Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 37, September 13, 2024
Section 56-2-15 - Tree Felling15.1. General requirements.15.1.1. Trees shall not be felled in a manner that may create a hazard for an employee, such as but not limited to, striking a rope, cable, power line, or machine.15.1.2. The immediate supervisor shall be consulted when unfamiliar or unusually hazardous conditions necessitate the supervisor's approval before cutting is commenced.15.1.3. While manual felling is in progress, no machine shall be operated within 2 tree lengths of trees being manually felled. Exception: This provision does not apply to machines performing tree-pulling operations.15.1.4. No employee shall approach a feller closer than 2 tree lengths of trees being felled until the feller has acknowledged that it is safe to do so, unless the employer demonstrates to the Director that a team of employees is necessary to manually fell a particular tree.15.1.5. No employee shall approach a mechanical felling operation closer than 2 tree lengths of the trees being felled until the machine operator has acknowledged that it is safe to do so.15.1.6. Each danger tree shall be felled, removed or avoided. Each danger tree, including lodged trees and snags, shall be felled or removed using mechanical or other techniques that minimize employee exposure before work is commenced in the area of the danger tree. If the danger tree is not felled or removed, it shall be marked and no work shall be conducted within 2 tree lengths of the danger tree unless the employer demonstrates to the Director that a shorter distance will not create a hazard for an employee.15.1.7. Each danger tree shall be carefully checked for signs of loose bark, broken branches and limbs or other damage before they are felled or removed. Accessible loose bark and other damage that may create a hazard for an employee shall be removed or held in place before felling or removing the tree.15.1.8. Felling on any slope where rolling or sliding of trees or is reasonably foreseeable shall be done uphill from, or on the same level as, previously felled trees.15.1.9. Domino felling of trees is prohibited. (The definition of domino felling does not include the felling of a single danger tree by felling another single tree into it.)