[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
South Fayette 7-9-1975 by Ord. No. 295.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes dynamite, nitroglycerin, fulminates, nitro- and amido- compounds,
detonators, primers, fuses, blasting caps, blasting powder and all classes
of explosive used in and about blasting in coal-stripping operations, quarries,
excavation, construction and similar work.
No person or persons, partner or partnership, corporation or corporations
shall engage in blasting activities within the Township of South Fayette until
all requirements of this chapter have been complied with. No person or persons,
partner or partners, corporation or corporations shall engage in blasting
in the Township of South Fayette unless they have in their continuous employ
a blaster who is a holder of a blaster's license issued by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and maintained continuously in force. A photocopy or other
clear reproduction of the blaster's license or licenses currently in
force shall be kept continuously on file at the township offices.
Blasting or blasting activities are strictly prohibited in any part
of the Township of South Fayette, except that any person or persons, partner
or partnership, corporation or corporations shall make application with the
Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of South Fayette, who is authorized
to grant a permit in proper instances for blasting, which blasting shall be
done under said Code Enforcement Officer's supervision, instructions
and specifications. Application for permits shall be in writing and shall
set forth the name, residence and occupation of the applicant, if a person,
or, if a firm or corporation, then its name and principal place of business.
The application shall be submitted by the person, firm or corporation actually
engaging in the blasting operation, except that if the applicant is not the
owner or lessor of the property on which the blasting activities are to be
conducted, said owner or lessor shall be required to be party to the application
for said blasting permit.
Applications for permits to use explosives shall state the location
where explosives are to be used, the kind and quantity of explosives, the
character of the work and the name of the person or persons directly in charge
of blasting.
The fee for obtaining said permit from the Code Enforcement Officer
in the Township of South Fayette is as adopted by resolution from time to
time by the Board of Commissioners and on file in the township offices, payable
in advance to the Township of South Fayette.
Where not more than 1/4 pound of dynamite or its equivalent is used,
no permit is necessary.
A.
No permit shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer
unless the applicant submits with the application a certificate of insurance
issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and in a form acceptable to the Township Solicitor, certifying
that the applicant has, in full force and effect, a policy of public liability
insurance, including a specific endorsement covering all liabilities that
might arise from blasting, and providing bodily injury and wrongful death
coverage of not less than $1,000,000 for each and every injury arising out
of any incident and $1,000,000 for any property damage. Such certificate shall
also disclose that the policy shall incorporate provisions as follows:
(1)
The Township of South Fayette shall be held harmless
from all claims, actions and proceedings brought against it for injury to
person or property resulting from or occasioned by such blasting operation;
(2)
It shall not be canceled, terminated or modified unless
10 days' prior written notice is given to the Township of South Fayette
by registered mail addressed to the Board of Commissioners and the Code Enforcement
Officer; and
(3)
The presence of an inspector or engineer on behalf of
the Township of South Fayette at the site of such blasting operation shall
not affect the obligation of the insurer under the policy.
B.
No permit shall be valid unless such insurance is in
full force and effect during the entire term of the permit.
A.
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer finds that blasting
is being carried out in a dangerous or careless manner or that the person
or persons in charge of the blasting operations or any employee or employees
are careless or not properly acquainted with or trained in safe methods of
conducting blasting operations, he shall have the authority to require that
such incompetent persons be replaced with competent persons, or, in the event
that such order is not obeyed, the Code Enforcement Officer shall have power
to cause the discontinuance of the blasting operations involved until such
time as the proper precautions and methods of conducting the blasting operations
are adopted. In addition, the Code Enforcement Officer may temporarily revoke
any permit heretofore issued and approved in the following instances:
(1)
Where he finds that there has been any false statement
or misrepresentation as to a material fact in the application, plans or specifications
on which the permit was based; or
(2)
Where he finds that the permit was issued in error and
should not have been issued in accordance with the applicable law.
B.
Upon any such revocation, the permittee shall be entitled
to a hearing regarding the cause therefor at the next regular Township Meeting
or at a special meeting called by the township for such purpose. After such
hearing, the Code Enforcement Officer shall either reinstate the permit or
make the revocation permanent.
The Code Enforcement Officer or the person designated by him shall have
the power to fix a danger area around all blasting operations and to approve
or disapprove the methods of conducting blasting operations and of the safeguards
employed, as in his opinion the safety of the work and the location may require.
In no case shall blasting be done on Sundays or between the hours of 7:00
p.m. and 8:00 a.m. daily, except when otherwise specifically permitted, in
writing, by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of South Fayette.
A.
At least three minutes before firing a blast, the person
undertaking such blasting operation shall give warning thereof by causing
a competent man carrying a red flag to be stationed at a reasonable distance
from the blast on all sides of the blast on any path, lane, street, road or
highway or other avenue of approach capable of use by the public. None but
authorized persons shall be permitted within the area protected by the signs
during the blasting operations.
