Bylaw No. 1941-2010
Blasting Regulation Bylaw, 2010
Consolidated and printed by authority of the Corporate Officer under section 139 of the Community Charter. Includes amendment bylaws 2554-2016, 2603-2016 and 3063-2020 . Last amended August 31, 2020
WHEREAS Section 8 (3) (d) of the Community Charter provides that the Council may, by bylaw applicable throughout the City, regulate, prohibit and impose requirements in relation to the use of explosives;
NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Abbotsford, in open meeting assembled, ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Interpretation
(a) "blast" or "blasting" means the use of explosives as defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation made under the Workers' Compensation Act, R.S.B.C., 1996, Chapter 492;
(b) "blaster" means a person, firm or corporation carrying out blasting and includes an agent, contractor or employee of the blaster; and
(c) "Building Inspector" means the person appointed to that position for the City or their delegate, or such other persons as may be duly authorized from time to time by Council to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Building Inspector.
(2) The headings contained in this Bylaw are for convenience only and are not to be construed as defining, or in any way limiting, the scope or the intent of the provisions of this Bylaw.
(3) If any portion of this Bylaw is for any reason held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the invalid portion must be severed and the severance must not affect the validity of the remainder.
(4) Nothing in this bylaw precludes or relieves a person from complying with the provisions of any other applicable local, provincial or federal enactment.
Restriction
3 No person shall carry out blasting or cause, allow or permit blasting to be carried out within the City, without first obtaining a blasting permit from the City.
Blasting permit
4 (1) Every applicant for a blasting permit must have a valid and subsisting Blaster's Certificate of Competency issued by the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia.
(2) Every person applying for a blasting permit shall submit a written application to the Building Inspector in the form contained in Schedule "A", attached to and forming part of this Bylaw, accompanied by a non-refundable permit fee in the amount of $200.00.
(3) Where a proposed blasting site is located within 150 m. of an existing structure or is subject to, or is likely to be subject to rock falls, erosion, land slip, subsidence, avalanche or other similar risk, the Building Inspector may, in his sole discretion, require an applicant for a blasting permit to provide a report from a Professional Engineer, licensed to practice in the Province of British Columbia and experienced in geotechnical engineering and blasting, certifying that the blasting plan is acceptable for the site described in the permit application.
(4) A blasting permit shall be valid for a period of 90 calendar days, from the date of issuance; and may be renewed for a further period of 90 days, upon application to the Building Inspector and payment of a renewal fee in the amount of $50.00.
Duties of permit holders
5 A holder of a blasting permit must:
(a) only carry out blasting Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.;
(b) retain and make available to the Building Inspector, at his request, all records pertaining to the safety aspects of the entire project and its impact on neighbourhood properties, including vibration records, blasting plans, and delay patterns;
(c) not carry out blasting in proximity to any person, building or property, or the works of any underground public utility likely to suffer damage from blasting, unless the utmost precautions have been undertaken to prevent injury or damage to any person, building, property or utility;
(d) not discharge explosives unless the material to be blasted is fully covered with approved and properly secured blasting mats, or some material or device sufficient, to control fly rock, and every precaution is taken for adequately safeguarding life and property;
(e) not carry out blasting within a radius of 100 m. of any occupied dwelling without first giving the occupants written notice of the date and time, the anticipated duration of the blasting, and an explanation of what blasting signals will be used and the meaning of these signals;
(f) maintain, at the permit holder's expense, throughout the term of the blasting permit, and any renewal period, commercial general liability insurance insuring the permit holder's blasting operations against any and all claims which may be brought against the permit holder for public liability, bodily injury, death and/or property damage, and such policy of insurance shall:
(i) be issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in British Columbia;
(ii) have limits of not less than FIVE MILLION DOLLARS ($5,000,000.00) per occurrence; and
(iii) be duly endorsed to cover the City and the Professional Engineer as additional insureds insofar as their interests and liability may be involved as a result of any and all blasting operations carried out within the City pursuant to this permit; and
(g) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the City in respect of all blasting operations carried out within the City pursuant to a blasting permit.
Safety report
6 The holder of a blasting permit, or the Professional Engineer supervising blasting operations under a blasting permit, must report to the Building Inspector any unacceptable blast monitoring results including, but not limited to, injury or damage to any person, building, property or utility; excessive vibration; rock falls; erosion; land slip; subsidence; or avalanche.
Suspension or cancellation of blasting permit
7 (1) The Building Inspector is authorized to suspend or cancel a blasting permit at any time if the blasting operations are carried out in an incompetent, dangerous or unsafe manner or contrary to the requirements of this Bylaw or any applicable statute, regulation, bylaw or rule.
(2) The notice of suspension or cancellation may be given verbally or in written form to the holder of such blasting permit; and, in the case of suspension, such notice may include directions, orders, requirements, terms and conditions that must be met before blasting may resume.
(3) Upon receipt of such notice of suspension or cancellation, the permit holder shall immediately cease blasting operations; and, where a permit has been cancelled, forthwith return the permit to the Building Inspector.
(4) No person whose permit has been cancelled shall carry out blasting in the City, or cause allow or permit blasting to be carried out.
Reconsideration
8 A person who is subject to a decision or direction of the Building Inspector to refuse, suspend or cancel a blasting permit may request a reconsideration of that decision or direction by Council, in accordance with the City's Appeal Procedure Bylaw, 2016.
B/L 2603-2016
Repeal
10 City of Abbotsford Bylaw No. 162-96, cited as "Blasting Regulation Bylaw, 1996", is hereby repealed.
