Source: https://ecode360.com/11763287?noresponsive=true
Timestamp: 2020-02-22 23:46:02
Document Index: 346264206

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 165', '§ 19', '§ 23']

Town of Parma, NY Blasting
§ 19-1 Intent.
§ 19-2 Definitions.
§ 19-3 License required.
§ 19-4 Application for and issuance of license.
§ 19-5 Fees.
§ 19-6 License period.
§ 19-7 License renewal.
§ 19-8 Conduct and operation regulations.
§ 19-9 Notices required.
§ 19-10 Standards for blasting.
§ 19-11 Penalties for offenses.
§ 19-12 Conflict with other laws.
§ 19-13 Variances.
§ 19-14 Exemptions.
Chapter 19 Blasting
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Parma 9-27-1982. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the intent of the provisions of this chapter to regulate the use of explosives and strictly control blasting operations which are in any way associated with excavations or activities within the Town of Parma so as to provide for the safety of those engaged in such blasting as well as those who may be affected thereby.
That area of land of the owner or applicant which will be directly affected by any blasting operations conducted thereon, which area shall be not less than 50 yards in all directions from the location of any explosives which are ignited or set off.
AIR OVERPRESSURE
The peak atmospheric overpressure, when measured with a measuring system that has a flat response (plus or minus three decibels) at frequencies of six hertz or lower.
Any person, firm or corporation or other entity making application to the Town of Parma to conduct blasting operations within the Town of Parma. The owner of any lands upon which blasting operations are proposed to be conducted shall join in and is a necessary party to any application for a license to be issued.
Any detonation of explosives which shall occur within a time not to exceed one second, inclusive of any time delay method which may be employed.
The area in which explosives, loading and blasting operations are being conducted.
The person or persons authorized and licensed by the State of New York to use explosives for blasting purposes.
Any activity or conduct carried on or conducted within the Town of Parma in which explosives are used.
Includes black powder, guncotton, giant powder, dynamite, nitroglycerine, fulminate of mercury or any other substance, compound, mixture or article having properties of such a character that alone or in combination or contiguity with other substances or compounds may decompose suddenly and generate sufficient heat, gas or pressure to produce rapid flaming combustion or administer a destructive blow to persons or property, including but not limited to all materials classified as Class A, B or C explosives by the United States Department of Transportation.
Any pits, depressions or underground workings from which any mineral is produced for sale, exchange or commercial, industrial or municipal use and all slopes or inclines leading thereto, including all equipment above, on or below the surface of the ground used in connection with such pits, depressions or workings.
MINED LAND USE PLAN
The applicant's proposal for the mining and reclamation of the affected land. The mined land use plan shall consist of a mining plan and reclamation plan which shall include maps and other documents as required to describe and illustrate environmental, physiographic, cultural and surface conditions at and surrounding the mine as well as the applicant's proposed mining and reclamation methods.
The extraction or removal of minerals from the ground or the breaking of the surface soil in order to facilitate or accomplish the extraction or removal of minerals, including any activities or processes or parts thereof for the extraction or removal of minerals from their original location and the preparation or processing of minerals at the mine location so as to make them suitable for sale, exchange or commercial, industrial or municipal use, but shall not include excavation or grading when conducted solely in aid of farming or on-site construction.
The rate of movement in inches per second on any single component of motion: longitudinal (horizontal motion along the line between the blast and the seismograph location), transverse (horizontal motion at right angles to the longitudinal) or vertical. For the purposes herein, measurements of particle velocity shall be made on the ground adjacent to the nearest public building, school, church or residential or other commercial or institutional building or structure nearest to the blast area and shall be measured with a three-component portable seismograph yielding a direct recording of particle velocity.
The area of land of the owner or applicant for which an excavation permit has been issued and a permit fee paid in accordance with the provisions of § 165-132 of Chapter 165, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Parma.
It shall be unlawful to engage in blasting operations or in any other activity in which explosives are used in the Town of Parma without having secured a license therefor and having fully complied with the provisions of this chapter. It is the intention of this provision that explosives shall not be stored within the Town of Parma.
The license shall be applied for and issued in the name of the owner of the work area upon which such blasting operations shall be conducted, and the application for such license shall state the purpose, nature and extent of the proposed blasting operations as well as the location of the affected area.
Licenses shall be issued by the Town Clerk of the Town of Parma, provided that all of the requirements set forth in § 19-8 hereof have been complied with by the applicant.
The applicant shall complete and file with the Town Clerk an application for a license upon a form established by the Town Board from time to time. Upon the filing of a completed application for a license, the Town Clerk shall transmit the same to the Town Board. The Town Board shall hold and conduct a public hearing upon such completed application and shall cause public notice of such hearing to be given by publishing notice thereof in the official newspaper of the town, which notice shall be published at least once, such publication to be not less than seven days nor more than 20 days prior to the actual date established for such public hearing. The Town Clerk shall also post public notice of such public hearing on the official bulletin board maintained by the town, such posting to be not less than seven days prior to the actual date established for such public hearing.
