Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Application by
Sponsor. No person, firm or corporation shall mow any portion of the state
highway rights-of-way and keep the clippings from such mowing without first
obtaining a written permit from the Department. Application for a permit shall
be submitted to the appropriate District Engineer using forms provided by the
Department. Permits shall be for a specific mowing season. Consideration for
permit applications to mow a given area of rights-of-way will be granted first
to the adjacent land owner with all others approved on a first come/first
served basis. There will be no fee for the permit. A copy of the permit shall
be available on the work site for inspection at all times.
B. Review of Application. The Secretary of
the Department or his designee shall review the application and, when
necessary, coordinate with the local authorities within whose jurisdiction the
mowing is to take place.
C. Notice
of action taken by the Department. The Secretary of the Department or his
designee shall inform the sponsor in writing of the action taken on the notice,
including all conditions imposed if approval is granted. Such conditions
include without limitations:
(1) The
requirement that the sponsor make adequate provisions for traffic control
(i.e., law enforcement, traffic control devices and/or signing).
(2) The requirement that the sponsor and/or
the participants in the mowing and baling operations execute releases of
liability, indemnity and hold harmless agreements and also submit proof of
insurance coverage for any liability arising out of the mowing and baling
activities, in forms satisfactory to the Department.
(3) The permittee shall carry and keep in
force liability insurance during the permit period in the following minimum
amounts:
(a) Bodily Injury $300,000 each
occurrence
(b) Property Damage
$100,000 each occurrence
(c) Total
Liability $ 500,000
(4)
The permittee shall be held responsible for any damage to fences, signs,
guardrail, landscape plantings or other highway features resulting from his
operations.
(5) Should permittee
fail to comply with the provisions of this rule and the permit, the Department
may revoke the permit until the permittee agrees to comply with any and all
provisions required by the Department.
(6) The Department is not liable for the
quality of the hay or clippings obtained through this agreement and the
applicant assumes all risk of injury or damage to himself, his property or to
others or to the property of others which may result from debris, foreign
objects or chemical contamination of such hay or clippings.
(7) Mowing of state highway rights-of-way by
the applicant will be done with the full knowledge that the vegetation may
contain chemical residue of automotive emissions and chemical herbicides used
for vegetative control.
(8) The
permittee shall erect and maintain standard warning signs for mowing operations
in compliance with Part VI of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD), latest edition and the Departments Maintenance Traffic Control Plans.
All mowing and baling equipment shall have the standard "Slow Moving" vehicle
emblems.
(9) Mowing shall conform
to specifications as provided in the permit issued by the Department.
(10) No moving will be allowed on newly
constructed or planted rights-of-way for a period of three (3) years.
(11) The permittee will confine his
operations to daylight hours.
(12)
When soil conditions are such that damage to the slopes is caused by mowing and
baling equipment, operations shall be discontinued.
(13) When the Department determines and
verbally notifies that the operations are creating an undue hazard, all
operations will cease until further notice from the District
Engineer.
(14) All mowing will be
done in a workman-like manner and the mowed area shall be left in a neat
condition upon completion of the work. Mowing will be continuous within the
designated area. Selective mowing of vegetation will not be permitted. However,
the permittee will be allowed to bale only those areas of vegetation he
chooses.
(15) Equipment necessary
for this operation will not be left unattended on the rights-of-way within
thirty (30) feet of the roadway shoulder.
(16) All hay must be removed from the highway
right-of-way within ten (10) days after baling. Any bales not so removed may be
removed by the Department without compensation to the permittee.
(17) Large round or rectangular bales will
not be left unattended on the rights-of-way within thirty (30) feet of the
roadway shoulder.
(18) No mowing
will be permitted in wildflower areas.
