SB1714eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1714 Engrossed LRB094 10702 MKM 41102 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act is amended by changing Sections 2, 2.2, 4, 6, and 10 and by adding Sections 2.9 and 2.10 as follows:

(220 ILCS 50/2) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1602)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context clearly otherwise requires, the terms specified in Sections 2.1 through 2.10 2.8 have the meanings ascribed to them in those Sections.

(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)

(220 ILCS 50/2.2) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1602.2)

Sec. 2.2. Underground utility facilities. "Underground utility facilities" or "facilities" means and includes wires, ducts, fiber optic cable, conduits, pipes, sewers, and cables and their connected appurtenances installed beneath the surface of the ground by a public utility (as is defined in the Illinois Public Utilities Act, as amended), or by a municipally owned or mutually owned utility providing a similar utility service, except an electric cooperative as defined in the Illinois Public Utilities Act, as amended, or by a pipeline entity transporting gases, crude oil, petroleum products, or other hydrocarbon materials within the State, or by a telecommunications carrier as defined in the Universal Telephone Service Protection Law of 1985, or by a company described in Section 1 of "An Act relating to the powers, duties and property of telephone companies", approved May 16, 1903, as amended, or by a community antenna television system, hereinafter referred to as "CATS", as defined in the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended.

(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)

(220 ILCS 50/2.9 new)

Sec. 2.9. "Forty-eight hours" means 2 business days beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays recognized by the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or the municipal one-call notice system). All requests for locates received after 4 p.m. will be processed as if received at 8 a.m. the next business day.

(220 ILCS 50/2.10 new)

Sec. 2.10. "Open cut utility locate" means a method of locating underground utility facilities that requires excavation by the owner, operator, or agent of the underground facility.

(220 ILCS 50/4) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1604)

Sec. 4. Required activities. Every person who engages in nonemergency excavation or demolition shall:

(a) take reasonable action to inform himself of the location of any underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the area for which such operation is to be conducted;

(b) plan the excavation or demolition to avoid or minimize interference with underground utility facilities or CATS facilities within the tolerance zone by utilizing such precautions that include, but are not limited to, hand excavation, vacuum excavation methods, and visually inspecting the excavation while in progress until clear of the existing marked facility;

(c) if practical, use white paint, flags, stakes, or both, to outline the dig site;

(d) provide notice not less than 48 hours (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) but no more than 14 calendar days in advance of the start of the excavation or demolition to the owners or operators of the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in the case of nonemergency excavation or demolition within the boundaries of a municipality of at least one million persons which operates its own one-call notice system, through the one-call notice system which operates in that municipality;

(e) provide, during and following excavation or demolition, such support for existing underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of such facilities unless otherwise agreed to by the owner or operator of the underground facility or CATS facility;

(f) backfill all excavations in such manner and with such materials as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of existing underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area; and

(g) After February 29, 2004, when the excavation or demolition project will extend past 28 calendar days from the date of the original notice provided under clause (d), the excavator shall provide a subsequent notice to the owners or operators of the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in the case of excavation or demolition within the boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants that operates its own one-call notice system, through the one-call notice system that operates in that municipality informing utility owners and operators that additional time to complete the excavation or demolition project will be required. The notice will provide the excavator with an additional 28 calendar days from the date of the subsequent notification to continue or complete the excavation or demolition project.

At a minimum, the notice required under clause (d) shall provide:

(1) the person's name, address, and (i) phone number at which a person can be reached and (ii) fax number;

(2) the start date of the planned excavation or demolition;

(3) the address at which the excavation or demolition will take place;

(4) the type and extent of the work involved; and

(5) section/quarter sections when the above information does not allow the State-Wide One-Call Notice System to determine the appropriate geographic section/quarter sections. This item (5) does not apply to residential property owners.

Nothing in this Section prohibits the use of any method of excavation if conducted in a manner that would avoid interference with underground utility facilities or CATS facilities.

(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02; 93-430, eff. 8-5-03.)

(220 ILCS 50/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1606)

Sec. 6. Emergency excavation or demolition.

(a) Every person who engages in emergency excavation or demolition outside of the boundaries of a municipality of at least one million persons which operates its own one-call notice system shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid or minimize interference between the emergency work and existing underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area, through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System, and shall notify, as far in advance as possible, the owners or operators of such underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the emergency excavation or demolition area, through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System. At a minimum, the notice required under this subsection (a) shall provide:

(1) the person's name, address, and (i) phone number at which a person can be reached and (ii) fax number;

(2) the start date of the planned emergency excavation or demolition;

(3) the address at which the excavation or demolition will take place; and

(4) the type and extent of the work involved.

