[Adopted 10-10-2001 by Ord. No. 971]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "White Township Hauling Ordinance." "Township," when used herein,
refers to White Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
No person, firm, partnership, corporation, business
entity or any other party (hereinafter "hauler") shall transport or
haul any materials, cargo, freight, equipment or other items that
result in a gross weight, including the weight of the vehicle, in
excess of 10 tons, on a posted White Township road or bridge, unless
and until the hauler and the Township have entered into an excess
maintenance agreement, the Township has granted a permit for such
of any Township road and/or bridge which will be used by the hauler.
For the purposes of this article, local traffic
shall include school buses, emergency vehicles, vehicles making local
deliveries, vehicles of governmental agencies and utilities or their
contractors engaged in construction or maintenance on a posted highway
or bridge or in a location which can be reached only by way of a posted
road or bridge. Local traffic, as defined in this article, having
a gross weight in excess of a posted weight limit, may exceed said
posted weight limit unless the Township Supervisors, or their designated
representative, determine that such vehicle or vehicles having a gross
weight in excess of the posted weight limit, being driven to or from
a particular destination or destinations, are likely to damage a Township
road or bridge. If the Supervisors determine that one or more over
posted weight vehicle which otherwise meets the definition of local
traffic is likely to damage a Township road or bridge, the Supervisors
will so notify the registrant or owner, or both, of the over posted
weight vehicle of the destination or destinations and will also notify
state and local police. After two business days following delivery
of the notice or after five days following mailing of the notice,
such over posted weight vehicles shall not exceed the posted weight
limits except in accordance with the provisions of this article relating
to use under permit.
A Township road or bridge shall include any
roadway or bridge, including the right-of-way, laid out or accepted
by the Board of Supervisors of White Township, but not including any
federal or state highways or bridges within White Township. Permitting
shall only be required on Township roads or bridges or sections thereof
wherein signs have been posted.
Application for an overweight vehicle permit
as set forth herein shall be made, in writing, in accordance with
such rules and regulations as may be established by the said Township.
Application shall be made to the White Township Code Enforcement Officer.
[Amended 11-14-2001 by Res. No. 7-01]
No permit shall be issued unless and until a
bond of a kind and with such security as is determined by the said
Supervisors to be satisfactory according to the type of road or bridge
affected, distance of the road or bridge to be used and anticipated
damage is reviewed, approved and executed by the said Supervisors.
To secure the performance of the permittee's obligations as set forth
in this section, the permittee shall execute and deliver to the Township
of White the following type(s) of security:
A.
Any permit shall not be issued unless and until an
excess maintenance agreement, satisfactory to the Supervisors, is
signed by the hauler and the Supervisors. The excess maintenance agreement
shall have such terms as may be required by the Supervisors. In addition
to the provisions of the excess maintenance agreement, the Township
reserves the right to suspend use of the road or bridge by the permitted
party on prior notice due to maintenance or because of inclement weather
or climatic conditions.
B.
The permitted party shall be responsible for the road
or bridge or section of road or bridge for which the permit is granted
until the posted security is released by the Township or unless otherwise
mutually agreed by the Township and permittee. Any maintenance or
restoration of any permitted section or road or bridge shall use such
materials and be done in such a fashion as is satisfactory to the
Supervisors. Each excess maintenance agreement shall have terms and
conditions allowed by law and those additional terms deemed necessary
by the Supervisors.
The Township may require, if the heavy hauling
adversely affects the road or bridge beyond normal vehicular traffic,
that no permit shall be issued unless and until the party or parties
seeking the permit submits an erosion and sedimentation control plan
that complies with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
regulations, as contained in Title 25 Pennsylvania Code Chapter 102,
and its amendments.
The White Township Code Enforcement Officer
shall approve or disapprove any application for a permit with 30 days
after submission of all required documentation. The Township need
not take any action on an application until all required documentation
is submitted by the applicant. If no action whatsoever is taken within
30 days after all required and properly complete documentation has
been forwarded to the Township by the applicant, the applicant will
be permitted to use the road or bridge, pending a response from the
Supervisors.
Any security required to obtain a permit under
this article will remain in effect to indemnify the Township, should
any damage occur to any portion of the surface, berm, drains, culverts,
bridges or any other appurtenance or aspect of or pertaining to the
road or section thereof that is permitted, until released by the Township
in accordance with the terms of the excess maintenance agreement entered
into with the permittee. In the event excessive damage occurs, then
the permit may be revoked. The determination of damage shall be made
by the Supervisors, or their designated representatives, in their
sole discretion, and the Supervisors shall be satisfied that no damage
exists prior to the releasing of said security. The security shall
be any type allowable by law and of a form and type that is satisfactory
to the Supervisors. The amount of the security shall be based upon
a formula of $6,000 per mile for unpaved roads and $12,5000 per mile
for paved roads or of such greater amounts as shall be required, from
time to time, by revisions of the laws and regulations pertaining
to bonding amounts.
It shall be deemed to be an immediate violation
of the provisions and intent of this article if, in the sole discretion
of the Township, it is determined that at any time any portion of
the road or bridge or section thereof that is under permit becomes
damaged, impassable, unsafe or otherwise not in the condition of a
public thoroughfare due to the activity or use of the road or bridge
by the permittee.
Any party operating a vehicle upon a road or
bridge in violation of a prohibition or restriction imposed herein
is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced
to pay a fine of $750, except that any party convicted of operating
a vehicle with a gross weight in excess of a posted weight shall,
upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $150 plus $150 for
each 500 pounds, or part thereof, in excess of 3,000 pounds over the
maximum allowable weight. Furthermore, in the event of any violation,
as determined in the discretion of the Supervisors, the permit of
any party operating in the Township under this article shall be forfeited
and revoked. Each use of a Township road or bridge which constitutes
a violation of this article shall be treated as a separate and distinct
violation for purposes of this section.
The Supervisors, from time to time, shall have
the authority to enact the rules and regulations necessary to carry
out the provisions of this article by resolution.
