borings; maximum slopes can then be determined as follows.
B. 
Landslide-prone soils or unstable rock formations where existing slopes are less than 25% shall have proposed cut slopes no steeper than that are recommended by a registered soils engineer. A document signed and sealed by said engineer shall be forwarded to the Township prior to approval of the grading permit. Soil survey map symbols for landslide prone soils are:
(1) 
UGB urban land: Guernsey complex, gently sloping, 0% to 8% slope.
(2) 
UGD urban land: Guernsey complex, moderately sloping, 8% to 25% slope.
C. 
Cut slopes which are steeper than those specified above may be allowed under a grading permit, provided one or both of the following are satisfied:
(1) 
The material in which the excavation is made is sufficiently stable to sustain a slope steeper than the slope specified above for soil conditions on the site. A written statement, signed and sealed by a registered soils engineer, stating that the steeper slope will have sufficient stability and that risk of creating a hazard will be slight, must be submitted to the Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer.
(2) 
A retaining wall or other approved support designed, signed and sealed by a professional structural engineer and approved by the administrator is provided to support the fact of excavation.
D. 
The top or bottom edge of slopes shall be set back from adjacent property lines or streets right-of-way by six feet in order to permit the normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the abutting property or street.
E. 
Before commencing any excavation which will in any way affect an adjoining property or structures thereon, the person making the excavation shall notify in writing the owners of the adjacent property or buildings not less than 30 days before such excavation is to be made that the proposed excavation is to be started. Copies of all such notices shall be supplied to the Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer.
F. 
The Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer, on recommendation of the Township Engineer, may require an excavation to be made with a cut slope flatter than those specified above if he finds the material in which the excavation is to be made is unusually subject to erosion or if other conditions exist which, under applicable engineering practice, make such flatter cut slope necessary for stability and safety. The Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer may also require additional safety requirements including, but not limited to, posting of the property, the fencing off of the slopes specifying a flatter exposed slope, construction of additional drainage facilities, berms, terracing, compaction or cribbing, or the fencing off of a dangerous area in order to ensure safety to the community.
G. 
Excavations adjacent to any footing, foundation or structure shall not extend below the minimum angle of repose or national slope of the soil under the nearest point of same unless such footing, foundation or structure is first properly underpinned or otherwise protected against settlement.
A. 
No fill shall be made in the Township which creates a slope steeper than one vertical to two horizontal. However, the Township, on the advice and recommendation of a registered soils engineer, may impose conditions requiring that a fill be constructed with an exposed surface flatter than two horizontal to one vertical if the soils engineer states that under the particular circumstances involved such flatter surface is necessary for stability and for the safety of persons and property.
B. 
Whenever a fill is to be made of materials other than clean soil or earth, the grading permit shall be subject to the following additional limitations and requirements:
(1) 
Fill shall be completed within a reasonable length of time as determined by the Township Engineer and specified on the grading permit.
(2) 
Clean soil or earth shall be placed over the top and exposed surfaces of the fill to a depth sufficient to effectively conceal all materials used in the fill other than clean soil or earth. If the filling operation is intermittent, the Township Engineer may require that the top and exposed surfaces of the fill be so covered at the completion of each lift.
(3) 
No fill of any kind shall be placed over topsoil, trees, stumps or other material which would create a nuisance, potential fire hazard or sanitary problem such as decomposition which would attract rodents, termites or other pests.
C. 
Where fills are located so that earth movement may result in personal injury or damage to adjacent property, streets, alleys or buildings, the buildings, the bearing value and stability of the material under proposed fills and embankments shall be determined by subsurface investigation performed by a registered soils professional engineer.
D. 
Rock may be incorporated into fills and embankments but only in layers 24 inches thick, maximum, as per the latest edition of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Specifications Publication 408, with voids filled and a blanket of compacted fill separating one layer of rock from the next. Rock fill shall not be placed near the bottom of foundations, building caissons and subsurface utility installations. Suitable earth shall be reserved or provided to cover rock fill under proposed seeded or planted areas.
