Laws Effective August 1st, 2004
Note: This is not an official site for the laws concerning One Call Excavation.
H.F No. 995, 2nd Engrossment: 83rd Legislative Session (2003-2004) Posted on Mar 1, 2004
1.1: A bill for an act
1.2: relating to utilities; modifying notice and plan
1.3: requirements before excavating around utility
1.4: facilities; making technical and clarifying changes;
1.5: amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 216D.01, by
1.6: adding a subdivision; 216D.04, subdivisions 1, 1a, 2,
1.7: 3, 4; 216D.05.
1.8: BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9: Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.01, is 1.10: amended by adding a subdivision to read:
1.11: Subd. 12. [UTILITY QUALITY LEVEL.] "Utility quality level"
1.12: means a professional opinion about the quality and reliability
1.13: of utility information. There are four levels of utility
1.14: quality information, ranging from the most precise and reliable,
1.15: level A, to the least precise and reliable, level D. The
1.16: utility quality level must be determined in accordance with
1.17: guidelines established by the Construction Institute of the
1.18: American Society of Civil Engineers in document CI/ASCE 38-02
1.19: entitled "Standard Guidelines for the Collection and Depiction
1.20: of Existing Subsurface Utility Data."
1.21: Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04,
1.22: subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.23: Subdivision 1. [NOTICE REQUIRED; CONTENTS.] (a) Except in
1.24: an emergency, an excavator shall and a land surveyor may contact
1.25: the notification center and provide an excavation or location
1.26: notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
2.1: holidays and not more than 14 calendar days before beginning any
2.2: excavation or boundary survey, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
2.3: holidays. An excavation or boundary survey begins, for purposes
2.4: of this requirement, the first time excavation or a boundary
2.5: survey occurs in an area that was not previously identified by
2.6: the excavator or land surveyor in an excavation or boundary
2.7: survey the notice.
2.8: (b) The excavation notice may be oral or written, and must
2.9: contain the following information:
2.10: (1) the name of the individual providing the excavation
2.11: notice;
2.12: (2) the precise location of the proposed area of excavation
2.13: or survey;
2.14: (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the
2.15: excavator individual or excavator's individual's company;
2.16: (4) the excavator's field telephone number, if one is
2.17: available;
2.18: (5) the type and the extent of the proposed
2.19: excavation activity;
2.20: (6) whether or not the discharge of explosives is
2.21: anticipated;
2.22: (7) the date and time when the excavation or survey is to
2.23: commence; and
2.24: (8) the estimated duration of the excavation activity.
2.25: (c) The boundary survey notice may be oral or written, and
2.26: must contain the following information:
2.27: (1) the name of the individual providing the boundary
2.28: survey;
2.29: (2) the precise location of the proposed area of the
2.30: boundary survey;
2.31: (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the land
2.32: surveyor or the land surveyor's company;
2.33: (4) the land surveyor's field telephone number, if
2.34: available;
2.35: (5) the extent of the proposed boundary survey;
2.36: (6) the date and time when the boundary survey is to
3.1: commence.
3.2: Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04,
3.3: subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
3.4: Subd. 1a. [PLANS FOR EXCAVATION.] (a) Any person, prior to
3.5: soliciting bids or entering into a contract for excavation,
3.6: shall provide a proposed excavation request notice to the
3.7: notification center to obtain from the affected operators of
3.8: underground facilities the type, size, and general location of
3.9: underground facilities. Affected operators shall provide the
3.10: information within 15 working days. An operator who provides
3.11: information to a person who is not a unit of government may
3.12: indicate any portions of the information which are proprietary
3.13: and may require the person to provide appropriate
3.14: confidentiality protection. The information obtained from
3.15: affected operators must be submitted with on the final drawing
3.16: used for the bid or contract and must depict the utility quality
3.17: level of that information. This information must be obtained
3.18: updated not more than 90 days before completion of the final
3.19: drawing used for the bid or contract.
3.20: (b) This subdivision does not apply to bids and contracts
3.21: for:
3.22: (1) routine maintenance of underground facilities or
3.23: installation, maintenance, or repair of service lines;
3.24: (2) excavation for operators of underground facilities
3.25: performed on a unit of work or similar basis; or
3.26: (3) excavation for home construction and projects by home
3.27: owners.
3.28: (c) A person required by this section to show existing
3.29: underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more
3.30: preliminary design meetings during the design phase to
3.31: communicate the project design and coordinate utility relocation.
3.32: Affected facility operators shall attend these meetings or make
3.33: other arrangements to provide information.
3.34: (d) A person required by this section to show existing
3.35: underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more
3.36: preconstruction meetings to communicate the project design and
4.1: coordinate utility relocation. Affected facility operators and
4.2: contractors shall attend these meetings or make other
4.3: arrangements to provide information.
4.4: (e) This subdivision does not affect the obligation to
4.5: provide a notice of excavation as required under subdivision 1.
