2013-2014 Bill 4866: Underground Facility Damage Control Prevention Act - South Carolina

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 120th Session, 2013-2014 3 4 H. 4866 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Rep. Bedingfield 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\18176ab14.docx 11 12 Introduced in the House on March 6, 2014 13 Currently residing in the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry 14 15 Summary: Underground Facility Damage Control Prevention Act 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 3/6/2014 House Introduced and read first time ( House Journalpage 5) 22 3/6/2014 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental 23 Affairs ( House Journalpage 5) 24 3/12/2014 House Recalled from Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental 25 Affairs ( House Journalpage 22) 26 3/12/2014 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry (House 27 Journalpage 22) 28 29 30 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 31 32 3/6/2014 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 583675 SO AS TO PROVIDE 13 THAT WITH RESPECT TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA 14 UNDERGROUND FACILITY DAMAGE CONTROL 15 PREVENTION ACT, EXEMPTED OPERATORS MAY ELECT 16 TO NOT JOIN CERTAIN ASSOCIATIONS CONCERNING 17 THE WATER AND SEWAGE SYSTEMS OF THE EXEMPTED 18 OPERATORS; TO AMEND SECTION 583620, RELATING TO 19 DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE A NECESSARY TERM; TO 20 AMEND SECTION 583650, RELATING TO OPERATOR 21 ASSOCIATION NOTIFICATION CENTERS, SECTION 583660, 22 RELATING TO NOTICES OF INTENT TO EXCAVATE OR 23 DEMOLISH AND OPERATOR RESPONSES, SECTION 24 583670, RELATING TO INFORMATION THAT OPERATORS 25 MUST SUPPLY TO EXCAVATORS, SECTION 583680, 26 RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM NOTICE 27 REQUIREMENTS AND THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES 28 FOR EMERGENCY EXCAVATIONS OR DEMOLITIONS, 29 SECTION 583690, RELATING TO NOTICE OF DAMAGES, 30 SECTION 5836100, RELATING TO DESIGN REQUESTS AND 31 OPERATOR RESPONSES, AND SECTION 5836110, 32 RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN NOTICE 33 REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING EXCAVATIONS, ALL SO 34 AS TO INCORPORATE PROVISIONS CONCERNING 35 EXEMPTED OPERATORS. 36 37 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 38 Carolina: 39 40 SECTION 1. Chapter 36, Title 58 of the 1976 Code is amended 41 by adding: 42

[4866] 2 1 “Section 583675. (A) An exempted operator may elect to not 2 join the association with respect to its water and sewage systems. 3 (B) Before an exempted operator can opt out of the 4 requirements of this chapter, he shall provide written notice of his 5 decision to opt out of the requirements to the notification center 6 located within the region in which the exempted operator is 7 located.” 8 9 SECTION 2. Section 583620 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 10 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 11 12 “Section 583620. For purposes of this chapter, the following 13 words and terms are defined as follows: 14 (1) ‘APWA’ means the American Public Works Association or 15 successor organization or entity. 16 (2) ‘Association’ means a group of operators, or their 17 representatives, formed for the purpose of operating a notification 18 center. 19 (3) ‘Business continuation plan’ means a plan that includes 20 actions to be taken in an effort to provide uninterrupted service 21 during catastrophic events. 22 (4) ‘Damage’ means the substantial weakening of structural or 23 lateral support of a facility, penetration or destruction of protective 24 coating, housing, or other protective device of a facility and the 25 partial or complete severance of a facility. 26 (5) ‘Demolish’ or ‘demolition’ means any operation by which 27 a structure or mass of material is wrecked, razed, rendered, moved, 28 or removed by means of any tools, equipment, or discharge of 29 explosives. 30 (6) ‘Designer’ means any architect, engineer, or other person 31 who prepares or issues a drawing or blueprint for a construction or 32 other project that requires excavation or demolition work. 33 (7) ‘Design request’ means a communication to the notification 34 center in which a request for identifying existing facilities for 35 advance planning purposes is made. A design request may not be 36 used for excavation purposes. 37 (8) ‘Emergency’ means a sudden or unforeseen event 38 involving a clear and imminent danger to life, health, or property; 39 the interruption of essential utility services; or the blockage of 40 transportation facilities, including highway, rail, water, and air, 41 which require immediate action. 42 (9) ‘Excavate’ or ‘excavation’ means an operation for the 43 purpose of the movement or removal of earth, rock, or other

