Wherever used in the chapter, the following words shall have
the meanings indicated:
BUILDING PERMIT
Any permit required by the applicable ordinance or any amendment
thereto.
ENGINEER
The appointed Engineer of the Township.
EXCAVATION
Any act or the result of such act by which earth, sand, gravel,
rock or any other similar material is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered,
removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed, and shall include the
conditions resulting therefrom.
FILL
Any act or the result of such act by which earth, sand, gravel,
rock or any other material is deposited, placed, pushed, dumped, pulled,
transported or moved to a new location, and shall include the conditions
resulting therefrom.
GRADE
The elevation of the existing ground surface at the location
of any proposed excavation or fill.
GRADING
Excavation or fill, or any combination thereof, and shall
include the conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
PERSON
A natural person, partnership or corporation and their heirs,
successors and assigns.
SITE
A lot, tract or parcel of land or a series of lots, tracts
or parcels of land which are adjoining, where grading work is continuous
and performed at the same time.
New grading, excavations and fills or changes, additions, repairs
or alterations made to existing excavations and fills shall conform
to the provisions of this chapter, except that this chapter shall
not apply to:
A. Work when done by the Township, Washington County or the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or authorized by the Township, Washington County
or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in a public street or alley or
in a Township park, playground or recreation area or on other municipal
property.
No person shall commence or perform any grading, excavation
or fill without first having obtained a grading permit from the Zoning
Officer and approval from the Engineer. A separate grading permit
shall be required for each site. One permit may cover the grading,
excavation and any fill made on the same site. A grading permit will
not be required, however, in any of the following situations, but
in all other respects the provisions of this chapter shall apply:
A. No grading permit shall be required for any excavation which is to
be made which does not exceed 100 cubic yards in amount at any one
site and the cut slope does not exceed one vertical to two horizontal
and where the top of the cut face will be entirely inside a line three
feet from the property in which the excavation is to be made.
B. No grading permit shall be required when a fill is to be made which
does not exceed 100 cubic yards in amount at any one site and the
slope does not exceed at any point three horizontal to one vertical
and the bottom line of the fill slope will be entirely inside a line
three feet from the property lines of the property on which the fill
is placed.
[Amended 8-24-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02]
C. No grading permit will be required for any excavations and backfill
made below finished grade for basements or footers, home swimming
pools or activity for which an underground building permit has been
properly issued by the Township, and no grading permit shall be required
for the temporary stockpiling of the material from such excavation
on the same site; provided, however, that if the material from such
excavation is thereafter to be used for fill for which a grading permit
is required, such permit must be obtained prior to such use in accordance
with the requirements of this chapter. In addition, if excavated material
is stockpiled on a site for a period longer than 120 days, then a
permit shall be required when disposing of the fill material.
[Amended 8-24-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02; 2-27-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-03]
In addition to the escrow, an applicant may be required to provide
a performance bond as determined by the Engineer after review of the
application. The escrow will cover the Township's costs, Engineer's
review and inspection fees and must be maintained for the duration
of the grading permit. The bond shall inure to the benefit of the
Township and be conditioned upon the faithful performance to the satisfaction
of the Engineer of the work required under the terms and conditions
of the grading permit. In lieu of such bond, a cash deposit or certified
check in the same amount may be delivered to the Township Treasurer
for deposit.
Every grading permit shall expire by limitation and become null
and void if the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced
within three months or is not completed within one year from the date
of issue, provided that the Board of Supervisors, acting upon the
recommendation of the Engineer, may, if the permit holder presents
satisfactory evidence that unusual difficulties have prevented work
being started or completed within the specified time limits, grant
a reasonable extension of time; and provided, further, that the application
for the extension of time is made before the date of expiration of
the permit.
In case any work is performed by any person in violation of
any of the provisions of this chapter, the Board of Supervisors of
the Township, in addition to other remedies, may institute in the
name of the Township any appropriate action or proceeding, whether
by legal process or otherwise, to prevent such unlawful work and to
restrain or abate such violation.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to relieve an applicant
of the responsibility of complying with all applicable regulations
of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and/or
other commonwealth agencies, including but no limited to acquiring
any and all permits required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection and/or other commonwealth agencies.