48:2-80 Underground facility operator, responsibilities; underground facility markings.

8. a. Except as provided in sections 6 and 9 of this act, the operator of an underground facility shall:

(1) Participate in and comply with the requirements of the One-Call Damage Prevention System established pursuant to section 4 of this act; and

(2) Mark, stake, locate or otherwise provide the position and number of its underground facilities which may be affected by a planned excavation or demolition within three business days after receipt of the information concerning a notice of intent to excavate transmitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 10 of this act. An underground facility shall be marked in accordance with standards approved by the board, which shall be based upon approved industry standards, and shall be marked at the site within 18 inches horizontally from the outside wall of the facility, in a manner that will enable the excavator to employ prudent techniques, which may include hand-dug test holes, to determine the precise position of the operator's underground facility. An underground facility shall be marked from information available in the operator's records or by use of standard locating techniques other than excavation. In temporarily marking the approximate position of an underground facility, an operator shall utilize the following color coding:

Utility and Type Product Identifying color

Electric Power Distribution Safety Red

and Transmission

Municipal Electric Systems Safety Red

Gas Distribution and Transmission High Visibility Safety Yellow

Oil Distribution and Transmission High Visibility Safety Yellow

Dangerous Materials, Product High Visibility Safety Yellow

Lines, Steam Lines

Telephone and Telecommunications Safety Alert Orange

Police and Fire Communications Safety Alert Orange

Cable Television Safety Alert Orange

Water Systems Safety Precaution Blue

Slurry Systems Safety Precaution Blue

Sewer Lines Safety Green

b. If an operator does not own, operate or control any underground facilities at the site concerning which he received information of a notice of intent to excavate transmitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of this act, the operator shall make a reasonable effort to so advise the person giving the notice of intent to excavate, providing the notice is given within the time frame set forth in subsection a. of section 10 of this act.

c. An operator shall maintain a record of all damage to its underground facilities, including all damage reported by an excavator pursuant to subsection e. of section 10 of this act. An operator shall provide an updated copy of this record to the board on a quarterly basis.

d. Any underground facilities operator that fails to mark, locate, or otherwise provide the position and number of its underground facilities which may be affected by a planned excavation or demolition, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection a. of this section, shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel downtime, incurred by an excavator damaging a facility owned, operated or controlled by the underground facility operator. An excavator that damages an underground facility in violation of the provisions of the "Underground Facility Protection Act," P.L.1994, c.118 (C.48:2-73 et seq.) shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel downtime, incurred by the underground facilities operator that owns or controls the damaged underground facility. Any dispute arising from the provisions of this subsection, where the claim is less than $25,000, shall be subject to an alternative dispute resolution process as established within the Office of Dispute Settlement in the Office of the Public Defender. Nothing in this act shall be construed to discourage parties from pursuing alternative dispute resolution processes for an amount greater than $25,000. The parties may by mutual agreement designate another alternative dispute resolution association for all matters.

L.1994,c.118,s.8; amended 1997, c.7, s.2; 2005, c.22, s.2.