[4866] 3 1 materials in or on the ground by use of mechanized equipment or 2 by discharge of explosives and including augering, backfilling, 3 digging, ditching, drilling, well drilling, grading, plowingin, 4 pullingin, ripping, scraping, trenching, and tunneling. 5 (10) ‘Excavator’ means any person engaged in excavation or 6 demolition. 7 (11) ‘Exempted operator’ means an operator that: 8 (a) is a municipality, county, public service district, special 9 purpose district, or other public entity of the State; 10 (b) owns or operates a facility used to distribute, collect, or 11 otherwise convey water or sewerage; 12 (c) elects not to join the association to the extent of their 13 water or sewerage facilities pursuant to Section 583675; 14 (d) otherwise complies with the provisions of this chapter 15 for becoming an exempted operator; and 16 (e) must not be subject to the provisions of this act related to 17 operators except as expressly provided. 18 (1112) ‘Extraordinary circumstances’ means circumstances 19 which make it impractical or impossible for the operator to comply 20 with the provisions of this chapter. Extraordinary circumstances 21 may include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, ice, snow, and acts of 22 God. 23 (1213) ‘Facility’ means any underground line, underground 24 system, or underground infrastructure used for producing, storing, 25 conveying, transmitting, or distributing communication, electricity, 26 gas, petroleum, petroleum products, hazardous liquids, water, 27 steam, or sewerage. Provided there is no encroachment on any 28 operator’s rightofway, easement, or permitted use and for purposes 29 of this act, the following are not considered as an underground 30 ‘facility’: petroleum storage systems subject to regulation 31 pursuant to Chapter 2, Title 44; septic tanks as regulated by 32 Chapter 55, Title 44; swimming pools and irrigation systems. For 33 purposes of this act, and provided there is no encroachment on any 34 operator’s rightofway, easement, or permitted use, liquefied 35 petroleum gas ‘systems’ as defined in Section 408220(8) do not 36 constitute an underground ‘facility’ unless such a system is subject 37 to Title 49 C.F.R. Part 192. 38 (1314) ‘Locator’ means a person that identifies and marks 39 facilities for operators. 40 (1415) ‘Mechanized equipment’ means equipment operated by 41 means of mechanical power, including, but not limited to, 42 trenchers, bulldozers, power shovels, augers, backhoes, scrapers,

[4866] 4 1 drills, cable and pipe plows, and other equipment used for 2 plowingin or pullingin cable or pipe. 3 (1516) ‘Nonmechanized Nonmechanized equipment’ means 4 hand tools. 5 (1617) ‘Notification center’ means an entity that administers a 6 system through which a person can notify operators of proposed 7 excavations or demolitions. 8 (1718) ‘Operator’ means any person, public utility, 9 communications and cable service provider, municipality, 10 electrical utility, electric and telephone cooperatives, and the South 11 Carolina Public Service Authority as defined in Titles 5, 6, 33, and 12 58, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, who owns or operates a 13 facility for commercial purposes in the State of South Carolina. 14 (1819) ‘Person’ means any individual, owner, corporation, 15 partnership, association, or any other entity organized under the 16 laws of any state; any subdivision or instrumentality of a state; 17 and any authorized representative thereof. 18 (1920) ‘Positive response’ means an automated information 19 system that allows excavators, locators, operators, and other 20 interested parties to determine the status of a locate request until 21 excavation or demolition is complete. 22 (2021) ‘Subaqueous’ means a facility that is under a body of 23 water, including rivers, streams, lakes, waterways, swamps, and 24 bogs. 25 (2122) ‘Tolerance zone’ means: 26 (a) if the diameter of the facility is known, the distance of 27 onehalf of the known diameter plus twentyfour inches on either 28 side of the designated center line; 29 (b) if the diameter of the facility is not marked, twentyfour 30 inches on either side of the outside edge of the mark indicating a 31 facility; or 32 (c) for subaqueous facilities, a clearance of fifteen feet on 33 either side of the indicated facility. 34 (2223) ‘Working day’ means every day, except Saturday, 35 Sunday, and legal holidays as defined by South Carolina law.” 36 37 SECTION 3. Section 583650 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 38 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 39 40 “Section 583650. (A) Operators must maintain an association 41 that will operate a notification center providing for the receipt of 42 notice of excavation or demolition in a defined geographical area. 43 The notification center must be governed by a board of directors

