Texas Utilities Code Title 5, Chapter 251 - Underground Facility Damage Prevention And Safety

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 251.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff....
• Texas Section 251.002 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Class A underground facility" means an underground facility that is used to produce, store, convey, transmit, or distribute: (A) electrical energy;...
• Texas Section 251.003 - Exemptions
  The following are not subject to this chapter as underground facilities: (1) an aboveground or underground storage tank, sump, or impoundment or piping connected to...
• Texas Section 251.004 - Application To Certain Contractors And State Employees
  (a) This chapter does not apply to a contractor working in the public right-of-way under a contract with the Texas Department of Transportation. (b) Excavation...
• Texas Section 251.005 - Conversion Of Facility Or Operator
  (a) An operator of an underground facility that is exempted under this subchapter may voluntarily convert that facility to a Class A underground facility by...
• Texas Section 251.006 - Compliance By Permit Holders
  (a) The fact that a person has a legal permit, permission from the owner of the property or the owner's licensee, or an easement to...
• Texas Section 251.007 - Facility On County Or Municipal Road
  This chapter does not affect a contractual or statutory right of a county or municipality to require an operator to relocate, replace, or repair its...
• Texas Section 251.008 - Effect On Civil Remedies
  Except as otherwise specifically provided by this chapter, this chapter, including Section 251.201, does not affect any civil remedy for personal injury or for property...

SUBCHAPTER B TEXAS UNDERGROUND FACILITY NOTIFICATION CORPORATION

• Texas Section 251.009 - Provision Of General Information
  At least once each calendar year, at intervals not exceeding 15 months, each Class A underground facility operator who conveys, transmits, or distributes by means...
• Texas Section 251.051 - Purpose
  The Texas Underground Facility Notification Corporation provides statewide notification services under this chapter. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept....
• Texas Section 251.052 - Nonprofit Corporation
  The corporation is a public nonprofit corporation and has all the powers and duties incident to a nonprofit corporation under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act...
• Texas Section 251.053 - Application Of Open Meetings And Open Records Laws
  The corporation is subject to Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code, except that the corporation may not disseminate, make available, or otherwise distribute service area...
• Texas Section 251.054 - Expenses And Liabilities Of Corporation
  (a) All expenses of the corporation shall be paid from income of the corporation. (b) A liability created by the corporation is not a debt...
• Texas Section 251.055 - Board Of Directors
  (a) The board of directors of the corporation is composed of the following 12 members appointed by the governor: (1) six representatives of the general...
• Texas Section 251.056 - Terms
  (a) Directors serve staggered three-year terms, with the terms of four directors expiring each August 31. (b) A director serves until the director's successor is...
• Texas Section 251.057 - Declaration Of Board Vacancy
  (a) The board may declare a director's office vacant if the director ceases to be associated with the industry or an operator the director represents....
• Texas Section 251.058 - Officers
  (a) The board shall elect from among its directors a chair and vice chair. (b) The chair and vice chair serve for a term of...
• Texas Section 251.059 - Entitlement To Vote
  The corporation's bylaws must provide that each director is entitled to one vote. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept....
• Texas Section 251.060 - Duties Of Corporation
  The corporation shall develop and implement processes to: (1) maintain a registration of: (A) notification centers as provided by Section 251.101(a)(3); (B) operators who elect...
• Texas Section 251.061 - Contract For Statewide Toll-free Number And Call Router System
  (a) The corporation shall solicit proposals for the contract to establish and operate the statewide toll-free telephone number and the call router system by using...

SUBCHAPTER C NOTIFICATION CENTERS

• Texas Section 251.062 - Fees And Rates
  (a) Except as provided by this section, the corporation may not, for any reason, impose an assessment, fee, or other charge, including a charge for...
• Texas Section 251.101 - Notification Center
  (a) A notification center is a legal entity that: (1) operates a notification system capable of serving excavators and operators statewide; (2) is created to:...
• Texas Section 251.102 - General Duties Of Notification Center
  A notification center shall: (1) operate 24 hours a day every day of the year; (2) have the capability to receive emergency information 24 hours...
• Texas Section 251.103 - Records
  (a) A notification center shall maintain for not less than four years a record to document: (1) the receipt of a notice of: (A) intent...
• Texas Section 251.104 - Insurance
  A notification center shall, at all times, maintain a minimum of $5 million professional liability and errors and omissions insurance to cover duties prescribed by...
• Texas Section 251.105 - Fees And Charges
  (a) A notification center that notifies another notification center under Section 251.102(2) or (3) or Section 251.153(b) shall recover an amount not exceeding the actual...
• Texas Section 251.106 - Payments To Corporation
  Each time a notification center receives a call from an excavator under Section 251.151, the notification center shall pay the corporation five cents. The corporation...

SUBCHAPTER D REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO EXCAVATION

• Texas Section 251.107 - Duty To Participate In Notification Center
  (a) Each operator of a Class A underground facility, including a political subdivision of this state, shall participate in a notification center as a condition...
• Texas Section 251.151 - Duty Of An Excavator
  (a) Except as provided by Sections 251.155 and 251.156, a person who intends to excavate shall notify a notification center not earlier than the 14th...
• Texas Section 251.152 - Information Included In Notice
  The excavator shall include in the notice required under Section 251.151: (1) the name of the person serving the notice; (2) the location of the...
• Texas Section 251.153 - Duty Of Notification Center
  (a) At the time an excavator provides a notification center with the excavator's intent to excavate, the notification center shall advise the excavator that water,...
• Texas Section 251.154 - Notification By An Excavator
  (a) A person required to provide notice under this chapter is considered to have provided the notice when the person delivers the required information and...
• Texas Section 251.155 - Exception In Case Of Emergency; Offense
  (a) Section 251.151 does not apply to an emergency excavation that is necessary to respond to a situation that endangers life, health, or property or...
• Texas Section 251.156 - Other Exceptions To Duty Of Excavators
  (a) Section 251.151 does not apply to: (1) interment operations of a cemetery; (2) operations at a secured facility if: (A) the excavator operates each...
• Texas Section 251.157 - Duty Of Operator To Person Excavating
  (a) Each Class A underground facility operator contacted by the notification system shall mark the approximate location of its underground facilities at or near the...
• Texas Section 251.158 - Duty Of Operator In Event Of An Extraordinary Circumstance
  (a) The deadline prescribed by Section 251.157(a) does not apply if the operator experiences an extraordinary circumstance due to an act of God, including a...

SUBCHAPTER E PENALTIES

• Texas Section 251.159 - Excavation Damage
  (a) If an excavation operation results in damage to an underground facility, the excavator shall immediately contact the underground facility operator to report the damage....
• Texas Section 251.201 - Civil Penalty Or Warning Letter
  (a) An excavator that violates Section 251.151, 251.152, or 251.159 is liable for a civil penalty of not less than $500 or more than $1,000....
• Texas Section 251.2011 - Warning Letter And Safety Training Course
  (a) The board of directors of the corporation shall establish a procedure to ensure that the board verifies that an excavator has violated Section 251.151,...
• Texas Section 251.202 - Allocation Of Civil Penalty
  (a) Fifty percent of the civil penalty collected under Section 251.201 shall be transferred to the county treasurer of the county prosecuting the action and...
• Texas Section 251.203 - Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if: (1) the person without authorization from the owner or operator of the facility intentionally removes, damages, or conceals...

Last modified: September 28, 2016