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Article 8.
Underground Damage Prevention.
§ 87-100. Short title.
This Article shall be known as the "Underground Damage
Prevention Act". (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-101. Definitions.
As used in this Article:
(1) "Association" means an
association, sponsored by
utility
owners, that will provide for receipt of
notification
of excavation operations in a defined
geographical
area, and that will maintain the
records of
the notifications.
(2) "Damage" includes the substantial
weakening of
structural or
lateral support of an underground
utility,
penetration or destruction of protective
coating,
housing, or other protective device of an
underground
utility, and the partial or complete
severance of
an underground utility.
(3) "Excavate" or "excavation" means
an operation for
the purpose
of the movement or removal of earth,
rock, or
other materials in or on the ground by use
of equipment
operated by means of mechanical power
and/or an
operation by which a structure or mass of
material is
wrecked, razed, moved, or removed by
means of any
tools, equipment, or discharge of
explosives.
This term includes road construction
but does not
include road maintenance activities
within
rights-of-way of a highway, including those
maintenance
activities defined by the rules and
regulations
of the North Carolina Department of
Transportation.
(4) "Highway" has the meaning set out
in G.S. 20-4.01
as the same
shall be amended from time to time.
(5) "Location of underground
utilities" means a strip
of land not
wider than the width of the underground
utility plus
two and one-half (2 1/2) feet on
either side
of the underground utility.
(6) "Person" means a corporation,
individual,
copartnership,
company, association, or any
combination
of individuals or organizations doing
business as a
unit, any subdivision or
instrumentality of the State, and includes any
officer,
agent, trustee, receiver, assignee,
lessee, or
personal representative of any of the
above
entities.
(7) "Person financially responsible"
means that person
who
ultimately receives the benefits of any
completed
excavation activities, including a person
owning or
leasing real property or holding an
easement or
interest in an easement.
(8) "Public spaces" means any area
owned by the State
or any of its
political subdivisions or dedicated
for public
use.
(9) "Road construction" means the
actual building of a
new highway;
or the paving, grading, widening,
relocation,
reconstruction, or other major
improvement
of a substantial portion of an existing
highway.
(10) "Road maintenance" means preservation,
including
repairs and
resurfacing of a highway, not amounting
to road
construction.
(11) "Street" has the meaning set out in
G.S. 20-4.01 as
the same
shall be amended from time to time.
(12) "Underground utility" means any
underground line,
system or
facility used for producing, storing,
conveying,
transmitting, or distributing
communication
or telecommunication, electricity,
gas,
petroleum and petroleum products, coal slurry,
hazardous
liquids, water under pressure, steam, or
sanitary
sewage, but not including traffic signal
control
cables and vehicle detection cables of the
North
Carolina Department of Transportation.
(13) "Utility owner" means any person who
owns or
operates an
underground utility.
(14) "Work day" means every day except
Saturday, Sunday,
national
legal holidays and State legal holidays.
(1985, c.
785, s. 1.)
§ 87-102. Notice required prior to excavation.
(a)Except as provided in G.S. 87-106, before commencing
any excavations in highways, public spaces or in private
easements of a utility owner, a person planning to excavate
shall notify each utility owner having underground utilities
located in the proposed area to be excavated, either orally or
in writing, not less than two nor more than 10 working days
prior to starting, of his intent to excavate.
(b) The written or oral notice required in subsection (a)
shall contain:
(1) The name, address, and telephone
number of the
person filing
the notice;
(2) The name, address, and telephone
number of the
person doing
the excavating;
(3) The anticipated starting date of
the excavation;
(4) The anticipated duration of the
excavation;
(5) The type of excavation to be
conducted;
(6) The location of the proposed
excavation; and
(7) Whether or not explosives will be
used.
(c) If the notice required by this section is made by
telephone, an adequate record shall be made of the notification
by the utility owners or the utility association and the person
making the notification, to document compliance with this
section. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-103. Effect of permit on liability.
A permit authorizing excavation operations and issued
pursuant to law or ordinance shall not relieve a person of the
responsibility of complying with this Article. (1985, c. 785, s.
1.)
§ 87-104. Requirements of person doing excavation.
(a)Except as provided in G.S. 87-106, no person may
excavate in a highway, a public space, or a private easement of
a utility owner without first having given the notice required
in G.S. 87-102 to the utility owners.
(b) In addition to the notification requirements, each person
excavating shall:
(1) Plan the excavation to avoid
damage and to minimize
interference
with underground utilities in and near
the
construction area, to the best of his
abilities;
(2) Maintain a clearance between an
underground utility
and the
cutting edge or point of any mechanized
equipment,
taking into account the known limit of
control of
that cutting edge or point, as is
reasonably
required to avoid damage; and
(3) Provide support for the
underground utilities in or
near the
construction area, including backfill, as
may be
reasonably required by the utility owner for
the
protection of the underground utilities. (1985,
c. 785, s.
1.)
§ 87-105. Requirements of the person financially responsible
for the excavation.
The person financially responsible shall provide to the
person responsible for doing the excavating, the names of all
underground utility owners in the area of the proposed
excavation. The names of the utility owners may be obtained from
the County Register of Deeds or the Building Inspection
Department of the political subdivision in which the excavating
is taken place, if there is one. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-106. Exceptions.
The following excavations are exempted from the
notification requirements of this Article:
(1) Tilling of soil for agricultural
purposes;
(2) Excavation by a utility owner, by
the State or its
subdivisions
or agencies, or by anyone contracting
with any of
these entities to perform the
excavation,
on or within an easement, right-of-way,
or property
owned or controlled by any of these
entities,
where:
a.
