Minnesota Session Laws - 2004, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 163-H.F.No. 995 
                  An act relating to utilities; modifying notice and 
                  plan requirements before excavating around utility 
                  facilities; making technical and clarifying changes; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 216D.01, by 
                  adding a subdivision; 216D.04, subdivisions 1, 1a, 2, 
                  3, 4; 216D.05. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.01, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 12.  [UTILITY QUALITY LEVEL.] "Utility quality level" 
        means a professional opinion about the quality and reliability 
        of utility information.  There are four levels of utility 
        quality information, ranging from the most precise and reliable, 
        level A, to the least precise and reliable, level D.  The 
        utility quality level must be determined in accordance with 
        guidelines established by the Construction Institute of the 
        American Society of Civil Engineers in document CI/ASCE 38-02 
        entitled "Standard Guidelines for the Collection and Depiction 
        of Existing Subsurface Utility Data." 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [NOTICE REQUIRED; CONTENTS.] (a) Except in 
        an emergency, an excavator shall and a land surveyor may contact 
        the notification center and provide an excavation or location 
        notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and 
        holidays and not more than 14 calendar days before beginning any 
        excavation or boundary survey, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and 
        holidays.  An excavation or boundary survey begins, for purposes 
        of this requirement, the first time excavation or a boundary 
        survey occurs in an area that was not previously identified by 
        the excavator or land surveyor in an excavation or boundary 
        survey the notice. 
           (b) The excavation notice may be oral or written, and must 
        contain the following information: 
           (1) the name of the individual providing the excavation 
        notice; 
           (2) the precise location of the proposed area of excavation 
        or survey; 
           (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the 
        excavator individual or excavator's individual's company; 
           (4) the excavator's field telephone number, if one is 
        available; 
           (5) the type and the extent of the proposed 
        excavation activity; 
           (6) whether or not the discharge of explosives is 
        anticipated; 
           (7) the date and time when the excavation or survey is to 
        commence; and 
           (8) the estimated duration of the excavation activity. 
           (c) The boundary survey notice may be oral or written, and 
        must contain the following information: 
           (1) the name of the individual providing the boundary 
        survey; 
           (2) the precise location of the proposed area of the 
        boundary survey; 
           (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the land 
        surveyor or the land surveyor's company; 
           (4) the land surveyor's field telephone number, if 
        available; 
           (5) the extent of the proposed boundary survey; 
           (6) the date and time when the boundary survey is to 
        commence. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04, 
        subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 1a.  [PLANS FOR EXCAVATION.] (a) Any person, prior to 
        soliciting bids or entering into a contract for excavation, 
        shall provide a proposed excavation request notice to the 
        notification center to obtain from the affected operators of 
        underground facilities the type, size, and general location of 
        underground facilities.  Affected operators shall provide the 
        information within 15 working days.  An operator who provides 
        information to a person who is not a unit of government may 
        indicate any portions of the information which are proprietary 
        and may require the person to provide appropriate 
        confidentiality protection.  The information obtained from 
        affected operators must be submitted with on the final drawing 
        used for the bid or contract and must depict the utility quality 
        level of that information.  This information must be obtained 
        updated not more than 90 days before completion of the final 
        drawing used for the bid or contract. 
           (b) This subdivision does not apply to bids and contracts 
        for: 
           (1) routine maintenance of underground facilities or 
        installation, maintenance, or repair of service lines; 
           (2) excavation for operators of underground facilities 
        performed on a unit of work or similar basis; or 
           (3) excavation for home construction and projects by home 
        owners. 
           (c) A person required by this section to show existing 
        underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more 
        preliminary design meetings during the design phase to 
        communicate the project design and coordinate utility relocation.
        Affected facility operators shall attend these meetings or make 
        other arrangements to provide information. 
           (d) A person required by this section to show existing 
        underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more 
        preconstruction meetings to communicate the project design and 
        coordinate utility relocation.  Affected facility operators and 
        contractors shall attend these meetings or make other 
        arrangements to provide information. 
           (e) This subdivision does not affect the obligation to 
        provide a notice of excavation as required under subdivision 1. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [DUTIES OF NOTIFICATION CENTER.] The notification 
        center shall assign an inquiry identification number to 
        each excavation or location notice and retain a record of 
        all excavation or location notices received for at least six 
        years.  The center shall immediately transmit the information 
        contained in an excavation or location a notice to every 
        operator that has an underground facility in the area of the 
        proposed excavation or boundary survey.  
