[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Montague as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 8-24-1999 by Ord. No. 99-05
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate and control the manner
in which utilities use, occupy, disturb and restore municipal streets
and rights-of-way. The provisions of this chapter establish the criteria
to be used by the Township of Montague in controlling such circumstances.
This chapter shall apply to all utilities including but not
limited to those as defined in N.J.A.C. 16:25-1.1 that are to be located,
adjusted, relocated, or otherwise accommodated within the rights-of-way
owned or controlled by the Township of Montague. Such utilities may
involve underground, surface, or overhead facilities, either singularly
or in combination, or new or replacement facilities constructed as
relocations, whether required by the township due to the existing
facility obstructing or interfering with the present or proposed use
of the street right-of-way or when such existing facilities are being
replaced, relocated, or otherwise substantially changed by the utility
owner for the owner's purposes or convenience, or pursuant to the
requirements of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter regulate the location, design,
and methods for installing, adjusting, accommodating, and maintaining
utilities on municipal street rights-of-way. These provisions are
not intended to alter current rules, regulations or authority for
installing utilities or for determining financial responsibility for
replacing or adjusting utilities. These provisions are limited to
matters which are the responsibility of municipal authorities for
preserving the integrity of municipal streets and safe operation thereon.
Where laws or orders of public authorities, industry or governmental
codes, or highway authorities prescribe a higher degree of protection
than provided by the provisions of this chapter, then the higher degree
of protection shall prevail.
Utility facility design and construction shall remain subject
to minimum safety standards and construction requirements prescribed
by respective national or industry standard codes. References in this
chapter to any such codes are intended to be to the current or amended
issue of the respective code as may be revised from time to time or
as may be superseded by later rules or regulations. In the absence
of applicable national, state or local regulatory agency standard
codes, the industry standard code shall apply and prevail.
It is the purpose of this chapter to accommodate efficient public
utility services in a manner conducive to the safety, durability and
economy of maintenance and operations. It is intended that the accommodation
will not adversely affect the design, construction, operation, maintenance
or stability of municipal streets; that it will not interfere with
or impair the present use or future expansion of municipal streets.
The following regulations and criteria shall control utility
installations and facilities within the contemplation of this chapter:
A.
The Township Committee or approving authority shall take under consideration
any claim of special need when a public utility demonstrates that
alternate locations for utility installations other than beneath,
within and upon municipal streets or rights-of-way are not available
or cannot be completed at a reasonable cost. No requested installation
shall be used for transmitting gases or liquids under pressure except
in strict accordance with prevailing laws and industry codes for the
same, nor for the transmission of products which are flammable, corrosive,
expansive, energized or unstable.
The facility or installation must present no hazard to life,
health or property if it fails or fails to function properly or is
severed or is otherwise damaged or discontinued. The utility shall
demonstrate how and to what extent an installation or facility is
maintenance-free is really so. Any utility crossings of municipal
streets are to be held to a practical minimum and, where permitted,
shall meet all applicable provisions of this chapter.
B.
Utility facilities and installations within a municipal street right-of-way
require a permit issued by the Township Committee or approving authority.
A utility agreement between a utility and the township shall serve
as a permit. Utility facilities must be located so as to permit servicing
such facilities with minimal interference to street traffic and to
minimize the need for later adjustments to accommodate future street
improvements.
C.
All longitudinal installations shall be located on or within uniform
alignment as near as practicable to the right-of-way line so as to
provide a safe environment for traffic operation and preserve space
for future street improvements or other utility installations. Wherever
a pole or similar installation is necessary and approved, such pole
shall be located behind an existing guide rail allowing sufficient
clear distance behind the guide rail for the guide rail's design deflection.
D.
In all cases, due consideration shall be given to the measures, pursuant
to good engineering principles and practices and economic factors,
necessary to preserve and protect the integrity and visual quality
of the street, its maintenance, efficiency, and the safety of street
traffic.
E.