Only the facilities of the utility owner doing
the excavating are permitted; or
b.
All persons having an interest in the
excavation and the underground utilities that
may be damaged during the excavation have
agreed in writing to provide the equivalent of
the notification required by this Article
among themselves; or
(3) The replacement of a pole as long
as the
replacement
pole is within three feet of the
original pole
and within the line of existing
poles. This
exception shall not apply to poles at
highway
intersections or at the crossings of
highways and
permanently marked transmission
underground
utilities.
(4) In the case of an emergency
involving danger to
life, health,
or property requiring immediate
correction,
or in order to continue the operation
of a major
industrial plant, or in order to assure
the
continuity of utility services, excavations
immediately
required to repair or maintain the
needed
service may be made, without using
explosives,
if notice is given to the utility owner
or
association as soon as is reasonably possible;
except that
the prohibition against the use of
explosives
shall not apply to the North Carolina
Department of
Transportation. Performance of
emergency
excavation shall not relieve the
excavator of
liability for damages. (1985, c. 785,
s. 1.)
§ 87-107. Duties of the utility owners.
Each utility owner, or his designated representative
including an association, notified of an intent to excavate
shall, before the proposed start of excavating (unless another
period is agreed to by the person conducting the excavation and
the utility owner or their representatives), provide the
following information to the person excavating to the extent
such information is reflected by records in the possession of
and reasonably available to the utility owner:
(1) The location and description of
all of the
underground
utilities which may be damaged as a
result of the
excavation;
(2) The location and description of
all utility markers
indicating
the location of the underground
utilities;
and
(3) Any other information that would
assist in locating
and avoiding
damage to the underground utilities,
including
providing temporary markings when
necessary
indicating the location of the
underground
utility in locations where permanent
utility
markers do not exist. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-108. Absence of utility location.
Should any utility owner who has been given notice
pursuant to G.S. 87-102 fail to respond to that notice as
provided in G.S. 87- 107, or fail to properly locate the
underground utility, then the person excavating is free to
proceed with the excavation. Neither the excavator nor the
person financially responsible for the excavation will be liable
to the nonresponding or improperly responding utility owner for
damages to that utility owner's facilities if the person doing
the excavating shall exercise due care to protect existing
underground utilities when there is evidence of the existence of
those underground utilities near the proposed excavation site.
(1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-109. Recording requirements for associations.
An association shall record with the Register of Deeds of
each county in which participating utility owners own or operate
underground utilities, a notarized document providing the
telephone number and address of the association, a description
of the geographical area served by the association, and a list
of the names and addresses of the utility owners receiving these
services from the association. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-110. Recording requirements for utility owners.
(a)Each utility owner having underground utilities in
North Carolina shall record a notarized document containing the
name of the utility owner and the title, address, and telephone
number of its representatives designated to receive the written
or oral notice of intent to excavate, with the Register of Deeds
of each county in which the utility owner owns or operates
underground facilities. This document shall be executed by an
officer of the utility owner or in the case of a governmental
entity, the authorized official.
(b) Any change or modification of the information recorded by
a utility owner, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section,
shall be made by recording the corrected information with the
Register of Deeds of each county to which the change or
modification applies, in the manner required by subsection (a)
of this section within five days of the change made to the
utilities.
(c) For purposes of the recordings required by subsections
(a) and (b) of this section, recordings by an association
pursuant to G.S. 87- 109 shall satisfy the recording
requirements for each utility owner who is a member of the
association while that utility owner remains a member of the
association.
(d) Upon receipt of the documents recorded pursuant to
subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this section, the Register of
Deeds shall place the documents in the Grantor's Index under the
heading "Underground Utilities". The registration fee imposed by
Chapter 161 of the General Statutes shall apply to these
documents. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-111. Recorded information filed with inspection
departments.
A copy of any document or modification or change in the
information in that document recorded pursuant to G.S. 87-109 or
G.S. 87-110 shall be filed with any county or municipal
inspection department having jurisdiction over any area where
the underground utilities are located. Such inspection
departments shall maintain these filings in alphabetical order
in an accessible form. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-112. Color-coding.
When the location of an underground utility is marked
with stakes or by other physical means, pursuant to this
Article, the utility owner shall use colored markers following
the American Public Works Association Uniform Color Code for
Utilities. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
§ 87-113. Notification required when damage done.
(a)The person doing an excavation that results in any
known damage to an underground utility shall, immediately after
the discovery of the damage, notify the utility owner of the
location and nature of the damage and shall allow the utility
owner reasonable time to repair the damage before completing the
excavation in the immediate area of the damaged underground
utility.
(b) The person responsible for conducting any excavation that
results in damage to an underground utility where the damage may
endanger life, health, or property shall, immediately after the
discovery of the damage, take action to protect the public and
property, notify the utility owner, notify the police or fire
departments, and take any other actions to minimize the hazards
until the arrival of the utility owner's personnel, the police,
or the fire department. The excavator shall delay any
backfilling in the immediate area of the damaged underground
utility until authorized by the utility owner unless it is
necessary to prevent injury or property damage to others. Repair
of any damage shall be performed by the utility owner or by
qualified personnel authorized by the utility owner. (1985, c.
785, s. 1.)
§ 87-114. Homeowners.
This Article does not require utility notification before
a property owner digs in any area on his own property with
nonmechanized equipment nor prior to tilling the soil for
agricultural, gardening or landscaping purposes. Mechanized
equipment may be used, without utility notification, in any area
on the owner's property with the exception of recorded
underground utility easements which describes the location of
the easement with specificity. (1985, c. 785, s. 1.)
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