E. 
No unsuitable material including, but not limited to, the following shall be placed in fill areas: coal, boney, red-dog, expansive shale cinders, wood or solid waste decomposable material.
F. 
On major fills or embankments, a toe bench shall be constructed below the mantle under the toe of the fill. A porous drain and a discharge pipe shall be installed on the bottom and the back wall of the toe bench.
G. 
All fills and embankments shall be installed in accordance with the requirements set forth in the latest edition of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Specifications Publication 408 and any special provisions as specified by a registered soils engineer.
H. 
The top or bottom edge of final slope shall be set back at least three feet from adjacent property lines or street right-of-way lines in order to permit the normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the abutting property or street and to allow for location of proper drainage facilities and protective devices.
I. 
For all fills or embankments, a compaction test shall be required at the end of each eight-inch lift, prior to the start of the next lift of material.
A. 
If a retaining wall is constructed to satisfy a requirement of this chapter, a building permit, as provided for by other Township regulations, shall not be required, the grading permit will apply to the retaining wall, and the requirements for inspections, etc., as stated herein will be complied with.
B. 
Retaining walls must be designed and constructed in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 160, Construction Codes, Uniform.
C. 
An exception to this requirement may be applied for and granted by the Board of Supervisors after approval of the Township Engineer if it can be satisfactorily demonstrated that such an exception is necessary to ensure normal use of the property, that is, for a side-line driveway.
D. 
The requirement of this section may also be set aside when the proposed retaining wall is a joint venture between adjacent property owners and appropriate documents so stating are filed with the application for the permit.
A. 
Adequate provisions shall be made to prevent surface water from damaging the cut face of excavations and/or the sloping surface of fills and/or adjacent properties. Interception and diversion facilities for stormwater and surface water runoff, both above and below the cut area during and after construction, shall be included in the design.
B. 
Drainage ditches shall be constructed at the toe and top of cut and fill slopes to divert the surface water to drainage facilities during and after construction.
C. 
Drainage ditches with a grade of 5% or greater shall be lined with concrete, bituminous material, adequately sized rock, brick half pipe, rubble or other hard surface material.
D. 
All methods and materials must comply with the standards and requirements applicable to a subdivision or land development.
E. 
The Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer, on written recommendation of the Township Engineer, may approve methods and materials recommended by governmental agencies, professional engineers and architects, when they are more suitable to the site in preventing damage. Private drainage facilities of any nature shall be at least designed to accommodate the ten-year storm event.
A. 
An erosion and sediment pollution control plan shall be submitted which complies with all standards and requirements applicable to a subdivision or land development.
B. 
In order to prevent erosion, the permit holder shall be required to provide adequate ground covering as specified for a subdivision or land development.
A. 
The owner of any property on which an excavation or fill has been made shall maintain in good condition and repair the excavation or fill permitted and also all retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures, fences, ground cover and any other protective devices as may be a part of the permit requirements.
B. 
If at any time subsequent to the completion of the grading work the cut face or fill slope shows evident signs of deterioration, erosion or other evidence which might be detrimental to the properties above or below the grading site, Independence Township, upon the recommendation of its engineer, may direct the property owner to take whatever necessary remedial steps are deemed necessary to restore the grading area to a safe condition and to do so in a reasonable period of time.
C. 
If after such notification the property owner has not made the necessary repairs within the allotted time, the Board of Supervisors may direct Township employees to make the required repairs, and the cost thereof shall be borne by the property owner by a lien filed and provided by law.
A. 
The top and bottom edge of slopes shall be at least six feet from adjacent property lines in order to permit the normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the abutting property or street.
B. 
The owner of the property being graded shall be responsible to protect and clean up lower properties of silt and debris which have washed down onto the lower properties as a result of the grading work on the higher property and restore lower properties to their original condition.
C. 
In order to prevent the denuding of the landscape, large trees and other natural features constituting important, physical, aesthetic and economic assets to the impending development work shall be preserved.
D. 
All buffer zones shall conform to the applicable zoning designation.