The Department will condition each in-water blasting permit as
necessary to prevent injury to fish, wildlife, and their habitat. Protective
permit conditions include but are not limited to the following:
(1) The applicant must clean up all debris
associated with in-water blasting, including blasting wire, dynamite, boxes,
etc. The Department may require the applicant to clean up debris such as fly
rock.
(2) If necessary to prevent
injury to fish and wildlife, the permittee must divert or remove them from the
site immediately before blasting, using methods approved by the
Department.
(3) If marine mammals
are present at the blasting site, the permittee must contact the National
Marine Fisheries Service to determine any steps necessary to comply with the
federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, and may ask for the Department's
assistance in carrying out such steps. The Department may require the permittee
to pay in advance for assistance provided.
(4) If the Department determines it is
necessary, the permittee must conduct a pre and post blasting survey of fish
and wildlife using methods approved by the Department.
(5) Measures to reduce shock waves from
explosives will be required if necessary to prevent injury to fish or wildlife.
Examples of appropriate methods include using bubble curtains and detonation
delays between charges.
(6) Timing
of in-water blasting must be restricted to prevent injury to fish, wildlife,
and their habitat, fish eggs or other aquatic life, and commercial and
recreational fisheries consistent with the Department's "Guidelines for Timing
of In-Water Work to Protect Fish and Wildlife Resources" (Exhibit 1). Timing
for all blasting permits must follow the Timing Guidelines unless modified by
the appropriate local district fishery biologist due to the absence of fish or
wildlife species or the presence of a species not adequately protected by the
timing guidelines.
(7) Potential
pollutants incidental to the blasting work, including but not limited to fuel
and other petroleum product, must be stored in such a manner and location that
prevent these pollutants from entering waters of this state.
(8) The permittee must minimize disturbance
to streambanks and riparian vegetation. The permittee must recontour and
revegetate disturbed soils to the standard set by the Department in
consultation with other state or local agencies with regulatory authority over
reclamation.
(9) The Department may
place special restrictions on blasting permits for projects that may adversely
affect state threatened, endangered, or sensitive species, or federal
threatened, endangered, or candidate species.
(10) The Department may place special
restrictions on blasting permits for projects that may adversely affect special
aquatic sites, such as federal estuarine research reserves.
(11) All activities initiated under an
in-water blasting permit issued pursuant to OAR
635-425-0000 through
635-425-0050 must be completed
within the time period specified in the permit. The Department may extend the
time period specified in a permit if the permittee provides a written request
stating a valid reason for such an extension. Any extension must be in writing
and may include additional conditions to prevent injury to fish, wildlife, and
their habitat as provided by these rules.
(12) The applicant must comply with the
notification requirements contained in OAR
635-425-0040.
(13) The issuance of a permit does not
relieve the permittee from any liability, including but not limited to
liability for injury to persons, property, or fish and wildlife or their
habitat.