Section 441.5. Issuance of permits

(a) General rule. Upon application duly made, in accordance with this chapter, a permit will be issued by the appropriate district office, subject to this chapter and the conditions contained on the permit and its attachments and supplements. The permit will be the authority of the applicant to proceed with the work and will also serve as a receipt for the fees accompanying the application.

(b) Permit issued only to property owner. Permits will be issued only to the owners of the property. Permits will not be issued to contractors of the property owner nor to any person other than the owner of the property.

(c) Permits not issued for certain structures. Permits will not be issued for bus stop shelters or phone booths, or for advertising signs, liquid fuel pumps, loading platforms, weight scales, or any structure which the Department deems not proper for occupancy of the right-of-way. However, the Department may authorize bus stop shelters or phone booths by written agreement.

(d) Permits not issued for certain highways. Permits will not normally be issued for occupancy of or access to any limited access highway. In exceptional cases, the Department in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, where applicable, may make exceptions.

(e) Waiver of design requirements. Waiver of design requirements shall be as follows:

(1) If any design requirement set forth in this chapter cannot be met, the director may waive the requirement if the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) no other reasonable access is available;

(ii) the applicant has done all that can reasonably be done to satisfy the design requirements;

(iii) if additional land is required, the applicant provides satisfactory evidence that it cannot be purchased at a reasonable price;

(iv) no traffic problem will be created; and

(v) the applicant executes an indemnity agreement satisfactory to the Commonwealth.

(2) In the case of a temporary access for extracting natural resources for a period of no more than one year, any design requirement set forth in this chapter which cannot be met may be waived by the district engineer, provided conditions (i), (ii), (iii), and (v) of paragraph (1) of this subsection are satisfied.

(f) Permit requiring agreement. Where the applicant will be required to perform a substantial amount of work, the Department may require the applicant to execute an agreement as a prerequisite to issuance of the permit.

(g) Requesting permit time extension. A permit shall be valid for a six-month period or multiples thereof as specified on the permit. If the permittee has not completed all authorized work by the completion date specified on the permit, an application shall be submitted requesting a time extension. If approved, a supplement may be issued by the district office, authorizing work to continue for an additional six-month period.

(h) Work completion notification. When all permitted work has been completed, the self-addressed post card (Form M-945G) which accompanies the permit shall be mailed to the district office.

(i) Permanent permit microfilm record. The permit, together with plans, relevant correspondence, and any supplements issued, will be microfilmed, and the microfilm record will be retained in the central permit office.