All earthmoving and/or stripping activities and/or building construction wherein stripping, excavation, placement of fill, and/or grading activities are performed shall conform to the following general requirements:
A. All erosion and sedimentation control measures shall be installed per the approved plan prior to any earthmoving and/or stripping activities.
(1) Earthen structures such as dams. Dikes and diversions must be seeded and mulched immediately after installation.
(2) All stormwater management basins shall be constructed, functional, and stabilized prior to any additional site activity. An as-built plan of the facility prepared by a registered professional land surveyor or engineer, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shall be submitted to the Township for review to verify adequate stage/storage capacity prior to commencement of other site activity.
(3) All temporary and permanent erosion and sedimentation control measures must be maintained and repaired as needed to assure continued performance of their intended functions.
(4) Each and every person, corporation, or other entity performing grading and/or building activities shall be responsible for installing and maintaining erosion and sedimentation control measures until the site is stabilized to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer.
(5) The continuation of adequate topsoil on the land within the Township is considered necessary for the general welfare of the Township in the future development thereof. Thus the permanent removal of topsoil from the land within the Township shall be prohibited. This prohibition shall not be construed to prohibit an owner of land in removing topsoil for the purpose of construction of a building and the regarding of the land surrounding the building following construction; provided, however, that upon completion of construction there remains an average depth of six inches of topsoil per lot.
B. No excavation or fill shall be made with a slope steeper than three horizontal to one vertical, except under both of the following conditions:
(1) The material is sufficiently stable to sustain a steeper slope. A sealed, written statement to that effect from an engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be submitted to the Township Engineer. The statement shall affirm that the site has been inspected and the deviation from the slope restriction shall not result in injury to persons or damage to property. A detail of the treatment of the slope (proposed grade, seeding, erosion protection, etc.) shall be submitted with the application. All such slopes shall be peg-sodded or seeded and covered with jute matting or similar material.
(2) A concrete, masonry, or other approved retaining wall constructed in accordance with acceptable engineering practice is provided to support the slope of the excavation or fill.
C. The Township Engineer may require an excavation to be made with a cut face flatter in slope that three horizontal to one vertical if he/she finds the material in which the excavation is to be made is unusually subject to erosion, or if other conditions exist which make such flatter cut slope necessary for stability and safety.
D. Excavations shall not extend below the angle of repose or natural slope of the soil under the nearest point of any footing or foundation of any building or structure unless such footing or foundation is first properly underpinned or protected against settlement.
E. Whenever a fill is to be made of materials other than clean soil or earth, the grading permit shall be subject to the following additional limitations and requirements:
(1) The fill shall be completed within a reasonable length of time; the said time limit is to be determined by the Township Engineer and to be specified on the grading permit.
(2) Clean soil or earth shall be placed over the top and exposed surfaces of the fill to a depth sufficient to effectively conceal all materials, other than clean soil or earth, within the fill. Where the Township Engineer may require, clean soil or earth shall be placed over the top and exposed surfaces of the fill to a depth sufficient to conceal all materials at the end of each day’s operations.
F. Drainage: Adequate provisions shall be made to prevent stormwater and surface waters from damaging the cut face of an excavation or the sloping surface of a fill. All excavations and fills shall be made in accordance with Chapter 206, Stormwater Management. Slopes of more than ten feet in vertical height shall be separated by level berms of at least four feet in width. Berm ditches shall be constructed where necessary to prevent erosion. All drainage provisions shall be of such design as to carry stormwater and surface waters to the nearest practical stormwater facility or natural watercourse approved by the Township Engineer as a safe place to deposit and receive such waters. The Township Engineer may require such drainage structures or pipes to be constructed or installed which, in his/her opinion, are necessary to prevent erosion damage and to satisfactorily carry off surface waters.
G. All lots, tracts, or parcels shall be graded to provide positive drainage away from buildings and dispose of it without ponding, except where ponding (detention basins, swales, etc.) is part of the stormwater management plan for the site.
H. In no case shall grading be completed in such a manner as to divert water onto the property of another landowner unless part of a stormwater management plan.
(1) The top or bottom edge of slopes shall be at least three feet from property of right-of-way lines or streets in order to permit the normal rounding of the edge without encroaching on the abutting property. At property lines where walls or slopes are steeper than one to one and six feet or more in height, they shall be protected by a substantial fence three feet or more in height.
(2) The owner of a property shall be responsible to protect and clean up lower properties of silt and debris washing from his/her property as a result of the regarding of his/her property.
(3) In order to prevent the denuding of the landscape, wherever practicable, large trees and other natural features constituting important physical, aesthetic and economic assets to existing or impending suburban development shall be preserved.