[4866] 5 1 composed of operators and damage prevention stakeholders that 2 are members of the association. The bylaws of the association 3 must provide for a board of directors with the following 4 membership: 5 (1) one representative from each of the six facility members 6 that receive the highest annual notification transmission volumes 7 from the notification center; 8 (2) one representative of a public water or sewer company; 9 (3) one representative of an electric cooperative; 10 (4) one representative of an investorowned natural gas 11 utility; 12 (5) one representative of a company that transports 13 hazardous liquids as defined in 49 U.S.C. 60101(a)(4); 14 (6) one representative of a telephone cooperative; 15 (7) one representative of a rural water district; 16 (8) one representative of the South Carolina Association of 17 Municipal Power Systems; 18 (9) one representative of the South Carolina Association of 19 Counties; 20 (10) one representative of a company licensed in South 21 Carolina for facility contract locating; 22 (11) one representative of the South Carolina Department of 23 Transportation; 24 (12) one representative of a company licensed in South 25 Carolina for construction of roads and highways; 26 (13) one representative of a company licensed in South 27 Carolina for construction of facilities; 28 (14) one representative of a company licensed in South 29 Carolina for landscaping or irrigation; 30 (15) one representative of a company licensed in South 31 Carolina as a general contractor or as a subcontractor in the 32 construction industry; 33 (16) three representatives employed by different facility 34 operators in South Carolina; and 35 (17) one representative of a special purpose district providing 36 natural gas. 37 In choosing members of the association to fill these board 38 positions, the association will solicit nominations from the 39 membership of the association and industry organizations 40 representing entities designated by this subsection. The South 41 Carolina 811 Board of Directors existing on the effective date of 42 this act must elect the board as required by the provisions of this

[4866] 6 1 subsection within nine months following the effective date of this 2 act. 3 (B) All operators are required to join the association and utilize 4 the services of the notification center. 5 (1) Operators that are members of the existing association on 6 the effective date of this act must remain members. 7 (2) Operators with more than fifty thousand customers or 8 one thousand miles of facilities who are not members must join the 9 association within one year from the effective date of this act. 10 (3) Operators with more than twentyfive thousand customers 11 or five hundred miles of facilities, who are not members, must join 12 the association within two years from the effective date of this act. 13 (4) All operators that do not meet the thresholds described in 14 items (1), (2), or (3) must join the association within three years 15 from the effective date of this act. 16 (5) The notification center shall keep contact information for 17 all exempted operators on hand. 18 (C) There shall be only one notification center for the State of 19 South Carolina. 20 (D) The association shall provide for a reasonable way of 21 apportioning the cost of operating the notification center among its 22 members. 23 (E) The notification center shall receive notices from persons 24 with intention of performing excavation or demolition and transmit 25 to the operators the following information: 26 (1) the name, address, and telephone number of the person 27 providing the notice, and, if different, the excavator completing the 28 proposed excavation or demolition; 29 (2) the start date of the proposed excavation or demolition; 30 (3) the anticipated duration of the proposed excavation or 31 demolition; 32 (4) the type of proposed excavation or demolition to be 33 conducted; 34 (5) the location of the proposed excavation or demolition; 35 and 36 (6) whether or not explosives are to be used in the proposed 37 excavation or demolition. 38 (F) When a person notifies a notification center that he intends 39 to perform excavation or demolition concerning a site situated in 40 the service area of an exempted operator, the notification center 41 shall: 42 (1) inform the person that the notification center does not 43 transmit notices to exempted operators;