After the public hearing conducted hereunder, the Town Board shall consider all evidence presented to it for consideration and shall thereafter act upon such application, stating specifically its reasons for approval, disapproval or modification of the application for a license. If approved, the license shall be issued by the Town Clerk, provided that all other requirements of this chapter have been complied with by the applicant.
The applicant shall pay, prior to the issuance of a license hereunder, the appropriate fee therefor as established by the Town Board by resolution, from time to time.
The applicant for a license hereunder shall state upon such application the period of time for which he wishes such license to be issued, which license period shall be, in any event, not less than 72 hours nor more than three years.
So far as practical, the license period shall be such so as to coordinate with the expiration date of any other state, federal or local permits which may be held by the applicant which are relevant to or associated with the applicant's blasting operations. All license fees as hereinbefore set forth shall be prorated accordingly. Suspension or revocation of any license issued hereunder shall not entitle the applicant to any refund of any part of the license fee paid.
Application for renewal of a license previously issued hereunder shall be made not later than six months prior to the expiration of the current license period. The applicant shall present satisfactory evidence of the existence of all other required state, federal and/or local permits which may be required, as well as evidence of continued compliance with all provisions of this chapter. Violations of the provisions of this chapter during the current license period may be sufficient reason for denial of the license renewal application. Any blasting conducted by the applicant within the Town of Parma without having previously obtained a license thereof shall be considered as a factor in passing upon any application for a license or renewal thereof. Renewal of the license upon its termination shall follow the same procedures as those required in this chapter for the issuance of the original license.
No license to blast within the Town of Parma shall be issued until the applicant shall post and file with the Town Clerk a policy of liability insurance in at least the amount of $500,000/$1,000,000, such policy of insurance to name the Town of Parma as additionally insured so as to provide for the payment of any damages arising from the permitted blasting. The town may also require that the applicant execute and deliver to the town an indemnity agreement indemnifying the Town of Parma from any claims of any nature whatsoever arising out of the permitted blasting. The license shall automatically terminate and close should the bond or policy of insurance be canceled or otherwise terminated.
The applicant shall comply with all requirements of Chapter 46, Environmental Quality Review, of the Code of the Town of Parma, and no license to blast shall be issued until a final determination authorizing the same has been issued in accordance with the provisions of such chapter.
Prior to issuance of the license, the applicant shall file with the Town Clerk a copy of the current license of the blaster as issued by the State of New York. Such license shall be kept on file in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be open to inspection at any time. The applicant shall file with the Town Clerk any amendment, change or revision of such license so filed, and should the blaster's license at any time expire, then, in that event, no further blasting shall occur until a current license shall be filed.
Reclamation. Should the conduct of the blasting be such that it may create a mine or should the blasting be used in conjunction with mining operations, the applicant shall file with the town a mined land use plan indicating the applicant's proposal for mining and reclamation of the affected area, and the applicant shall further be subject to and shall evidence compliance with all provisions of the New York State Mined Land Reclamation Law, Title 27 (Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-2701 through 23-2727). The applicant shall post and file with the Town of Parma a bond or letter of credit in an amount deemed sufficient by the Town Board so as to assure to the town that the proposed reclamation plan will be completed as proposed.
During the conduct of any blasting operations and until such time as the ground surface of the affected area shall be restored to an elevation equal to that of the average ground surface elevation of the surrounding area, the applicant shall securely fence the affected area with fencing of not less than six feet in height so as to assure no access to the affected area either during the actual conduct of blasting operations or after such blasting operations have been completed. Such fencing shall be adequately posted with DANGER, BLASTING AREA, KEEP OUT signs clearly visible at all times from the boundaries of the affected area.
The applicant shall be subject to and shall at all times be in compliance with all applicable provisions and regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and, in particular, without limitation, Subpart U of OSHA Standards, 1926.900 to 1926.914, Blasting and the Use of Explosives. The applicant shall be subject to and shall at all times be in compliance with all applicable provisions and regulations of Rule No. 23 of the Industrial Code of the New York State Department of Labor, 23-61 to 23-63, Explosives. Should the applicant be found to be in violation of either of the above regulations, or any part thereof, the license issued hereunder may be suspended or revoked until such time as the applicant shall come into compliance.
The applicant shall file with the Town Clerk at the time of the application for the license hereunder, and no later than every six months thereafter during the license period, a schedule of the dates and times of the anticipated detonation of explosives at the affected area. Such schedule may be amended in writing from time to time by the applicant, but in no event less than 24 hours in advance of any anticipated blasting operations.
All detonation of explosives shall take place between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and no detonation of explosives shall take place on either Saturday or Sunday or on any legal holiday.
During scheduled blasting operations, the applicant shall prominently display adequate signs warning against the use of mobile radio transmitters on all roads within 1,000 feet of the affected area.
