As used in this section, unless otherwise specified, the following definitions shall apply:

City - The City Government of Springfield, Tennessee.

City Engineer - The person or agency employed by the City of Springfield to administer civil engineering design regulations.

Civil Engineer - A professional engineer registered in the State of Tennessee for practice in the field of civil works.

Clearing - Removing trees, brush, and other vegetative growth in preparation for development without the alteration of the prevailing topography.

Codes Enforcement Officer - The person or agency employed by the City of Springfield to enforce the Building Codes and other specified ordinances of the City.

Cover - Grass, brush, trees or other vegetative shelter and/or artificial shelter and their residents covering the ground and retarding surface runoff and erosion of soil.

Denuded - Stripped of all covering or completely cleared.

Earthwork - A class of activities that includes cutting, filling, grading, excavation, removal or disposition of soil, sand, earth, dirt, gravel, rock, silt, sludge, etc.

Embankment - A deposit of earth material.

Erosion - The wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water and/or ice.

Excavation - The mechanical removal of earth material.

Existing Grade - The grade prior to excavation, grading, or filling.

Fill - An embankment or deposit of earth material.

Finish Grade - The final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.

Grade - The vertical location of the ground surface.

Grading - Any excavation or filling or combination thereof.

Official - A person or agency designated by the City of Springfield, Tennessee to oversee and administer public rights-of-way, public utilities and/or facilities, easements for drainage and/or utilities, land use, codes enforcement, or other elements pertaining to this section of the ordinance.

Slope - An inclined ground surface, the inclination of which is expressed as a ratio horizontal distance to vertical distance.

Whenever an Official of the city determines that any existing excavation or fill has become a hazard to life and limb; or endangers property; or adversely affects the safety, use or stability of a public way or drainage channel; the Official shall notify the Codes Enforcement Officer in writing of such hazard or violation and suggest proper engineering and/or design procedures for correcting such hazard or violation. Upon receipt of such written notification and suggested correction procedure from an Official, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner of the property or the person or agent of the property upon which such hazard or violation exists:

A.

Of the violation;

B.

Of the corrective measures recommended in writing by the appropriate Official that are necessary to correct said hazard or violation; and

C.

Specify a time limitation in which to eliminate such excavation or fill so as to eliminate the hazard and be in conformance with the requirements of this ordinance. The Codes Enforcement Officer shall provide written notification to the Official who submitted the complaint of the corrective action being taken on said hazard or violation.

A permit is required from the Official before performing any type of grading, excavation, fill other earthwork except for the following activities:

A.

An excavation below finished grade for basements and footings of a building, retaining wall or other structure authorized by a valid building permit. This shall not exempt any fill made with the material from such excavation, nor exempt any excavation having an unsupported height greater than five (5) feet after the completion of such structure.

B.

Poles, posts and cemetery graves.

C.

Excavations by utilities of the City or franchised by the City.

D.

Water well and septic systems.

E.

An excavation which does not exceed ten thousand (10,000) square feet and:

(1)

Is less than two (2) feet in depth,

(2)

Does not create a cut slope greater than five (5) feet in height, and

(3)

Is no steeper than three (3) horizontal to one (1) vertical.

F.

A fill not exceeding ten thousand (10,000) square feet in surface area which is:

(1)

Less than one (1) foot in depth and placed on natural terrain with a slope five (5) horizontal to one (1) vertical, or

(2)

Less than three (3) feet in depth and not intended to support structures, and

(3)

Does not obstruct a natural or man-made drainage course.

G.

Home gardens, agricultural operations and the planting or removal of trees.

H.

Other excavations, individually waived in writing by the Official as provided in this ordinance.

In any case, in which it is unclear or questionable to the individual whether a permit is required, it is the individual's responsibility to request such a judgment from the City Engineer.