[4866] 7 1 (2) instruct the person to contact the exempted operator 2 directly concerning this notice; and 3 (3) provide the person with the contact information of the 4 exempted operator. 5 (FG)The notification center must maintain a record of the 6 notices received pursuant to subsection (E), and information 7 regarding operators failing to provide a response pursuant to 8 subsection (E), and excavators failing to provide notice pursuant to 9 Section 583660(C). This record must be maintained for at least 10 three years. 11 (GH) The notification center shall receive and transmit notices. 12 (HI) The notification center must have a business continuation 13 plan. 14 (IJ) The notification center shall provide a positive response 15 system that must be fully operational within three years from the 16 effective date of this act. 17 (JK) The notification center shall file with the South Carolina 18 Public Service Commission the telephone number and address of 19 the notification center and a list of the names and addresses of each 20 operator that received service from the notification center. This 21 filing must be made no later than April fifteenth of each year. 22 (KL) The notification center shall provide to the Chairman of 23 the House of Representatives Labor, Commerce and Industry 24 Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee a 25 report regarding the activities and operations of the notification 26 center for the preceding calendar year. This report must include, 27 but is not limited to, the following information: 28 (1) average speed of answer; 29 (2) abandoned call rate; 30 (3) transmit times; 31 (4) total number of locate requests; 32 (5) total number of transmissions to operators of locate 33 requests; and 34 (6) business continuation plan. 35 This report must be made no later than April fifteenth of each year. 36 (LM) The notification center must establish and operate a 37 damage prevention training program. 38 (N) The notification center shall file a notice with the Public 39 Service Commission when an exempted operator elects not to 40 become a member of the association pursuant to Section 583675.” 41 42 SECTION 4. Section 583660 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 43 48 of 2011, is amended to read:

[4866] 8 1 2 “Section 583660. (A) Before commencing any excavation or 3 demolition, the person responsible for the excavation or demolition 4 shall provide, or cause to be provided, notice to the notification 5 center of his intent to excavate or demolish. Notice for any 6 excavation or demolition that does not involve a subaqueous 7 facility must be given within three to twelve full working days 8 before the proposed commencement date of the excavation or 9 demolition. Notice for any excavation or demolition in the vicinity 10 of a subaqueous facility must be made within ten to twenty full 11 working days before the proposed commencement date of the 12 excavation or demolition. 13 (B) Notice given pursuant to subsection (A) shall expire within 14 fifteen working days after the date of notice. No excavation or 15 demolition may continue after this fifteenday period unless the 16 person responsible for the excavation or demolition provides a 17 subsequent notice pursuant to subsection (A). 18 (C) The notice to the notification center must contain: 19 (1) the name, address, and telephone number of the person 20 providing the notice; 21 (2) the anticipated start date of the proposed excavation or 22 demolition; 23 (3) the anticipated duration of the proposed excavation or 24 demolition; 25 (4) the type of proposed excavation or demolition to be 26 conducted; 27 (5) the location of the proposed excavation or demolition, 28 not to exceed onequarter mile in geographical length, or five 29 adjoining addresses; and 30 (6) whether or not explosives are to be used in the proposed 31 excavation or demolition. 32 (D) When a person receives the contact information of an 33 exempted operator by the notification center, he shall contact the 34 exempted operator directly, and pursuant to Section 583650(F) he 35 also shall provide adequate information to the exempted operator 36 to determine whether the exempted operator has facilities in the 37 area of the proposed excavation or demolition and whether 38 marking is necessary. All provisions of this chapter regarding the 39 time during which notice must be given apply, notwithstanding the 40 provisions of this subsection. 41