The applicant may be required to provide additional reasonable safety precautions as may be required by the Town Board or its representative as required by the particular field conditions or conduct of the blasting operation.
No blasting operations shall be conducted within the Town of Parma when the purpose and/or effect of such proposed blasting may be accomplished by some other feasible means available to the applicant, it being the intention hereof to limit the blasting within the Town of Parma to those activities or purposes which cannot be accomplished by the applicant by any other practical means other than that of actual blasting.
Threshold limits.
No explosive or series of explosives shall be detonated pursuant to the license issued hereunder which shall cause damage of any kind to adjacent structures or buildings. It is recommended that the following industry-accepted threshold limits be used as a guide only in determining the potential effect of a blast on nearby structures:
Particle velocity: one inch per second maximum, measured at ground level adjacent to the nearest structure.
Air overpressure: peak overpressure of 0.0092 pound per square inch (130 dB) maximum, measured at ground level adjacent to the nearest structures.
Time delay: maximum weight of explosives, in pounds or its equivalent, for any blast, shall be determined in accordance with the following formula:
W = (D/60)2
The maximum weight of explosives in pounds per delay that can be detonated within any time interval of eight milliseconds or more.
The distance in feet to the ground adjacent to the nearest public building, school, church or residential or other commercial or institutional building or structure nearest to the blast area which may be affected by the conduct of such blasting operations.
Notwithstanding the above-mentioned limits, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant and his blaster to review each proposed blast individually to determine if smaller threshold limits should be applied. In any event, the applicant and his blaster shall be responsible for any damage caused to structures or buildings as a result of their operations.
The applicant shall state separately on his filed schedule of blasting the number of pounds of explosives per eight-millisecond time delay or more to be detonated during each scheduled blast. The applicant shall further file with the Town Clerk every 60 days a certification from the blaster indicating compliance with the filed schedule of number of pounds of explosives per eight-millisecond time delay or more for each blasting operation conducted during the preceding sixty-day period.
The Town of Parma may, during the license period, monitor the blasting operations of the applicant in accordance with the recommended limits herein set forth, and should it be found and determined by the Town of Parma that the applicant shall have exceeded any of the recommended limits or shall have caused damage to adjacent structures or buildings, the Town of Parma may suspend and/or revoke the license issued hereunder until it is satisfied that compliance with the standards set forth herein is assured.
For the purposes of these provisions, measurements of particle velocity and air pressure shall be made on the ground adjacent to the nearest public dwelling, school, church or residential or other commercial or institutional building or structure not on the property of the applicant.
No more than two blasts shall occur within the Town of Parma during any twenty-four-hour period.
Any person, firm or corporation, whether licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or not, who commits or permits any acts in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed an offense against such chapter and also shall be liable for any such offense or the penalty therefor. Each day such violation shall continue or be permitted to exist shall constitute a separate violation.
For every violation of any provision of this chapter the person violating the same shall be subject to a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.[1]
Conviction for violation of this chapter shall constitute and effect an immediate forfeiture of the license.
Any person violating this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty enforceable and collectible by the town in the amount of $100 for each such offense. Such penalty shall be collectible by and in the name of the town for each day that such violation shall continue.
Whenever it appears that any of the provisions of this chapter are in conflict with any provisions of any state, federal or town law, ordinance, rule or regulation, such conflicting provisions shall be read and construed, as far as possible, so as to give purpose and effect and carry out the expressed intention of each of such conflicting provisions. Should any of the provisions of this chapter impose more stringent requirements than that imposed by any state, federal or town law, ordinance, rule or regulation, then, in that event, the provisions of this chapter shall take precedence over and shall supersede the provisions of such less restrictive state, federal or town law, ordinance, rule or regulation. Should any provisions of any state, federal or town law, ordinance, rule or regulation impose more stringent requirements than that imposed by the provisions of this chapter, then in that event, the provisions of such state, federal or town law, ordinance, rule or regulation shall take precedence over and shall supersede the provisions of such less restrictive provisions of this chapter.
Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter, the Town Board of the Town of Parma shall have the power in passing upon the application required herein to vary or modify any of the regulations or provisions contained herein so that the spirit of the chapter shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.
Specifically, when the request for a blasting permit involves a one-time or short-term need related to an agricultural pursuit, a building demolition or a building construction activity, the Town Board may accept an application based on the following requirements:
That the blaster file a copy of his current New York State license with the town.
That the blaster file current and up-to-date insurance certification that he has adequate insurance coverage.
That information be provided relative to the location of the proposed blasting operations, whom it is being done for, the proposed blasting schedule and the purpose for which blasting is proposed.
That the blaster notify all appropriate agencies, including police, fire and emergency service agencies, along with nearby residents, at least 24 hours prior to the blast so that people are made aware of what will occur.
Any additional information or standards the reviewing official or Town Board may deem necessary to ensure compliance with the intent of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to blasting operations conducted in conjunction with the installation of sanitary sewer, water, gas or other underground public utility service connections.