4.6: Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04,
4.7: subdivision 2, is amended to read:
4.8: Subd. 2. [DUTIES OF NOTIFICATION CENTER.] The notification
4.9: center shall assign an inquiry identification number to
4.10: each excavation or location notice and retain a record of
4.11: all excavation or location notices received for at least six
4.12: years. The center shall immediately transmit the information
4.13: contained in an excavation or location a notice to every
4.14: operator that has an underground facility in the area of the 4.15: proposed excavation or boundary survey.
4.16: Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04,
4.17: subdivision 3, is amended to read:
4.18: Subd. 3. [LOCATING UNDERGROUND FACILITY; OPERATOR.] (a)
4.19: Prior to the excavation start time on the notice, an operator
4.20: shall, within 48 hours after receiving an excavation notice from
4.21: the center, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, unless
4.22: otherwise agreed to between the excavator and operator, locate
4.23: and mark or otherwise provide the approximate horizontal
4.24: location of the underground facilities of the operator and
4.25: provide readily available information regarding the operator's
4.26: abandoned and out-of-service underground facilities as shown on
4.27: maps, drawings, diagrams, or other records used in the
4.28: operator's normal course of business, without cost to the
4.29: excavator. The excavator shall determine the precise location
4.30: of the underground facility, without damage, before excavating
4.31: within two feet of the marked location of the underground
4.32: facility.
4.33: An operator shall, (b) Within 96 hours or the time
4.34: specified in the notice, whichever is later, after receiving a
4.35: location notice for boundary survey from the notification
4.36: center, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, unless
5.1: otherwise agreed to between the land surveyor and operator, an
5.2: operator shall locate and mark or otherwise provide the
5.3: approximate horizontal location of the underground facilities of
5.4: the operator, without cost to the land surveyor.
5.5: (b) (c) For the purpose of this section, the approximate
5.6: horizontal location of the underground facilities is a strip of
5.7: land two feet on either side of the underground facilities.
5.8: (c) (d) Markers used to designate the approximate location
5.9: of underground facilities must follow the current color code
5.10: standard used by the American Public Works Association.
5.11: (d) (e) If the operator cannot complete marking of the
5.12: excavation or boundary survey area before the excavation or
5.13: boundary survey commencement start time stated in the excavation
5.14: or location notice, the operator shall promptly contact the
5.15: excavator or land surveyor.
5.16: (e) Effective January 1, 1999 (f) After December 31, 1998,
5.17: operators shall maintain maps, drawings, diagrams, or other
5.18: records of any underground facility abandoned or out-of-service
5.19: after December 31, 1998.
5.20: (f) (g) An operator or other person providing information
5.21: pursuant to this subdivision is not responsible to any person,
5.22: for any costs, claims, or damages for information provided in
5.23: good faith regarding abandoned or, out-of-service, or private or
5.24: customer-owned underground facilities.
5.25: Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04,
5.26: subdivision 4, is amended to read:
5.27: Subd. 4. [LOCATING UNDERGROUND FACILITY; EXCAVATOR OR LAND
5.28: SURVEYOR.] (a) The excavator or land surveyor shall determine
5.29: the precise location of the underground facility, without
5.30: damage, before excavating within two feet on either side of the
5.31: marked location of the underground facility.
5.32: (b) If the excavator or land surveyor postpones the
5.33: excavation or boundary survey commencement time stated in the
5.34: excavation or location notice by more than 96 hours, or cancels
5.35: the excavation or boundary survey, the excavator or land
5.36: surveyor shall notify cancel the notice through the notification
6.1: center.
6.2: (c) The notification center excavation or location notice
6.3: will be void six months from the issue date on the notice. A
6.4: new notice will need to be issued to continue excavation. is
6.5: valid for 14 calendar days from the start time stated on the
6.6: notice. If the activity will continue after the expiration
6.7: time, then the person responsible for the activity shall serve
6.8: an additional notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays,
6.9: Sundays, and holidays, before the expiration time of the
6.10: original notice, unless the excavator makes arrangements with
6.11: the operators affected to periodically verify or refresh the
6.12: marks, in which case the notice is valid for six months from the
6.13: start time stated on the notice.
6.14: (d) The excavator is responsible for reasonably protecting
6.15: and preserving the marks until no longer required for proper and
6.16: safe excavation near the underground facility. If the excavator
6.17: has reason to believe the marks are obliterated, obscured,
6.18: missing, or incorrect, the excavator shall notify the facility
6.19: operator or notification center in order to have an operator
6.20: verify or refresh the marks.
6.21: Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.05, is
6.22: amended to read:
6.23: 216D.05 [PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID DAMAGE.]
6.24: An excavator shall:
6.25: (1) plan the excavation to avoid damage to and minimize
6.26: interference with underground facilities in and near the
6.27: construction area, using;
6.28: (2) use white markings for proposed excavations except
6.29: where it can be shown that it is not practical;
6.30: (2) (3) maintain a clearance between an underground
6.31: facility and the cutting edge or point of any mechanized
6.32: equipment, considering the known limit of control of the cutting
6.33: edge or point to avoid damage to the facility;
6.34: (3) (4) provide support for underground facilities in and
6.35: near the construction area, including during backfill
6.36: operations, to protect the facilities; and
7.1: (4) (5) conduct the excavation in a careful and prudent
7.2: manner.