1998 Minnesota Statutes

     216D.04 Excavation; land survey. 

    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 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 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; 

    (3) the name, address, and telephone number of the 
 excavator or excavator's company; 

    (4) the excavator's field telephone number, if one is 
 available; 

    (5) the type and the extent of the proposed excavation; 

    (6) whether or not the discharge of explosives is 
 anticipated; 

    (7) the date and time when excavation is to commence; and 

    (8) the estimated duration of the excavation. 

    (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. 

    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 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 the final drawing used 
 for the bid or contract.  This information must be obtained 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 
 homeowners. 

    (c) This subdivision does not affect the obligation to 
 provide a notice of excavation as required under subdivision 1. 

    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 notice to every operator 
 that has an underground facility in the area of the proposed 
 excavation or boundary survey.  

    Subd. 3.    Locating underground facility; operator.  
 (a) 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, within 96 hours 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, 
 locate and mark or otherwise provide the approximate horizontal 
 location of the underground facilities of the operator, without 
 cost to the land surveyor. 

    (b) 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) 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) If the operator cannot complete marking of the 
 excavation or boundary survey area before the excavation or 
 boundary survey commencement time stated in the excavation or 
 location notice, the operator shall promptly contact the 
 excavator or land surveyor.  

    (e) Effective January 1, 1999, operators shall maintain 
 maps, drawings, diagrams, or other records of any underground 
 facility abandoned or out-of-service after December 31, 1998. 

    (f) An operator 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 underground facilities. 

    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 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.  

    HIST: 1987 c 353 s 10; 1992 c 493 s 5; 1993 c 341 art 1 s 21; 
 1997 c 196 s 1; 1998 c 348 s 1-3