[4866] 9 1 (DE) When demolition of a building is proposed, operators 2 shall be given reasonable time to remove or protect their facilities 3 before demolition is commenced. 4 (EF) An excavator must comply with the following: 5 (1) When the excavation site cannot be clearly and 6 adequately identified within the area described in the notice, the 7 excavator must designate the route, specific area to be excavated, 8 or both, by premarking before the operator performs a locate. 9 Premarking must be made with white paint, flags, or stakes. 10 (2) Check the notification center’s positive response system 11 prior to excavating or demolishing to ensure that all operators have 12 responded and that all facilities that may be affected by the 13 proposed excavation or demolition have been marked. 14 (3) Plan the excavation or demolition to avoid damage to or 15 minimize interference with facilities in and near the construction 16 area. 17 (4) Excavation or demolition may begin prior to the 18 specified waiting period if the excavator has confirmed that all 19 operators responded with an appropriate positive response. 20 (5) If an operator declares extraordinary circumstances, the 21 excavator must not excavate or demolish until after the time and 22 date that the operator provided in its response. 23 (6) An operator’s failure The failure of an operator or an 24 exempted operator to respond to the positive response system does 25 not prohibit the excavator from proceeding, provided there are no 26 visible indications of a facility, such as a pole, marker, pedestal, or 27 valve at the proposed excavation or demolition site. However, if 28 the excavator is aware of or observes indications of an unmarked 29 facility, the excavator must not begin excavation or demolition 30 until an additional call is made to the notification center or 31 exempted operator detailing the facility, and an arrangement is 32 made for the facility to be marked by the operator or exempted 33 operator within three hours from the time the additional call is 34 received by the notification center or exempted operator. 35 (7) Beginning on the date provided in the excavator’s notice 36 to the notification center, the excavator shall preserve the staking, 37 marking, or other designation until no longer required. When a 38 mark is no longer visible, but the work continues in the vicinity of 39 the facility, the excavator must request a remark from the 40 notification center to ensure the protection of the facility. 41 (8) The excavator shall notify the notification center’s 42 positive response system when the excavation or demolition is 43 complete.

[4866] 10 1 (9) An excavator may not perform any excavation or 2 demolition within the tolerance zone unless the following 3 conditions are met: 4 (a) no use of mechanized equipment, except noninvasive 5 equipment specifically designed or intended to protect the integrity 6 of the facility, within the marked tolerance zone of an existing 7 facility until: 8 (i) the excavator has visually identified the precise 9 location of the facility, or has visually confirmed that no facility is 10 present up to the depth of excavation; and 11 (ii) reasonable precautions are taken to avoid any 12 substantial weakening of the facility’s structural or lateral support, 13 or both, or penetration or destruction of the facilities or their 14 protective coatings. 15 Mechanical means may be used, as necessary, for initial 16 penetration and removal of pavement or other materials requiring 17 use of mechanical means of excavation and then only to the depth 18 of the pavement or other materials. For parallel type excavations 19 within the tolerance zone, the existing facility shall be visually 20 identified at intervals not to exceed fifty feet along the line of 21 excavation to avoid damages. The excavator shall exercise due 22 care at all times to protect the facilities when exposing these 23 facilities; 24 (b) maintain clearance between a facility and the cutting 25 edge or point of any mechanized equipment, taking into account 26 the known limit of control of such cutting edge or point, as may be 27 reasonably necessary to avoid damage to such facility; and 28 (c) provide support for facilities in and near the 29 excavation or demolition area, including backfill operations, as 30 may be reasonably required by the operator or exempted operator 31 for the protection of such facilities.” 32 33 SECTION 5. Section 583670(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by 34 Act 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 35 36 “(A) An operator or designated representative must provide to an 37 excavator the following information where marking is required: 38 (1) The horizontal location and description of all of its 39 facilities in the area of the proposed excavation or demolition. The 40 location shall be marked by stakes, paint, flags, or any 41 combination thereof as appropriate depending on the site 42 conditions of the proposed excavation or demolition using the 43 APWA Uniform Color Code. If the diameter or width of the

