Rockland County, NY Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Chapter 345 of the Rockland County Code, the county's 1997 Sewer Use Law, governs Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 and sets rules for contractors and property owners performing sewer connection and construction work. Section 345-34, in the article on liability insurance and indemnification during construction, requires anyone entering upon or excavating a highway, or cutting pavement, a sidewalk or curbing, to get permission first from whichever authority controls that road: the Superintendent of Highways for a town highway, the Rockland County Highway Department for a county highway, or the New York State Department of Transportation for a state highway.

The same section requires anyone connecting directly to District facilities or working on District easements to first file a $5,000 bond and an insurance certificate naming the County and District as additional insureds, and to obtain the Executive Director's permission before work begins. Read together with Section 345-38, which separately bars uncovering, connecting to, or disturbing any public sewer without a written permit from the Executive Director or Superintendent, Chapter 345's approach is that no one opens a county roadway, sidewalk or sewer main on their own authority: every cut into the surface, and every tap into the pipe beneath it, needs sign-off from whichever public body actually controls that ground.