764. Duties of excavators. 1. No excavator shall commence or engage in any excavation or demolition unless and until timely notice is served of the location and date of the proposed excavation or demolition as provided in this article to operators who maintain underground facilities in the area in which the excavation or demolition is to take place. The provision of such notice to a one-call notification system is deemed to be compliance with this section; and notice to the one-call notification center is notice to each member. Such notice shall be served in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted by the public service commission pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-b of the public service law.
2. Prior to any excavation or demolition, the excavator shall verify the precise location of the underground facilities in a manner set forth in the rules and regulations adopted by the public service commission pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-b of the public service law.
3. An excavator may proceed with such work if he has received notice from each operator notified by the one-call system that it has no underground facility in or within fifteen feet of the proposed work area or that the operator marked any underground facility located in or within fifteen feet of the proposed work area.
4. An excavator engaged in excavation or demolition shall be responsible for protecting and preserving the staking, marking or other designation by the operator until no longer required for proper and safe excavation or demolition work at or near the underground facility, maintain clearance between the underground facility, and the cutting edge or point of any equipment to avoid damage to the underground facility and provide support to and prevent damage to any underground facility or its protective coating, in the means and according to the methods set forth in the rules and regulations adopted by the public service commission pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-b of the public service law.
5. In the event of contact with and/or damage to an underground facility, the excavator shall immediately notify the operator of the facility and no backfilling shall be done by the excavator until inspection and/or repairs have been made by the operator and no repairs shall be undertaken by the excavator until authorized by the operator. In the event of an electrical short or the escape of gas or hazardous fluids endangering life, the excavator shall immediately notify the operator of the electric, gas or hazardous liquid underground facility and all persons who might be endangered and assist in the evacuation of such persons.
Last modified: February 3, 2019