Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall, without a permit from the Town Engineer, make any excavation in any public street or highway owned or maintained by the Town, lay any pipe, drain, sewer, conduit in or under or place any structure on any such public street or highway or leave upon, above or under the surface of any such public street or highway any material or equipment used or to be used for any of the foregoing purposes.
A. 
Every application for a permit required under this Article IV shall be made, in writing, to the Town Engineer on forms provided by the Town and shall include the following information, in addition to such other information as may reasonably be required by the Town Engineer: the approximate location of the proposed excavation, pipe, drain, sewer, conduit or structure; the purpose thereof; a careful estimate of the area of the proposed excavation or an accurate description of the proposed pipe, drain, sewer, conduit or structure; the date and time when work thereon will commence; and the period within which such work will be completed.
B. 
The Director of Public Works shall establish the permit fee, which fee shall be paid to the Town Engineer at the time such permit is issued. In addition, the permittee shall deposit with the Town Engineer the sum of not less than $100, which deposit, to the extent necessary, shall be applied toward the reasonable expenses incurred by the Town in replacing the pavement or surface of the street or highway following the excavation therein, any unexpended balance of such deposit to be returned to such permittee, provided that such deposit shall not be required of any public utility company authorized by law to conduct its operations in or through the Town.
C. 
Every application for such a permit under this Article IV shall include an agreement signed by the applicant to reimburse the Town for the reasonable expenses which it may incur in replacing the pavement or surface of the street or highway and to indemnify and save the Town harmless from any claim for injury to person or property arising out of prosecution of the work for which the permit is sought.
D. 
Every application for such a permit under this Article IV shall be accompanied by a bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Connecticut in the amount of $10,000, conditioned on faithful performance by the applicant of the requirements of this article with respect to the manner in which such excavation is to be made, provided that this provision shall be deemed to have been fulfilled if such applicant shall have on file with the Town Engineer a blanket bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in the state in an amount of $10,000. The Town Engineer may increase the amount of such bond from time to time as necessary to ensure faithful performance of the requirements of this article.
All permits issued under this Article IV shall be good for a period of 30 days from the date of issuance, and all work to be done thereunder shall be completed within such period to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer, provided that when, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, such work will require more than 30 days for its completion, he may issue a permit good for any period up to 90 days from the date of issuance, and provided further that the period of any such permit may be extended by the Town Engineer for good cause. Nothing herein contained shall limit the right of the Town Engineer to revoke any such permit at any time for cause.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, the financial responsibility of the applicant is not sufficient to enable such applicant to respond in damages to any claim for injury to person or property arising out of prosecution of the work for which the permit is sought, he may require that such applicant submit proof of public liability and property damage insurance with personal injury limits of not less than $1,000,000 and property damage limits of not less than $1,000,000. The Town Engineer may increase the amount of insurance required from time to time as necessary to protect the interests of the Town.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, the work for which such a permit is granted under this Article IV may interfere with any installation of an existing municipal storm or sanitary sewer or with any installment of a planned municipal sanitary sewer recommended by the Water Pollution Control Authority, he may require that the location or method of such work be changed to the extent necessary to avoid such interference and that such work be done in the presence of and to the satisfaction of a Town inspector. The reasonable expenses of such inspector shall be borne by the person doing such work.
Any person making any excavation shall erect and maintain a substantial railing, fence or barrier around the same and shall keep at and over such excavation a sufficient number of bright yellow lights to mark the same and to warn pedestrians and vehicles of its existence, which yellow lights shall be kept burning from sunset to sunrise until the work involved in such excavation is completed.
Any person making any excavation shall remove the pavement or surface of the street or highway with the least possible damage and shall place all excavated material where it will cause the least possible inconvenience to the public and, as soon as practicable, shall fill the hole resulting from such excavation, tamp or puddle the earth or other material therein in such manner that it will not settle and, except for the pavement or surface of the street or highway, shall restore the immediate area thereof to the condition in which it existed before such excavation was made, all with the approval and to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer. If any such excavation shall not be so refilled or if the area thereof shall not be so restored, the Town Engineer may do such refilling and restoration and charge the expense thereof against the permittee making such excavation. Nothing herein contained shall limit the right of the Town Engineer to allow the permittee to replace the pavement or surface of the street or highway with similar material in accordance with specifications approved by the Town Engineer or to require the permittee to replace the excavated material with such other material as the Town Engineer may specify whenever such excavated material is, in his opinion, unsuitable for backfill.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article IV, in any case of an emergency making an immediate excavation essential to the public health and safety, such excavation may be commenced without a permit, but notice of such excavation shall be given to the Town Engineer as soon as practicable after it is commenced and a permit then applied for. Such emergency excavations shall be made as nearly as practicable in conformity with the provisions of this article.
Any person violating any provision of this Article IV shall be subject to a fine of not more than $99 (or the maximum permitted by state law) or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, for each such violation. In addition to any other penalty provided by this Code, in the event of the refusal or neglect of any person to remedy or repair any dangerous or defective condition caused by or resulting from a violation of this article, the Town may remedy or repair the same and may assess the expense thereof against such person.
Nothing contained in this Article IV shall limit the right of the Water Pollution Control Authority to make regulations respecting connections to municipal sanitary sewers not inconsistent with this article.
The Public Works Department is authorized to supervise the installation of natural gas pipelines. The Director of Public Works shall have power to adopt regulations prescribing standards for the construction of natural gas lines in the public streets of the Town.