Page 424 - Trenchless Technology Piping Installation and Inspection

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9.2.4 Permits
Permits are typically permissions granted to the prospective project
owner from a government agency [such as highway department
(state Departments of Transportation or DOT), U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, a city (municipality) or county∗] to construct or replace a
pipeline under the existing facility. Permits may have construction
and fee conditions for occupation of the space beneath the existing
facility (such as annual fees, maintenance requirements, reporting
requirements, insurance, etc.). Although the future pipeline owner is
held ultimately responsible by the entity issuing the permit for any
violations, the contractor will also be responsible (to the future pipe-
line owner) for compliance with permit requirements pertaining to
the construction. Permits can require an extended processing time to
obtain and therefore are typically obtained by the pipeline owner
during the project design. The contract documents should list and con-
tain a copy of the construction requirements for all permits obtained
for the project. The contract should also require the contractor to
adhere to the requirements of the permits. Some typical locations and
types of permits that could be required for a given trenchless installa-
tion project include

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 discharge permit †
• Wetlands crossing permits
• Floodplain development permits
• Crossing permits for
• City streets
• County roads
• U.S. and state highways
• Interstate highways
• Railroads
• Waterways
• As mentioned earlier, construction permits can be issued
by local governments, DOT, river authorities (such as U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers), regional, state and federal regula-
tory agencies, and funding agencies

∗City, municipality, county, and so on, is collectively called local government.
† Discharge of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States,
including wetlands. Responsibility for administering and enforcing Section 404
is shared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). EPA develops and interprets environmental criteria
used in evaluating permit applications, identifies activities that are exempt
from permitting, reviews/comments on individual permit applications, enforces
Section 404 provisions, and has authority to veto USACE permit decisions.
(See www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/reg_authority.pdf.)