(a) Persons engaged in blasting or in excavating with mechanized excavating equipment shall not strike, damage, injure, or loosen any underground facility or sewer lateral which has been staked, flagged, or marked in accordance with this chapter.
(b) When blasting or excavating is to take place within the tolerance zone, the excavator shall exercise reasonable care for the protection of the underground facility or sewer lateral, including permanent markers and paint placed to designate underground facilities. This protection shall include, but not be limited to, at least one of the following based on geographical and climate conditions: hand digging, pot holing, soft digging, vacuum excavation methods, pneumatic hand tools, or other technical methods that may be developed. Other mechanical methods may be used with the approval of the facility owner or operator.
(c) If the precise location of the underground facilities cannot be determined by the excavator, the facility owner or operator thereof shall be notified by the excavator so that the operator and the excavator shall work together to determine the precise location of the underground facilities prior to continuing the excavation.
(d) When conducting trenchless excavation the excavator shall exercise reasonable care, as described in subsection (b) of this Code section, and shall take additional care to attempt to prevent damage to underground facilities and sewer laterals. The advisory committee may recommend to the commission more stringent criteria as it deems necessary to define additional care. The commission is authorized to adopt additional criteria to define additional care.
(e) Any person engaged in blasting or in excavating with mechanized excavating equipment that strikes, damages, injures, or loosens any underground facility or sewer lateral, regardless as to whether the underground facility or sewer lateral is marked, shall immediately cease such blasting or excavating and notify the UPC and the appropriate facility owner or operator, if known. Upon receiving such notification from the excavator or the UPC, the facility owner or operator shall send personnel to the location as soon as possible to effect temporary or permanent repair of such damage. Until such time as the damage has been repaired, no person shall engage in blasting or excavating activities that may cause further damage to the underground facility or sewer lateral except as provided in Code Section 25-9-12.
(f) The excavator shall make an emergency 9-1-1 call to alert emergency services upon striking or damaging an underground facility that carries:
(1) Gas as defined in 49 C.F.R. Parts 192 and 193; or
(2) Hazardous liquid as defined in 49 C.F.R. Part 195.
HISTORY: Ga. L. 1969, p. 50, § 7; Code 1981, § 25-9-7; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1069, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 805, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 780, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1142, § 7/SB 274; Ga. L. 2014, p. 652, § 5/SB 117; Amended by 2022 Ga. Laws 777,§ 1, eff. 9/1/2022.