When required by the City Engineer, each application for a grading permit shall be accompanied by two (2) sets of plans and specifications. The plans and specifications shall be prepared, stamped and signed by a licensed civil engineer, architect or surveyor, licensed in the State of Tennessee, as required by the City Engineer. The plans shall include the following information:

A.

General vicinity of the proposed site and the address of the location, the owner and the developer (if different from the owner).

B.

Property limits and accurate contours of existing ground and details of terrain and area drainage.

C.

Limiting dimensions, elevations or finish contours to be achieved by the grading, fill or excavation.

D.

The proposed drainage channels and related construction.

E.

Location of areas of proposed paving.

F.

Limits of vegetative clearing.

G.

Plans for vegetative re-establishment.

H.

Estimates of exposure time of denuded land.

I.

Detailed plans of all surfaces and subsurface drainage devices, walls cribbing, dams, and other protective devices to be constructed with, or as part of, the proposed work together with a map showing the drainage area and the estimated runoff of the area served by any drains.

J.

Location of any buildings or structures of the property where the work is to be performed, and the location of any building(s) or structure(s) on land of adjacent owners which are within twenty-five (25) feet of the property and which may be affected by the proposed grading operation. Specifications shall contain information covering construction and material requirements.

K.

A schedule for performance of all earthwork, earth stabilization, and reclamation activities.

L.

All utilities and easements and all public rights-of-way shall be shown on the plan. The Tennessee One-Call Reference Number for the project shall be shown accordingly on the plans. The toll-free telephone of Tennessee One-Call is 1-800-351-1111.

M.

A plan for erosion control indicating a minimum of a double layer of silt protection such as stacked, baled straw, and silt fencing shall be shown along the perimeter of the proposed grading or excavation. All erosion control measures shall be consistent with the provisions described in the most current edition of the Tennessee Erosion & Sediment Control Handbook.

Grading and Erosion Control Permits may be issued by the City Codes Enforcement Officer when the following items are addressed and approved by the appropriate Official:

A.

Review and Approval of Plans

The application, plans, and specifications filed by an applicant for a permit shall be reviewed by within thirty (30) days of submittal by the City Engineer or his designated representative. Such plans will be reviewed to check the compliance with all applicable laws and ordinances.

B.

Issuance of a Permit — If the City Engineer agrees that:

(1)

The work described in an application for a permit and the plans filed therewith conform to the requirements of this section and other pertinent laws and ordinances; and

(2)

If the fee associated with the appropriate City Ordinance for such permit has been paid by the applicant and accordingly documented in the Codes Enforcement Officer's Office;

The City Engineer shall endorse in writing or stamp on both sets of plans a specifications "APPROVED." Such approved plans shall not be altered, changed, or modified without authorization from the City Engineer, and all work shall be performed in accordance with the approved plans.

C.

Retention of Plans

One (1) set of approved plans, specifications, computations, and reports shall be retained by the City Engineer and one (1) set of approved plans and specifications shall be returned to the applicant. The applicant's set shall be kept on site at all times during which the work authorized thereby is in progress.

D.

Validity

The issuance or granting of a permit or approval of plans and specifications shall not be construed to be a permit for, or an approval of, any violation of any of the provisions of this section. No permit presuming to give authority to violate or cancel the provisions of this ordinance shall be valid, except insofar as the work or use which it authorizes is lawful. The issuance of a permit based upon plans, specifications, and reports shall not prevent an Official from thereafter requiring the correction of errors in said plans and specifications. An official may require that grading operations and project designs be modified if delays occur which incur weather-generated problems not considered at the time the permit was issued. In the event that an official realized that a violation or hazard may result from the continuation of the work which has been issued a permit, that Official shall notify the developer, the City Engineer and the Codes Enforcement Officer in writing of said potential danger and recommend design procedures to address the potential violation or hazard.

E.

Expiration

Every grading permit issued under the provisions of this ordinance shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the work authorized by such permit is not commenced within ninety (90) days from the date of issuance. The work authorized by the permit shall not be suspended or abandoned for a period in excess of thirty (30) days at any time after the work is commenced but shall be carried through to completion. All work must be finalized within ninety (90) days of the scheduled completion date unless an extension is applied for and granted by the City Engineer.