All utility installations on, over, or under street rights-of-way
and attachments to street structures shall be of durable materials
designed for long-service life expectancy and shall be relatively
free from routine servicing and maintenance. On new installations
or adjustments of existing utility lines, provisions shall be made
for known or planned expansion of the utility facilities, particularly
those to be located underground. All utility lines shall be planned
so as to minimize hazards and interference with street traffic when
additional overhead or underground lines are installed at some future
date.
F.
The Township Committee may grant waivers from certain design standards
or other provisions of this chapter. No waiver may be granted unless
the waiver can be granted without substantial detriment to the safety,
operation and maintenance of the street, and without substantially
impairing the intent and purpose of this chapter.
G.
Pipelines.
(1)
For all crossings, the angle of crossing shall be based on economic
considerations and practical alternatives. The crossing shall be located
as near normal to the street alignment as practical. Conditions which
are generally unsuitable or undesirable for pipeline crossings should
be avoided, including locations such as deep cuts, footing locations,
intersections, cross drains where flow of water, drift or stream bed-load
may be obstructed and wet or rocky terrain where it appears difficult
to attain minimum bury standards.
(2)
Vertical and horizontal clearance between a pipeline and a structure
or other street or utility facility shall be sufficient to permit
maintenance of the pipeline and the other facilities.
(3)
The utility shall make adequate provisions for bury completion, giving
due consideration to potential increases in ditch depth resulting
from scour, ditch maintenance operations, or the need to increase
the capacity of the ditch. The depth of frost penetration shall be
taken into consideration in determining the bury. The bury shall be
sufficient so that the liquid transmitted shall not freeze. In addition,
the depth shall be sufficient to withstand the increased impact loads
transmitted through the frozen soil. In most cases, the bury over
pipelines shall be at a minimum of 36 feet; however, special consideration
shall be given on the basis of engineering and safety factors for
the area, product carried, the maximum working or test pressures for
the pipelines before allowing a departure from minimum depth. Where
less than minimum bury is made necessary because of other utilities,
water table, other regulations, or similar reasons, the pipe shall
be rerouted or else protected in a suitable manner approved by the
Township Committee or approving authority. Cover for pipelines carrying
transmittents which are flammable, corrosive, expansive, energized,
or unstable, particularly if carried at high pressure or potential,
must not be reduced below acceptable safety limits and shall only
be approved in strict accordance with industry codes and upon good
cause shown to the satisfaction of the Township Committee or approving
authority.
(4)
Adequate provisions shall be made for casings under appropriate circumstances;
where casings are unnecessary or unsuitable, suitable allied mechanical
protection shall be provided in accordance with N.J.A.C. 16:25-3.5
and N.J.A.C. 16:25-3.6. Any required or suitable and appropriate appurtenances
to pipeline installations such as vents, drains, markers, manholes,
and shut-offs shall be provided in accordance with N.J.A.C. 16:25-3.7.
(5)
Pipeline installation permits shall identify the transmittant, the
maximum working, test, or design pressures, and the design standards
for the carrier. When it is anticipated that there will be a change
in the transmittant or an increase in the maximum design pressure
as specified in the permit, the utility shall be required to give
the township advance notice and obtain approval for such changes.
(6)
The essential requirements for trench and backfill activities are
as follows: restoration of the structural integrity of the entrenched
roadbed; security of the pipe against deformation likely to cause
leakage; assurance against the trench becoming a drainage channel;
and assurance against drainage being blocked by the backfill.
(7)
The utility shall assure the integrity of the pavement structure,
shoulders, and embankment slopes. Details and specifications shall
recognize site-specific climate and soils. Trenched construction,
bedding and backfill are required to conform to specifications for
earth work and culverts as promulgated by the New Jersey Department
of Transportation.
(8)
The utility may propose installing pipelines under a street without
disturbing the surface by driving, quarrying, boring and wet-boring.
The requirements for a trenchless construction of this nature shall
be as provided in N.J.A.C. 16:25-3.11. Trenchless construction is
required for all new or replacement pipeline crossings wherever feasible.
