Section 24-3401. SCHEDULING AND COORDINATION OF EXCAVATION

 

3401.1On the first day of June and December of each year, or the first regular business day immediately thereafter, any Person owning underground stand alone conduit in the Public Right-of-Way shall submit to the Department a plan, in a format specified by the Department, that shows all major Excavation work anticipated to be done in the Public Right-of-Way in the two-year period immediately following the filing date of the plan ("two-year plan"). If no Excavation work is planned during any or all of the two-year period, the Owner shall certify to that fact.

 

3401.2Beginning June 1, 2000, no Public Space Permit authorizing non-emergency major Excavation work of the Public Right-of-Way for the purpose of installing Facilities shall be issued unless that Major Work is described or depicted on the current two-year plan filed by the Owner of the conduit to be installed, except that an application to Excavate made by or on behalf of a Person with no installed conduit may be granted if accompanied by an initial two-year plan.

 

3401.3Any application for a Permit to Excavate Public Space for the installation of Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way shall be rejected if dated six months or more after the filing date of the Owner's last filed two-year plan.

 

3401.4The Department may disclose information contained in a two-year plan to any applicant for a Public Space Permit only on a need-to-know basis in order to facilitate coordination among excavators and to avoid unnecessary Excavation in the street.

 

3401.5To the maximum extent permissible under federal and District laws applicable to public records, the Department shall not otherwise disclose to the public any information contained in a two-year plan that is marked as proprietary, trade secret or is otherwise protected from disclosure. However, the Department shall have no duty to decline to disclose any information that is not identified on its face as proprietary, trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure.

 

3401.6In the event that the Department receives a request to disclose information identified as proprietary, trade secret or otherwise protected from disclosure, the Department shall request the submitter's consent to disclose the information. If consent is denied, the Department shall inform the plan's submitter either that the Department will refuse to disclose the protected information or, if there is no proper basis for such refusal, that the Department intends to disclose the requested information unless ordered otherwise by a court.

 

3401.7Department repaying plans. The Department shall prepare, and make available for public inspection, a two-year repaving plan showing all proposed resurfacing and reconstruction of the Public Right-of-Way. The Department's repaving plan shall be revised and updated on a semiannual basis.

 

3401.8At least one-hundred and twenty (120) calendar days prior to undertaking the reconstruction or resurfacing of any block, the Department shall submit a notice of the proposed reconstruction and resurfacing to each Person that has a current two-year plan on file with the Department. In addition, the Department's notice shall be posted in its Permitting office.

 

3401.9Coordination. (a) As part of its semiannual update, the Department shall review all two-year plans on file and identify conflicts and opportunities for coordination of Excavations. The Department shall notify utilities with two-year plans on file of such conflicts and opportunities to the extent necessary to maximize coordination of Excavation. All applicants shall coordinate, to the maximum extent practicable, with other potentially affected applicants and Permittees to minimize disruption in the Public Right-of-Way. Where two or more parties have been permitted to excavate in the same area, the permit may include a joint restoration requirement. This may include the requirement to use the same contractor for restoration purposes.

 

3401.10Joint Excavation. Except as provided in Section 3401.12, whenever submitted two-year plans for two or more Permittees propose Major Work in the same block within a two-year period, such Major Work shall, to the maximum extent possible, be performed by one entity ["lead party"], subject to the following:

 

(a)The lead party shall submit one application for all Permittees concerned;

 

(b)In recovering its costs from a joint excavation, the lead party filing the joint excavation application may not charge each co-applicant more than its proportionate share of the cost of the joint excavation and/or restoration.

 

(c)If the participating parties are unable to determine a lead party, the Director may make such determination. In determining the lead party in a joint application, the Director shall taken into consideration the volume and duration of work, the exigency of need, and the ability to manage.

 

(d)Any persons granted a permit subject to the conditions of this section may request that the Director, or his or her designee, mediate a dispute arising from a joint excavation. The Director may, at his or discretion, attempt to resolve the dispute arising from the joint excavation.

 

3401.11Moratorium Streets. Except as provided in Section 3401.12, no Permit shall be issued permitting the non-emergency Excavation of any Public Right-of-Way reconstructed or resurfaced less than five (5) years prior to the date of the application.

 

3401.12The Director is authorized in his or her discretion to waive the joint Excavation requirements of Section 3401.10 or the Permit issuance requirements specified in Section 3401.11 with respect to a particular Excavation for good cause shown. Requests for a waiver shall made be in writing. The Director shall determine in writing whether to grant or deny the request no later than thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of a written request. The Director's failure to grant the waiver within the time prescribed shall not be deemed a grant of the waiver.

 

3401.13Waiver of permit issuance requirements. To request a waiver of the Permit issuance requirements, the applicant's request shall include the following information:

 

(a)the location of the Excavation;

 

(b)a description of the work to be performed;

 

(c)why the work was not performed before the street was resurfaced or reconstructed;

 

(d)why the work cannot be deferred until after the expiration of the applicable time limitation; and

 

(e)why the work cannot be performed at another location.

 

3401.14Waiver of joint Excavation requirements. The Director shall consider the following factors when determining whether to grant a waiver under Section 3401.12:

 

(a)the impact of the proposed Excavation on the neighborhood;

 

(b)the applicant's need to provide services to a property or area;

 

(c)the importance of facilitating the deployment of new technology; and

 

(d)the public's health, safety, welfare, and convenience.

 

3401.15The Director may place additional reasonable conditions on any Permit(s) subject to a waiver. The Director's decision regarding waiver shall be final.

 

3401.16The Director may temporarily suspend the issuance of excavation permits for such periods of time as are necessary to prevent unsafe traffic or roadway conditions. In determining whether to temporarily suspend the issuance of excavation permits, the Director may take into account such factors as severe weather projections and the number or the condition of existing excavations.

 

3401.17A permit issuance suspension shall not apply to excavations that the Director finds are required to protect public health and safety. The Director may limit the scope of a suspension based upon such factors as the length or location of excavations, and may grant waivers based upon the immediate need of a customer or the public for a particular service.

 

3401.18A notice of permit issuance suspension shall be posted in the Office of the Director of the District Division of Transportation or at any other location that will provide notice to applicants.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 2360 (March 31, 2000); as amended by Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 9918 (December 15, 2000) [EXPIRED]; as amended by Final Rulemaking Published at 48 DCR 3075 (April 6, 2001); as amended by Final Rulemaking Published at 50 DCR 1905 (February 28, 2003).