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [LOCATING UNDERGROUND FACILITY; OPERATOR.] (a) 
        Prior to the excavation start time on the notice, an operator 
        shall, within 48 hours after receiving an excavation notice from 
        the center, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, unless 
        otherwise agreed to between the excavator and operator, locate 
        and mark or otherwise provide the approximate horizontal 
        location of the underground facilities of the operator and 
        provide readily available information regarding the operator's 
        abandoned and out-of-service underground facilities as shown on 
        maps, drawings, diagrams, or other records used in the 
        operator's normal course of business, without cost to the 
        excavator.  The excavator shall determine the precise location 
        of the underground facility, without damage, before excavating 
        within two feet of the marked location of the underground 
        facility. 
           An operator shall, (b) Within 96 hours or the time 
        specified in the notice, whichever is later, after receiving a 
        location notice for boundary survey from the notification 
        center, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, unless 
        otherwise agreed to between the land surveyor and operator, an 
        operator shall locate and mark or otherwise provide the 
        approximate horizontal location of the underground facilities of 
        the operator, without cost to the land surveyor. 
           (b) (c) For the purpose of this section, the approximate 
        horizontal location of the underground facilities is a strip of 
        land two feet on either side of the underground facilities.  
           (c) (d) Markers used to designate the approximate location 
        of underground facilities must follow the current color code 
        standard used by the American Public Works Association. 
           (d) (e) If the operator cannot complete marking of the 
        excavation or boundary survey area before the excavation or 
        boundary survey commencement start time stated in the excavation 
        or location notice, the operator shall promptly contact the 
        excavator or land surveyor.  
           (e) Effective January 1, 1999 (f) After December 31, 1998, 
        operators shall maintain maps, drawings, diagrams, or other 
        records of any underground facility abandoned or out-of-service 
        after December 31, 1998. 
           (f) (g) An operator or other person providing information 
        pursuant to this subdivision is not responsible to any person, 
        for any costs, claims, or damages for information provided in 
        good faith regarding abandoned or, out-of-service, or private or 
        customer-owned underground facilities. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.04, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [LOCATING UNDERGROUND FACILITY; EXCAVATOR OR LAND 
        SURVEYOR.] (a) The excavator or land surveyor shall determine 
        the precise location of the underground facility, without 
        damage, before excavating within two feet on either side of the 
        marked location of the underground facility.  
           (b) If the excavator or land surveyor postpones the 
        excavation or boundary survey commencement time stated in the 
        excavation or location notice by more than 96 hours, or cancels 
        the excavation or boundary survey, the excavator or land 
        surveyor shall notify cancel the notice through the notification 
        center. 
           (c) The notification center excavation or location notice 
        will be void six months from the issue date on the notice.  A 
        new notice will need to be issued to continue excavation. is 
        valid for 14 calendar days from the start time stated on the 
        notice.  If the activity will continue after the expiration 
        time, then the person responsible for the activity shall serve 
        an additional notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, 
        Sundays, and holidays, before the expiration time of the 
        original notice, unless the excavator makes arrangements with 
        the operators affected to periodically verify or refresh the 
        marks, in which case the notice is valid for six months from the 
        start time stated on the notice. 
           (d) The excavator is responsible for reasonably protecting 
        and preserving the marks until no longer required for proper and 
        safe excavation near the underground facility.  If the excavator 
        has reason to believe the marks are obliterated, obscured, 
        missing, or incorrect, the excavator shall notify the facility 
        operator or notification center in order to have an operator 
        verify or refresh the marks. 
           Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 216D.05, is 
        amended to read: 
           216D.05 [PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID DAMAGE.] 
           An excavator shall: 
           (1) plan the excavation to avoid damage to and minimize 
        interference with underground facilities in and near the 
        construction area, using; 
           (2) use white markings for proposed excavations except 
        where it can be shown that it is not practical; 
           (2) (3) maintain a clearance between an underground 
        facility and the cutting edge or point of any mechanized 
        equipment, considering the known limit of control of the cutting 
        edge or point to avoid damage to the facility; 
           (3) (4) provide support for underground facilities in and 
        near the construction area, including during backfill 
        operations, to protect the facilities; and 
           (4) (5) conduct the excavation in a careful and prudent 
        manner. 
           Presented to the governor April 22, 2004 
           Signed by the governor April 26, 2004, 3:00 p.m.