[4866] 11 1 facility is greater than three inches, the dimension of the facility 2 will be indicated at least every twentyfive feet in the area of the 3 proposed excavation or demolition. Operators who operate 4 multiple facilities in the same trench shall locate each facility 5 individually. 6 (2) Any other information that would assist the excavator to 7 identify, and thereby avoid damage to, the marked facilities.” 8 9 SECTION 6. Section 583680 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 10 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 11 12 “Section 583680. (A) An excavator performing an emergency 13 excavation or demolition is exempt from the notice requirements 14 in Section 583660. However, the excavator must give, as soon as 15 practicable, oral notice of the emergency to the notification center 16 and the facility operator, along with any exempted operator. The 17 excavator must provide a description of the circumstances to the 18 notification center and request emergency assistance from each 19 affected operator in locating and providing immediate protection to 20 the facilities. 21 (B) The declaration of an emergency excavation or demolition 22 does not relieve any party of liability for causing damage to an 23 operator’s the facilities of an operator or an exempted operator, 24 even if those facilities are unmarked.” 25 26 SECTION 7. Section 583690 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 27 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 28 29 “Section 583690. (A) The excavator performing an 30 excavation or demolition that results in any damage to a facility 31 must, immediately upon discovery of such damage, notify the 32 notification center and the facility operator, along with any 33 exempted operator, if known, of the location and nature of the 34 damage. The excavator must allow the operator or exempted 35 operator reasonable time to accomplish necessary repairs before 36 completing the excavation or demolition in the immediate area of 37 such facility. The excavator shall delay any backfilling in the 38 immediate area of the damaged facility until authorized by the 39 operator or exempted operator. The repair of any damage shall be 40 performed by the operator, exempted operator, or by qualified 41 personnel authorized by the operator or exempted operator. 42 (B) An excavator responsible for any excavation or demolition 43 that results in damage to a facility where damage results in the

[4866] 12 1 escape of any flammable, toxic, or corrosive gas or liquid, or 2 electricity, or endangers life, health, or property, immediately shall 3 notify emergency services, including 911, the notification center 4 and the operator or exempted operator, if known. The excavator 5 must take reasonable measures to protect themselves, those in 6 immediate danger, the general public, property, and the 7 environment until the operator, exempted operator, or emergency 8 responders have arrived and completed their assessment.” 9 10 SECTION 8. Section 5836100 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 11 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 12 13 “Section 5836100. (A) A designer may submit a design request 14 to the notification center. The design request shall describe the 15 tract or parcel of land for which the design request has been 16 submitted with sufficient particularity, as defined by policies 17 developed and promulgated by the notification center, so that the 18 operator can ascertain the precise tract or parcel of land involved. 19 (B) When a designer gives a notification center a design 20 request concerning a site situated in the service area of an 21 exempted operator, the notification center shall: 22 (1) inform the designer that the notification center does not 23 transmit design requests to exempted operators; 24 (2) instruct the designer to contact the exempted operator 25 directly concerning this design request; and 26 (3) provide the designer with the contact information of the 27 exempted operator. 28 (C) When a designer receives the contact information of an 29 exempted operator, the designer shall contact the exempted 30 operator directly and provide adequate information to determine 31 whether a response from the exempted operator is necessary. All 32 provisions of this chapter regarding the time during which notice 33 must be given apply, notwithstanding the provisions of this 34 subsection. 35 (BD) Within fifteen working days after a design request has 36 been submitted to the notification center for a proposed project, the 37 operator shall respond by one of the following methods: 38 (1) designate the location of all facilities within the area of 39 the proposed excavation pursuant to Section 583670(A); 40 (2) provide to the person submitting the design request the 41 best available description of all facilities in the area of proposed 42 excavation, which may include drawings of facilities already built

[4866] 13 1 in the area, or other facility records that are maintained by the 2 operator; or 3 (3) allow the person submitting the design request or any 4 other authorized person to inspect the drawings or other records for 5 all facilities within the proposed area of excavation at an 6 acceptable location. 7 (CE)An operator may reject a design request based on homeland 8 security pending additional information confirming the legitimacy 9 of the request. The operator must notify the person making the 10 request of the denial and request additional information, through 11 the positive response system, within the time frame set forth in 12 Section 583670(B).” 13 14 SECTION 9. Section 5836110(3) of the 1976 Code, as added by 15 Act 48 of 2011, is amended to read: 16 17 “(3) for excavation with nonmechanized equipment by an 18 operator, an exempted operator, or an agent of an operator or 19 exempted operator for the following purposes: 20 (a) locating for a valid notification request, or for the minor 21 repair, connecting or routine maintenance of an existing facility; 22 or 23 (b) underground probing to determine the extent of gas or 24 water migration.” 25 26 SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon approval by the 27 Governor. 28 XX 29

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