[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Upper Pottsgrove 7-22-2002 by Ord. No. 340.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person, firm, partnership, association, company, corporation, organization,
individual or group of any kind shall do or perform, conduct, supervise, or
permit any blasting or the detonation of explosives or blasting material within
Upper Pottsgrove Township, or within any street, highway, or property within
Upper Pottsgrove Township, without first filing with the Township Manager
a copy of its current Pennsylvania blaster's license, blasting activity
permit for the particular blast, explosives purchase permit, magazine storage
license, and the name and telephone number of a contact person who would be
available 24 hours a day.
Every blaster, as a condition precedent to conducting any blasting within
Upper Pottsgrove Township shall provide a certificate of insurance to the
Township Manager that indicates that there is and will continue to be in full
force and effect a commercial general liability insurance policy that provides
coverage for bodily injury, including death, and property damage as a result
of blasting, collapse, and underground releases, in an amount of not less
than $1,000,000 for any one occurrence, and a minimum of $3,000,000 in the
aggregate for any one policy year. The aforementioned commercial general liability
insurance policy shall remain in effect during the entire period that the
blaster is conducting blasting operations in the Township.
[Amended 9-9-2002 by Ord. No. 341]
Blasting shall be permitted in the Township only between the hours of
8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., prevailing time, Monday through Friday, and shall
be prohibited at all other times. In addition, there shall be no blasting
on legal holidays.
A.
Blasting operations shall be conducted by the blaster
in a safe and careful manner, exercising all appropriate and adequate safety
precautions and protection to all persons and property within the Township.
The blaster shall provide, at its own expense, a minimum of seven business
days' written notice of its intention to conduct blasting activities to all
property owners and residents within a one-thousand-foot radius of the blasting
site. The notice shall be sent to the property owners and residents by certified
mail, return receipt requested.
B.
With each written notice as described in Subsection A hereof, the blaster shall enclose a copy of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regulation pertaining to the control of noxious gases. Currently, the regulation is found in 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 211, Section 152 (25 Pa. Code § 211.152).
C.
At least one week prior to providing written notification to those persons identified in Subsection A hereof of any upcoming blasting activities, the blaster shall provide to the Township Manager a list of all persons to whom it will be sending written notice as set forth in Subsection A hereof. If the Township Manager becomes aware of anyone who is missing from the list of persons to be notified, the Township Manager shall provide the name and address of that person or persons to the blaster, and the blaster shall also provide written notice to those persons as set forth in Subsection A hereof.
D.
The blaster shall provide the office of the Township
Manager with written notice of intended blasting at least 24 hours prior to
the time of the blasting activity and shall notify the office of the Township
Manager of the approximate time that the blast or blasts shall occur. The
office of the Township Manager shall notify the Township Police Department
and Township Fire Department of the date and time of the intended blast.
E.
After providing written notice to all property owners
within a one-thousand-foot radius of the blasting site, the blaster shall
provide an affidavit of service that confirms that written notice by certified
mail was sent to those required to receive notice.
F.
Prior to blasting, the blaster shall provide two thirty-second
warning signals to alert the public to the upcoming blast.
G.
Seismographic equipment must be assembled and strategically
placed around the blasting site to measure the ground vibration and the airblast
generated by the blast to ensure that blasting activities were within allowable
limits. A copy of the blast report shall be submitted to the Township Manager
within 30 days of the blast.
Prior to any blasting, the blaster shall offer, in writing, to all property
owners located within 500 feet of the blasting site, to have a preblast survey
of the property owner's house and any other buildings, if any, performed by
an independent blasting consultant to be paid by the blaster. The blaster
shall provide a list of property owners to whom notice was sent and the manner
in which the notice was delivered.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, for every
such violation, upon conviction before a District Justice, be sentenced to
pay a fine of not more than $600 and costs of prosecution, and, in default
of payment of fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided
that each separate offense or violation of any provision of this chapter shall
constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to a separate penalty.
