§ 55-13. Restrictions for the use and handling of explosives.

(a)

Detonation of explosives shall normally be limited to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The county manager or designee may reduce or waive this time frame due to existing site conditions/locations or may extend this time frame to all daylight hours for sites remote from residential development.

(b)

Detonation of explosives shall not occur on Sundays or legal holidays. An exception may be granted for geophysical seismic operations or when justification is submitted in writing by the user and is subsequently reviewed and approved by the county manager or designee.

(c)

Should structures which are expected to receive a resultant peak particle velocity in excess of acceptable standards as indicated below require evacuation or in other circumstances in which evacuation for an extended period of time (more than two hours) is required, the user shall notify the Collier County sheriff's office by telephone a minimum of 12 hours prior to commencement of the evacuation.

(d)

Twenty-four hours prior to detonation of explosives or applicable segments thereof, the user or blaster shall orally notify the county manager or designee and specify the location and proposed time of such blasting. This time limit may be waived by the county manager or designee under special circumstances such as underwater doby detonations.

(e)

Blasting permit and limits.

(1)

It shall be unlawful for any person, to blast, fire, detonate or use any amount of explosive within the territorial limits of the county without fist obtaining a blasting permit as hereinafter provided by this section; provided that in any event it shall be unlawful for any person to blast, fire or detonate or use any amount of explosives which would result in a resultant peak particle velocity in excess of 0.5 inches per second when measured on the ground at the nearest building or structure finished or under construction not owned by the permittee, or at a location identified by the seismologist of record and the engineering services director, or designee. A blasting control procedure is herby established by adopting an 80 percent rule for controlling blasting in urban construction environments. If 80 percent of the allowable particle velocity is exceeded, no blasting may be undertaken until a letter, facsimile transmission, or telephone call with a follow-up letter or facsimile transmission is provided by the blasting permit applicant to the county identifying a revised blasting mythology which provides procedures that will be implemented to assure that a peak particle velocity of 0.5 inches per second will not be exceeded.

The maximum allowable airblast, measured at the nearest building or structure not owned by the permittee, or when measured at a distance of 5,280 feet from the blast shall not exceed 129 decibels when measured by an instrument having a flat frequency response over a range of at least 6 to 200 hertz. If the airblast is measured with an instrument having a flat frequency measure over a range of at least 2 to 200 hertz, the corresponding limit is 133 decibels.

The following requirements shall apply to all blasting within the urban boundaries of the county:

a.

Overburden shall not be removed prior to blasting. When overburden exceeds four feet of depth, a minimum of four feet of overburden shall remain in place prior to blasting.

b.

Stem all blast holes within 1,000 feet of the nearest structure based on a GPS measurement with 89 stone or approved equal material to confine the gaseous products of detonation.

c.

The "borehole" surrounding the blast tube shall be backfilled to ensure stability of the ground surface.

d.

All surface detonators shall be covered or buried.

e.

All charges shall be at (originally placed) proper depth prior to the detonation of multiple blasts.

(2)

Exception. Upon written request, the county manager or designee may authorize the resultant peak particle velocity exceeding the aforementioned limits when vibration levels specified in the Alternative Blasting Criteria of the United States Bureau of Mines Report and Investigations No. 8507, Structure Response and Damage Produced by Ground Vibration from Surface Mine Blasting are used.

(3)

Explosives shall not be abandoned or left in an unsecured location.

(4)

In the event that a charged/loaded hole does not detonate the user or blaster shall take whatever action is necessary under the conditions prevailing at the site to neutralize the misfire the same date as placed and prior to the continuance of loading/drilling more holes. Should the depth of the explosive be such as to prohibit recovery or neutralization the same date as placed and the explosive is irretrievable or neutralization is impracticable, the user shall ensure that the charged/loaded hole's location shall be documented and noted utilizing existing landmarks to facilitate return to the location as necessary, and with the actual pinpoint location by survey provided to the county manager or designee.

(5)

Prior to the detonation of any explosives within commercial excavations and during the course of the day's blasting activities, a warning signal such as a horn or siren, audible at adjacent properties, shall be sounded a minimum of one minute prior to detonation and an all-clear signal shall also be sounded upon completion of the blast(s). This warning signal shall be of sufficient duration (a minimum of 30 seconds) to allow complete alert of all individuals adjacent to the blast area.

(6)

Blasting caps shall not be loaded through the drill steel, also known as the "Kelly bar."

(7)

A record of blast data shall be recorded on daily blasting logs. The logs shall be maintained by the user or blaster on an approved form with copies of the completed logs submitted to the county manager or designee monthly unless otherwise requested.

(8)

Overspray from all detonations shall be contained at the blast site.

(9)

All explosives placed in the ground must be detonated the same date as placed and must not be left in the ground overnight. If conditions so warrant and with justification the county manager or designee may authorize "sleepers" provided, however:

a.

The county manager or designee receives verbal and followed by written approval from the Bureau of Explosives and Fire Equipment Office of the State Fire Marshal, Tallahassee, Florida; and

b.

The Collier County sheriff's office receives verbal information confirming the location/condition of such "sleepers"; and

c.

The user utilizes night security along with taking other appropriate protective safeguards.

1.

Exception for geophysical seismic users. For geophysical seismic operations, overnight security shall not be required when the explosives are loaded at a depth that avoids deformation of the ground surface upon detonation; provided, however, that the explosives are locked in the hole at the intended depth of burial with a borehole anchor and/or a sealing material to prevent removal.

(Ord. No. 04-55, § 2.D.)