(a) The operators in the State shall maintain a Notification Center for the sole purpose of providing the services required by this Article. The Notification Center shall maintain information concerning receipt of notification of proposed excavation and demolition activities as provided in this Article and shall maintain information received from operators concerning the location of the operators' facilities and the operators' positive responses to marking of the facilities. The Notification Center shall also receive, maintain, and provide general administration of reports of alleged violations of this Article and responses. The Notification Center is not responsible in any way for identifying or marking facilities for operators. The Notification Center is not responsible in any way for resolving reports of alleged violations of this Article. All operators in the State shall join the Notification Center as provided in subsection (b) of this section, and they shall use the services of the Notification Center to perform the acts required by the provisions of this Article. There shall be only one Notification Center for the State of North Carolina. The Notification Center is not an agency of the State or any of the State's political subdivisions and is not subject to the provisions of Chapter 132 or Chapter 133 of the General Statutes.
(b) Operators who are members of the Notification Center by whatever name that is in existence on October 1, 2013, must remain members. Operators with more than 50,000 customers or 1,000 miles of facilities who are not members on October 1, 2013, must join no later than October 1, 2014. Operators with more than 25,000 customers or 500 miles of facilities who are not members on October 1, 2013, must join no later than October 1, 2015. All operators that do not meet one of the criteria provided in this subsection must join no later than October 1, 2016. Each engineering division of the Department of Transportation established pursuant to G.S. 136-14.1 must join no later than October 1, 2016. The board of directors of the Notification Center shall develop a reasonable method of apportioning the costs of operating the Notification Center among the member operators. Prior to adopting a method of determining such cost allocation, the board of directors shall publish the proposed method of cost allocation to the member operators, and the proposed method of cost allocation shall be approved by the member operators.
(c) The Notification Center shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(1) Maintain a record of the notices received under subsection (d) of this section for at least four years.
(2) Maintain a record of reports of alleged violations of this Article received under subsection (e) of this section for at least four years, including responses to such reports.
(3) Receive and transmit notices as provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(4) Develop and update, as needed, a business continuation plan.
(5) Notify those persons against whom reports of alleged violations of this Article have been made and receive and maintain information submitted from such persons in defense against the allegations.
(6) Provide a positive response system.
(7) Establish and operate a damage prevention training program for members of the Notification Center. No person may recover damages in any manner or form from the Notification Center arising out of or related to the manner in which the Notification Center conducts a damage prevention training program or receives, transmits, or otherwise administers a report of an alleged violation of this Article.
(d) The Notification Center shall receive notice from any person intending to excavate or demolish in the State and shall, at a minimum, transmit the following information to the appropriate operator:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person providing the notice and, if different, the person responsible for the proposed excavation or demolition.
(2) The starting date of the proposed excavation or demolition.
(3) The anticipated duration of the proposed excavation or demolition.
(4) The type of proposed excavation or demolition operation to be conducted.
(5) The location of the proposed excavation or demolition.
(6) Whether or not explosives are to be used in the proposed excavation or demolition.
(e) The Notification Center shall receive reports of alleged violations of this Article. The Notification Center shall contact persons against whom reports have been filed to inform them of the alleged violation within 10 days of the filing of the report. The Notification Center shall maintain the following information regarding reports of alleged violations:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the report;
(2) The nature of the report, including the statute that is alleged to have been violated;
(3) Information provided by the person making the report, including correspondence, both written and electronic, pictures, and videos; and
(4) Information provided by the person against whom the report has been filed, including correspondence, both written and electronic, pictures, and videos. (2013-407, s. 2.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014