N.Y. PBS Law § 119-B — New York Code / Act PBS / Article 6 / Section 119-B
Protection of underground facilities
Status: in_force

§ 119-b. Protection of underground facilities. 1. As used in this\nsection, the following terms shall have the following meanings:\n  a. "Person" means any individual, firm, corporation, association or\npartnership, cooperative association, joint venture, joint stock\nassociation, business trust, their lessees, trustees or receivers,\ngovernmental unit or public authority whether or not incorporated.\n  b. "Excavation" means an operation for the purpose of movement or\nremoval of earth, rock or other materials in or on the ground by use of\nmechanized equipment or by blasting, and includes, but is not limited\nto, auguring, backfilling, boring, drilling, grading, plowing in,\npulling in, trenching and tunneling; provided, however, that the\nmovement of earth by tools manipulated only by human or animal power and\nthe tilling of soil for agricultural purposes shall not be deemed\nexcavation.\n  c. "Demolition" means the wrecking, razing, rending, moving or\nremoving of any structure.\n  d. "Underground facilities" means pipelines, conduits, ducts, cables,\nwires, manholes, vaults or other such facilities or their attachments,\nwhich have been installed underground by an operator to provide services\nor materials. Such term shall not include oil and gas production and\ngathering pipeline systems used primarily to collect oil or gas\nproduction from wells.\n  e. "Excavator" means a person who is engaged in a trade or business\nwhich includes the carrying out of excavation or demolition; provided,\nhowever, that an individual employed by an excavator, and having no\nsupervisory authority, other than the routine direction of employees,\nover an excavation or demolition, shall not himself or herself be deemed\nan excavator for the purposes of this article. In construing and\nenforcing the provisions of this article, the act of any employee or\nagent of any excavator acting within the scope of his or her official\nduties or employment shall be deemed to be the act of such excavator.\n  f. "Operator" means a person who operates an underground facility or\nfacilities to furnish any of the following services or materials:\nelectricity, gases, steam, liquid petroleum products, telephone or\ntelegraph communications, cable television, sewage removal, traffic\ncontrol systems, or water.\n  g. "Damages" means an impact upon or removal of support from an\nunderground facility consequent to excavation or demolition which,\naccording to the operating practices of the operator, would necessitate\nrepair of such facility, destruction of any underground facility or its\nprotective coating, housing or other protective device, and impact with\nor severance of an underground facility.\n  h. "One-call notification system" means an organization among whose\npurposes is establishing and carrying out procedures and programs to\nprotect underground facilities from damage due to excavation and\ndemolition, including but not limited to, receiving notices of intent to\nperform excavation and demolition, and transmitting the notices to one\nor more of its member operators of underground facilities in the\nspecified area.\n  2. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations to implement and\ncarry out the requirements of article thirty-six of the general business\nlaw established for the protection of underground facilities. Such rules\nand regulations shall include, but not be limited to, requirements for\nnotice, one-call notification systems, participation of operators in\nsuch systems, designation and marking of the location of underground\nfacilities and the verification of the designated or marked location of\nunderground facilities, support for underground facilities and\nobligations of excavators to protect underground facilities under such\narticle, including the use of hand-dug test holes at underground\nfacilities furnishing gas or liquid petroleum products and such other\nmatters as may be appropriate for the protection and security of\nproperty, life or public health, safety or welfare.\n  3. Such rules and regulations relating to one-call notification\nsystems shall establish qualifications for the operation of such\nsystems.\n  4. The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be\nin accordance with the provisions of article thirty-six of the general\nbusiness law.\n  5. Any person operating a one-call system in the state shall register\nwith and obtain certification from the commission. The commission shall\nhave the power to grant, amend, or revoke certificates of any such\nsystem. Any one-call system engaged in business on or before the\neffective date of this subdivision, after registration with the\ncommission, shall be registered, certified and authorized to continue\nits business operations.\n  6. The commission shall have power, through the inspectors or duly\nauthorized employees of the department, to examine and inspect\nexcavation and demolition methods used by any person within fifteen feet\nin any direction of any underground pipeline used for conveying natural\ngas or of any underground telephone, electric, steam or water facility\nused for providing service and to order compliance with the standards\nfor excavation and demolition near underground facilities contained in\nregulations adopted by the commission to implement and carry out the\nrequirements of article thirty-six of the general business law\nestablished for the protection of underground facilities.\n  7. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this chapter, the\nenforcement procedure for rules and regulations adopted by the\ncommission shall be as follows:\n  a. any violation of any provisions of such rules and regulations is a\nviolation of the provisions of article thirty-six of the general\nbusiness law and the attorney general may bring and prosecute an action\nto recover penalties for such violations as provided in paragraph c of\nsubdivision one of section seven hundred sixty-five of such law;\n  b. any penalties, fines and financial liability resulting from\nviolations of such rules and regulations shall be those specified in\nsection seven hundred sixty-five of the general business law.\n  8. In the event a violation of such rules and regulations occurs and\nsuch violation is subject to a civil penalty pursuant to article\nthirty-six of the general business law, the commission shall determine\nthe amount of the penalty after consideration of the nature,\ncircumstances and gravity of the violation, history of prior violations,\neffect on public health, safety or welfare, and such other matters as\nmay be required and shall send a copy of its determination to the\nexcavator, operator, commissioner of labor and attorney general. Upon\nreceipt of such determination, the attorney general may commence an\naction to recover such penalty.\n  9. Any entity which leases excavation equipment to the public shall\nprovide a notice to lessees of such excavation equipment that informs\nsuch lessees about their responsibilities under state law to protect\nunderground facilities and the existence, operation, programs, and\ntelephone number of the one-call notification system.\n