Trenchless construction shall extend under and across the entire surfaced
area of the street. Portal limits of pipeline crossings shall be beyond
the surfaced area so as to avoid damaging the roadway during installation
of the pipeline. The oversize of the boring excavation shall be appropriately
restricted, and the township shall have the right, on a case-by-case
basis, to approve the specific conditions under which the void outside
the pipeline must be back-filled with grout.
(9)
A utility tunnel may be constructed for a pipeline crossing a street
at a strategic location where it is foreseen that several utility
crossings would be needed in the absence of a single utility tunnel
and where it is anticipated that the cost, disturbance and inconvenience
of such tunnel appears to be less than that which would result from
several trenched, untrenched or separately-encased pipelines. Where
such conditions exist, the Township Committee must be satisfied by
the utility that adequate study has been made by the cooperative utilities
to anticipate their respective needs for future crosssings and to
converge their facilities at a joint-use single crossing. In such
cases, provision shall be made to isolate mutually-hazardous transmittants,
such as fuels and electric energy, by compartmentalizing or by auxiliary
encasement of incompatible carriers. The utility tunnel shall conform
in appearance, location, bury, earthwork and markers to the culvert
practices of the Department of Transportation and as may be otherwise
provided in this chapter.
H.
Underground electric power and communication lines. Accepted methods
of installing under-ground electric power communication lines shall
include trenching or conduit, duct construction or uncased buried
cable; direct burial for plowing and buried cable and jacking or pushing
of pipe as conduit; and trenchless installation under suitable conditions.
Underground utility construction shall conform to all applicable codes,
standards and specifications, and shall otherwise conform to the requirements
of N.J.A.C. 16:25-7.2.
I.
Safety and restoration of provisions.
(1)
The area disturbed by utility installations or relocations shall be kept to a minimum. Restoration methods shall be in accordance with the standards of this chapter and the standards of the Department of Transportation contained at N.J.A.C. Chapter 25. Care shall be taken to avoid disturbing existing drainage facilities, including subbase drainage. Under-drains shall be provided for entrapped water where necessary.
(2)
Underground utility facilities shall be backfilled with suitable
material and drainage outlets provided for entrapped water. No jetting
or puddling shall be permitted under the street.
(3)
No material or equipment shall be stored on township property except
during working operations unless approved by the Township Committee
or approving authority.
(4)
The utility shall restore all portions of the work area to accommodate
traffic or pedestrians during non-work hours.
(5)
The surface shall be restored to a smooth and sound condition which
shall meet or exceed preexisting and surrounding conditions.
(6)
The utility shall be prohibited from spraying, cutting and trimming
of trees without an agreement or a permit issued by the township.
(7)
All work performed within the municipal street right-of-way and property
under the jurisdiction of the Township of Montague and all signs,
markings or other traffic control devices used by the utility shall
be in compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
for Streets and Highways (1988), as amended and supplemented, incorporated
herein by reference; the N.J. DOT "Standard Specifications for Road
and Bridge Construction (1996)," as amended and supplemented, incorporated
herein by reference and the N.J. DOT "Standards Roadway Construction/Traffic
Control/Bridge Construction Details (Oct. 1996)" as amended and supplemented,
incorporated herein by reference. A traffic control plan shall be
developed and approved for all utility permit work in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 16:41.
(8)
The utility shall be responsible for maintaining the uninterrupted
flow of traffic at all times, unless otherwise specified in the permit
or agreement.
(9)
All utility facilities shall be kept in good state of repair both
structurally and aesthetically. The utility permit or agreement shall
identify the maintenance operations which are permitted and indicate
situations where prior notification to the township is required.
J.
Before disturbance or other physical commencement of work, the Township
Committee or approving authority may require and shall accept in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter for purpose of assuring the stabilization
and restoration of any disturbance, the furnishing of a restoration
guarantee in the form of a bond or suitable letter of credit in an
amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of restoration as determined
by the Municipal Engineer according to accepted methods of calculation.