F.

Suspension or Revocation

The Codes Enforcement Officer may, in writing, suspend or revoke a permit issued under provisions of this ordinance whenever the permit was issued in error due to:

(1)

Incorrect information was supplied by the developer or civil engineer, or

(2)

A violation of any ordinance or regulation would occur if the continuation of the excavation is allowed to continue.

G.

Permit Fees

A fee shall be paid to the Office of the Code Enforcement Officer by the applicant in order to validate the permit after the plan review and approval. Fees shall be as follows:

(1)

For projects involving ten thousand (10,000) square feet or less or five hundred (500) cubic yards or less, the grading permit fee shall be as established by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen by separate ordinance.

(2)

For projects involving over ten thousand (10,000) square feet or over five hundred (500) cubic yards, the grading permit fee shall be as established by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen by separate ordinance.

H.

Bonds

The City Engineer may require bonds in such forms and amounts as may be deemed necessary for projects involving over five hundred (500) cubic yards to:

(1)

Assure that the work, if not completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, will be corrected to eliminate any hazardous conditions.

(2)

In lieu of a surety bond, the applicant may file a cash bond or instrument of credit with the City Recorder in an amount equal to that which would be required in the surety bond.

I.

Standards

The standards for performance of any earthwork covered under this ordinance shall be those adopted by resolution of the Board of Mayor and Alderman of Springfield, Tennessee.

(1)

Grading Inspection - All grading for which a permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the City Engineer and Codes Enforcement Officer. When required, a special inspection of grading, operations, and special testing shall be performed.

(2)

Notification of Noncompliance - If doing inspection, an Official finds that the work is not being performed in conformance with this ordinance, or the approved grading permit, the discrepancies shall be reported immediately in writing accompanied by recommendations for corrective measures to the person in charge of the grading work, the City Engineer and the Codes Enforcement Officer. The Codes Enforcement Officer shall pursue the necessary steps to correct the noncompliance through whatever means necessary under the provisions of this ordinance which may include a stop work order and/or accompanying fines and prosecution.

(3)

Notification of Completion and Final Inspection - The permittee or his agent shall notify the City Engineer when the grading operation is ready for a final inspection. At the time of final inspection, all grading shall be completed accordingly with the approved plans and all denuded areas shall be covered with topsoil, seeded and covered with straw. The City Engineer and Codes Enforcement Officer shall perform the final inspection. In projects consisting of more than five hundred (500) cubic yards, the City Engineer may require the developer to provide verification of a standard proctor in accordance with the "Standard Method of Test for Moisture Density Relationship of Soils Using a 2.5 kilograms (5.5 Pound) Rammer and a 305-millimeter (12-inch) Drop," AASHTO T 99, Method C.

(4)

Conflict of Regulations - Where there exists a conflict between any of the regulations or limitations prescribed in this section and any other regulations applicable to the same area, the more stringent limitation or requirement shall govern and prevail.

(5)

Other permits - The City of Springfield Grading and Erosion Control Permit shall not exclude the permit holder from obtaining any required State or Federal permit that may also apply.

(6)

Erosion Control - Erosion control shall be maintained until a sufficient stand of vegetation is established and verified by the City Engineer.

(7)

Grading Specifications - All excavations, embankments, and/or construction shall conform to the most current edition of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Standard Specifications For Road and Bridge Construction.

J.

Enforcement.

It shall be the duty of the codes Enforcement Officer and the City Engineer to ensure that the provisions of the ordinances are met.

K.

Violations and Penalties

Any person, firm, corporation, or agent who shall violate a provision of this code, or fail to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof, shall be prosecuted within the limits provided by state or local laws. Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this code is committed or continued, and upon conviction of any such violation such person shall be punished within the limits and as provided by state and local laws.