Lightning Protection installation

[jerry h.]

Good morning,
I work at a Government facility and therefore have no inspector to pose this question to.
Contractor is installing a Lightning protection system between buildings. They have run the bare copper conductor in a trench approximately 2-4" into the black top. What is the mininum depth for this installation, should it be protected in a raceway? They also used mechanical connections at the ground rod, which will be buried in the black top. Is this acceptable? If this is indeed a violation would you please reference the code article.
Thank you,
Jerry

 

[WorkSafe]

I am, by all means, not an expert on this, but here is what I found:

NFPA 780

4.13.4.1 The ground ring electrode shall be in direct contact with earth at a depth of not less than 460 mm (18 in.) or encased in a concrete footing in accordance with 4.13.3.

 

[bphgravity]

You may not have an inspector, but don't you have engineered construction documents that detail the installation requirements and specifications??? I can't imagine a "Government facility" contracting work without approved document submittals...

 

[rey-man]

I would suggest to have the cable cadwelded to the rod. if it was to be embedded in concrete then a bugnut is fine.