A 2-hour wait time exists after an emergency locate notification request is made through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System. If the conditions at the site dictate an earlier start than the 2-hour wait time, it is the responsibility of the excavator to demonstrate that site conditions warranted this earlier start time.

(b) Every person who engages in emergency excavation or demolition within the boundaries of a municipality of at least one million persons which operates its own one-call notice system shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid or minimize interference between the emergency work and existing underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area, through the municipality's one-call notice system, and shall notify, as far in advance as possible, the owners and operators of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near the emergency excavation or demolition area, through the municipality's one-call notice system.

(c) The reinstallation of traffic control devices shall be deemed an emergency for purposes of this Section.

(d) An open cut utility locate shall be deemed an emergency for purposes of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)

(220 ILCS 50/10) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1610)

Sec. 10. Record of notice; marking of facilities. Upon notice by the person engaged in excavation or demolition, the person owning or operating underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in or near the excavation or demolition area shall cause a written record to be made of the notice and shall mark, within 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) of receipt of notice, the approximate locations of such facilities so as to enable the person excavating or demolishing to establish the location of the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities. Owners and operators of underground sewer facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants shall be required to respond and mark the approximate location of those sewer facilities when the excavator indicates, in the notice required in Section 4, that the excavation or demolition project will exceed a depth of 7 feet. "Depth", in this case, is defined as the distance measured vertically from the surface of the ground to the top of the sewer facility. Owners and operators of underground sewer facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants shall be required at all times to locate the approximate location of those sewer facilities when: (1) directional boring is the indicated type of excavation work being performed within the notice; (2) the underground sewer facilities owned are non-gravity, pressurized force mains; or (3) the excavation indicated will occur in the immediate proximity of known underground sewer facilities that are less than 7 feet deep. Owners or operators of underground sewer facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants shall not hold an excavator liable for damages that occur to sewer facilities that were not required to be marked under this Section, provided that prompt notice of the damage is made to the State-Wide One-Call Notice System and the utility owner as required in Section 7.

All persons subject to the requirements of this Act shall plan and conduct their work consistent with reasonable business practices. Conditions may exist making it unreasonable to request that locations be marked within 48 hours. It is unreasonable to request owners and operators of underground utility facilities and CATS facilities to locate all of their facilities in an affected area upon short notice in advance of a large or extensive nonemergency project, or to request extensive locates in excess of a reasonable excavation or demolition work schedule, or to request locates under conditions where a repeat request is likely to be made because of the passage of time or adverse job conditions. Owners and operators of underground utility facilities and CATS facilities must reasonably anticipate seasonal fluctuations in the number of locate requests and staff accordingly.

If a person owning or operating underground utility facilities or CATS facilities receives a notice under this Section but does not own or operate any underground utility facilities or CATS facilities within the proposed excavation or demolition area described in the notice, that person, within 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) after receipt of the notice, shall so notify the person engaged in excavation or demolition who initiated the notice, unless the person who initiated the notice expressly waives the right to be notified that no facilities are located within the excavation or demolition area. The notification by the owner or operator of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities to the person engaged in excavation or demolition may be provided in any reasonable manner including, but not limited to, notification in any one of the following ways: by face-to-face communication; by phone or phone message; by facsimile; by posting in the excavation or demolition area; or by marking the excavation or demolition area. The owner or operator of those facilities has discharged the owner's or operator's obligation to provide notice under this Section if the owner or operator attempts to provide notice by telephone or by facsimile, if the person has supplied a facsimile number, but is unable to do so because the person engaged in the excavation or demolition does not answer his or her telephone or does not have an answering machine or answering service to receive the telephone call or does not have a facsimile machine in operation to receive the facsimile transmission. If the owner or operator attempts to provide notice by telephone or by facsimile but receives a busy signal, that attempt shall not serve to discharge the owner or operator of the obligation to provide notice under this Section.

A person engaged in excavation or demolition may expressly waive the right to notification from the owner or operator of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities that the owner or operator has no facilities located in the proposed excavation or demolition area. Waiver of notice is only permissible in the case of regular or nonemergency locate requests. The waiver must be made at the time of the notice to the State-Wide One-Call Notice System. A waiver made under this Section is not admissible as evidence in any criminal or civil action that may arise out of, or is in any way related to, the excavation or demolition that is the subject of the waiver.

For the purposes of this Act, underground facility operators may utilize a combination of flags, stakes, and paint when possible on non-paved surfaces and when dig site and seasonal conditions warrant. If the approximate location of an underground utility facility or CATS facility is marked with stakes or other physical means, the following color coding shall be employed:

(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02; 93-430, eff. 8-5-03.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.