§ 80-73 — Excessive Vibration Prohibited

80-73. Excessive Vibration Prohibited.

1. STATIONARY SOURCES. No person in the operation of a business in a fixed location shall produce earthborn vibration which, when measured at the foundation or basement floor of any dwelling structure, exceeds the following criteria: Displacement Frequency Amplitude (Hertz) (In Inches) 1 .05 2 .01 5 .001 10 .0005 20 .00025 30 .00015 40 .00012 50 .00010 2. TEMPORARY AND MOBILE SOURCES. No person shall produce vibration of a temporary nature such as, but not limited to, blasting, demolition, pavement breaking and pile driving which, when measured at the foundation or basement floor of any dwelling structure, exceeds the following limitations: Displacement Frequency Amplitude (Hertz) (In inches) 2 .1 5 .01 10 .005 20 .0018 30 .001 40 .0008 50 .0006 60 .0005 3. VARIANCE PERMIT MAY BE GRANTED. Variance permits may be issued by the commissioner to exceed the vibration standards set forth in this section as follows: a. Temporary Variance Permits. a-1. General. A temporary variance permit may be issued upon request provided that the work producing such vibration is necessary to promote the public health and/or welfare and reasonable steps are taken to keep such vibrations at the lowest possible practical level. a-2. Special Community Events. A temporary variance permit may be issued for special events, such as 4th of July celebrations, which are limited in duration; provided that precautions are taken to restrict the vibrations produced to the lowest practical level. a-3. Procedure to Obtain a Variance Permit. Applications for temporary variance permits must be made in writing to the commissioner and shall contain all of the following pertinent information: a-3-a. Date requested. a-3-b. Time and place of operation. a-3-c. Equipment and operation involved. a-3-d. Necessity for such permit. a-3-e. Steps to be taken to minimize vibrations, and a-3-f. Name of responsible person who will be present at the operation site while the vibrations are produced. b. Variance Permits of Indefinite Duration. b-1. It is recognized that it is not technically or economically feasible for certain business operations and equipment to comply with the standards set forth herein as of the date of this section. The commissioner shall therefor issue a variance permit on existing business operations and equipment which produces excessive vibrations if it is found that it is not technically or economically feasible to alter such operations to reduce vibrations to within the prescribed standards set forth in this section. Applications for such variances must be made to the commissioner by an affected party in a letter setting forth the reasons that such variance should be granted. The commissioner, after review of all circumstances and the degree of nuisance, shall reply in writing giving the variance, denying the variance or setting forth conditions or limitations under which the variance will be granted. b-2. In the event the commissioner cites an existing business operation and equipment and the party cited applies for a variance within 10 days of such citation, then all penalties provided shall be tolled from the date the application is filed until a final order or decision has been issued on the merits of the application.