The Municipal Engineer shall, in such cases, prepare an itemized estimate
of the stabilization and restoration costs covered by the guarantee,
which estimate shall be appended to the guarantee as and when posted
by the obligor. If the utility does not complete the improvements
properly or within a reasonable time, and the same is not corrected
upon demand by the Township Committee or approving authority, the
obligor and surety, shall be liable thereon to the township for the
reasonable costs of the stabilization or restoration not completed
or corrected, and the township may either prior to or after the receipt
of the proceeds thereof complete such stabilization or restoration.
[Adopted 2-22-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-01]
A.
Intent;
policy.
(1)
It is
the intent of this article to establish uniform procedures to reimburse
residents for damage to mailboxes due to the snow-removal operations
of the Township’s Department of Public Works ("DPW"). The primary
objective of these snow removal operations ("primary objective") is
to ensure that the Township’s roadways are as clear as possible
of snow and/or ice. It is also understood that most mailboxes are
located within the public right-of-way, and therefore while fulfilling
the primary objective, mailboxes may be unintentionally and unavoidably
damaged. This policy assumes there is a shared responsibility between
the Township and the homeowner when mailboxes located in the public
right-of-way are damaged during snow-removal operations.
(2)
While
there is no legal requirement that the Township do so, it is the policy
of the Township of Montague to reimburse residents up to $20 for eligible
damage to mailboxes caused by direct plow contact on the part of the
DPW ("mailbox damage"). Nothing in this article shall be construed
to entitle any resident to reimbursement for damage caused by the
weight or placement of thrown snow, nor shall this article be construed
to entitle any resident to reimbursement prior to an investigation
and determination by the Foreman of the DPW that the claimed damage
is eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this article.
B.
Eligibility.
The reimbursement provisions of this article shall only apply to those
residents who satisfy the following criteria:
(1)
The
mailbox at issue had, prior to the Mailbox Damage, been securely anchored
in the ground to resist the impact of plowed snow.
(2)
The
damaged mailbox and mailbox post had, prior to the mailbox damage,
met the requirements of the United States Postal Service, as well
as all other applicable regulations in regard to construction and
location. Mailboxes that do not meet the requirements of the United
States Postal Service and/or any other applicable regulation are not
eligible for reimbursement.
(3)
The
mailbox and mailbox post had been in good condition and repair prior
to the mailbox damage.
(4)
The
mailbox damage must have been caused by direct contact with Township
plows or snow-removal equipment. The Township will not provide reimbursement
for damage to mailboxes or posts caused solely by snow thrown from
Township plows or snow-removal equipment.
(5)
The
affected resident must notify the Township within 30 days of the date
the mailbox damage occurred, unless the resident was on an extended
stay away from the residence at issue, in which case that Township
must be notified of the damage within seven days of the resident’s
return ("time frame"). Damage reported outside of this time frame
will not be eligible for reimbursement.
C.
Procedure;
investigation.
(1)
Within
the time frame described above, a resident making a claim for reimbursement
pursuant to this article shall contact the DPW to file the claim.
(2)
After
submission of the claim, the Foreman of the DPW ("Foreman") shall
investigate the mailbox damage to determine whether the mailbox damage
was caused by the plow blade or vehicle itself, rather than thrown
snow.
(3)
If it
is determined the mailbox damage was caused by the plow blade or vehicle,
the resident will be reimbursed in an amount not to exceed $20 for
a new mailbox and/or post. If it is determined that the mailbox damage
was not caused by the plow blade or vehicle, no reimbursement will
be given. All actual repairs and/or replacements shall be the responsibility
of the resident.
(4)
If possible,
repairs of mailbox damage shall be made by the DPW before reimbursement
will be paid by the Township to repair the damage.
(5)
If the
homeowner wishes to purchase their own mailbox, a request for reimbursement
shall be made in writing to the Township Clerk.
