Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
General
rule. Emergency repairs involving the placing of facilities or opening
of the surface within the right-of-way may be performed prior to obtaining a
permit if the following procedure is adhered to:
(1) Utility owners or operators may obtain
emergency permit cards by submitting an application, on Department Form M-945A
or on company stationary, to the district office having jurisdiction over the
State highways in which the utility facilities are located. The application
shall be accompanied by a check or money order, in the amount specified in
§
459.4 (relating to permit fees).
The utility facility owner or operator shall promptly notify the district
office by telephone, when the necessity for an emergency repair occurs during
the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Emergency work occuring
at other times shall be reported to the district office on the following work
day.
(2) Prior to opening the
surface or placing utility facilities within the right-of-way, the utility work
crew shall enter the following information on the emergency permit card in
legible handwriting, using indelible ink:
(i)
Date emergency work is started.
(ii) Time emergency work is
started.
(iii) Location of
emergency work site.
(iv)
Description of emergency work.
(3) The completed, original emergency permit
card shall be located at the work site and shall be available for inspection by
any police officer or representative of the Department. Reproduced copies of
the original card shall not be valid.
(4) A permit shall be applied for within 15
days to confirm and set forth, in detail, any work performed. The application
number shall then be entered on the emergency permit card by the
applicant.
(5) Work performed under
authority of an emergency permit card shall conform to this chapter; see in
particular §§
459.7-459.9 (relating to general
conditions; special conditions-subsurface operations; and special conditions,
above-ground facilities).
(b)
Use of card. An
emergency permit card shall be valid for 1 year or 25 emergency repairs,
whichever occurs first.
(1) Emergency permit
cards may be obtained by submitting an application to each district office in
which the utility's facilities are located, listing thereon the number of
emergency permit cards desired.
(2)
The utility shall be responsible for assigning the proper emergency permit
cards to its work crews.
(3) An
emergency permit card shall be returned to the issuing district office within
15 days after either the 25th emergency repair authorized by the card or 1 year
from the card issuance date, whichever occurs first.
(c)
Exceptions. Emergency
repairs to utility facilities within the right-of-way do not require an
emergency permit card in those instances when a permit application is not
required, as identified in §
459.3(a)
(relating to permit application procedure).
The provisions of this §459.6 amended under sections 411,
420 and 702 of the State Highway Law (36 P. S. §§
670-411,
670-420 and
670-702).
This section cited in 67 Pa. Code §
203.24 (relating to highway
occupancy permit work on State-designated highways); 67 Pa. Code §
212.4 (relating to application);
67 Pa. Code §
459.1 (relating to definitions);
67 Pa. Code §
459.3 (relating to permit
application procedure); 67 Pa. Code §
459.7 (relating to general
conditions); and 67 Pa. Code §
459.8 (relating to special
conditions-subsurface operations).