B.
In all cases, signs at least 36 inches by 36 inches bearing
the words "DANGER, BLASTING OPERATIONS UNDERWAY - NO RADIO TRANSMISSION" or
similar language, printed in red, shall be posted on all sides of the blast
at a reasonable distance from the blast. At least four such signs shall be
so posted. Such posting shall occur at least by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the
blast, and such signs shall be removed after the blasting operations are completed.
Except for very deep blast holes, all coal, earth or rock subject to
the effects of the blast shall be covered with a heavy mattress of rope, a
layer of timber secured together by a chain or other protection approved by
the Code Enforcement Officer of South Fayette Township that will prevent objects
from being thrown.
A.
Blasting activities shall be so conducted that ground
vibrations, airborne noise or the maximum total energy ratio measured at the
nearest structure or building not owned or leased by the individual or corporation
conducting the blasting does not exceed the standards established by this
local law.
B.
Ground vibrations emanating from blasting activities
shall not produce a total peak particle velocity in excess of 1.92 inches
per second at the location aforesaid.
C.
The maximum total energy ratio shall not exceed 1.0 at
the location aforesaid.
D.
Allowable quantities of explosives. In the absence of
approved methods of instrumentation, to restrict vibrations to the levels
specified in this chapter, the quantity of explosives used in blasting shall
not exceed the quantities in the following table:
|
Blasting Quantity/Distance
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Distance from Blast Area to Nearest Structure Not Owned or Leased
by Individual or Corporation Conducting Blasting
(feet)
|
Maximum Poundage per Delay Interval
| |
|
100
|
4
| |
|
200
|
16
| |
|
300
|
38
| |
|
400
|
64
| |
|
500
|
100
| |
|
600
|
144
| |
|
700
|
196
| |
|
800
|
256
| |
|
900
|
324
| |
|
1,000
|
400
| |
|
1,200
|
576
| |
A record shall be kept of every blast, showing the amount of total powder
and the total number of holes, and all records shall be retained at least
until the end of the calendar year next following the year in which the record
is made. All such records shall be open to inspection by any authorized representative
of the Township of South Fayette, and one copy of each shall be furnished
to him, without charge, at his request. At least one copy of the records required
by this section shall be maintained at the quarry, mine office or construction
blasting site at all times. The recorded data shall include:
A.
The number of holes;
B.
The kind and quantity of explosives;
C.
The kind of blasting caps and the delay interval;
D.
The date and time of firing;
E.
The name of the person in responsible charge of loading
and firing, and the blasting permit number;
F.
The signature of the blaster making the report; and
G.
The name and location of quarry or construction site.
A.
The Code Enforcement Officer may order, on his initiative
and without prior consent, four recordings of the seismic and air-pressure
effects of the blasting activity of any regular blasting operation within
the blasting area during the course of each calendar year.
B.
Seismograph and air-pressure readings of blasts shall
be taken by a qualified person regularly or frequently employed in the business
of seismograph readings and competent to qualify as an expert witness to the
results.
C.
The recorded data shall include the following:
(1)
Identification of the instrument used;
(2)
The name of the observer;
(3)
The name of the interpreter;
(4)
The distance and direction of the recording station from
the area of detonation;
(5)
The type of ground at the recording station or location
in the structure;
(6)
Maximum amplitudes for all components, as well as the
resultant for all recorded frequencies of vibrations;
(7)
The duration of motion in excess of 0.001 inch;
(8)
The frequency of ground motion, in cycles per second;
(9)
The maximum energy ratio or particle velocity; and
(10)
A copy of the photographic records of the seismograph
readings.
D.
If any such monitoring shall disclose an apparent violation
of the limits established by this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer may
require four additional recordings. All recording shall be at the expense
of the corporation or person conducting the activity but under the exclusive
supervision, schedule and control of the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township
of South Fayette. Any additional blasts found to exceed the limits of this
chapter shall occasion an additional series of four recordings.
[Amended 7-11-1988 by Ord. No. 359]
A.
Any person who shall violate, cause or participate in
any violation of any provision of this chapter or any condition, rule or regulation
imposed or promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall be deemed
to have committed an offense.
B.
Every violation of any provision in this chapter or any
condition, rule or regulation imposed or promulgated under the authority of
this chapter shall be a separate and distinct offense, and in the case of
a continuing violation, every day's continuance thereof shall be deemed
a separate and distinct offense. A conviction of any such violation shall
be punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, plus costs
of prosecution for each offense, and, in default of payment of such fine and
costs, to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days.[1]
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to waive any of
the requirements of this chapter when such waiver is requested in writing
and when the granting of the waiver, in his opinion, would not be detrimental
to the general health, welfare and safety of the residents of the Township
of South Fayette.