(4) In all zoning districts, for those portions of sites having slopes greater than 10%, based upon contour lines measured at vertical intervals of two feet, the following standards shall apply for all proposed uses:
(a) Ten percent to 15%: No more than 40% of the total area of such portions shall be regraded and/or stripped of vegetation.
(b) Fifteen percent to 25%: No more than 30% of the total area of such portions shall be regarded and/or stripped of vegetation.
(c) Twenty-five percent or more: No more than 15% of the total area of such portions shall be regraded and/or stripped of vegetation.
J. No person shall block, impede the flow of, alter, construct any structure, deposit any material or thing, or perform any work that will affect the normal or flood flow in any watercourse without having obtained prior approval from the Township and/or Department of Environmental Protection, whichever is applicable.
K. Each person that makes any surface changes to the site shall be required to:
(1) Collect on-site surface runoff and control it to a point of discharge into the drainage area watercourse, stormwater easement, or storm sewer system.
(2) Control existing off-site runoff draining through the property by designing it to discharge to the watercourse of the drainage area, stormwater easement, or storm sewer system.
(3) Ensure that all on-site and off-site runoff is collected and diverted to sediment basins, debris basins, desilting basins, silt traps or filters for the removal of sediment until all disturbed areas are stabilized to the satisfaction of the Township.
L. Adequate provision shall be made to prevent surface water from damaging the cut face of excavation and the sloping surfaces of fills.
M. Concentration of surface water runoff shall be permitted only in watercourses or detention basins. All drainage facilities shall be constructed to carry surface water in such a manner as to prevent erosion or overflow. All storm sewer inlets that are made operable during construction shall be protected so that sediment-laden water will not enter the conveyance system without first being filtered or otherwise treated to remove sediment.
N. Construction vehicles are to be kept out of watercourses, wetlands, and other bodies of water. Where in-channel work is necessary, permits from regulatory agencies must be secured and provided to the Township and precautions must be taken to stabilize the work area during construction to minimize erosion. The channel, including bed and banks, must be restabilized immediately after in-channel work is completed.
O. Where a watercourse must be crossed by construction vehicles during construction, a temporary stream crossing must be provided.
P. Sediment barriers shall be properly installed with silt fencing trenched and hay bales staked.
Q. During all earthmoving and/or stripping operations, necessary measures for dust control must be exercised. Wherever construction vehicle access routes intersect paved public streets, provisions must be made to minimize the transport of sediment onto the paved surfaces by runoff or vehicle tracking, including but not limited to, the installation of tire cleaning areas at each point of access to the site. These tire cleaning areas shall be constructed of AASHTO #1 stone, and each shall be at least 50 feet in length. Where sediment is transported onto a public street, the permittee shall clean the street immediately. Sediment shall be removed from roads by shoveling or sweeping and then transported to a sediment control area.
R. No grading equipment shall be permitted to be loaded, unloaded, or stored on a public street. No grading equipment shall be permitted to travel on or across a public street unless licensed for operation on public thoroughfares.
S. The construction of underground utility lines involving installation, maintenance or repair that disturbs more than 1,000 square feet shall be subject to the following criteria:
(1) No more than 200 feet of trench is to be opened at one time.
(2) Where consistent with safety and space considerations, excavated material is to be placed on the uphill side of trenches.
(3) Trench dewatering devices shall discharge in a manner that will not adversely affect flowing streams, drainage systems or off-site property.
Individual service connections, telephone and electric lines and underground public utility lines under existing hard-surfaced roads, streets or sidewalks are exempt from the above requirements, provided that such land-disturbing activity is confined to the area which is hard-surfaced.
T. All temporary erosion and sediment control measures shall be disposed of within 30 days after final site stabilization is achieved, unless otherwise authorized by the Township Engineer. Trapped sediment and other disturbed soil areas resulting from the disposition of temporary measures shall be permanently stabilized to prevent further erosion and sedimentation.
U. Before granting occupancy permits for buildings, building lots shall be finish graded so that drainage will not be concentrated onto adjacent lots. Building lots must also be seeded or mulched. If it is not possible to establish lawns due to the season of the year, or if exposed areas will result in excess runoff onto adjoining properties because of the lack of ground cover, the Township Engineer may require extra mulching, the installation of silt barriers, and/or the construction of temporary sedimentation basins to control excess runoff, in addition to a vegetation escrow to secure establishment of ground cover.
V. First floor certifications. Construction of any structure requiring a grading plan under this chapter shall not continue past the foundation stage until the owner/builder has submitted certification that the first floor and garage floor elevations of the proposed structure conforms to the plans submitted with the grading permit application. The certification shall be submitted to the Township Code Official on a form approved by the Township and shall be signed and sealed by the responsible Registered Professional Land Surveyor or Engineer, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. See Appendix “D” (which is attached to Ordinance 22-1378 and incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full).