Union Calendar No. 415

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4394

[Report No. 103–765, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of mandatory

purposes.being damaged by any excavations, and for otherlines and all other underground facilities fromprotect natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeState-operated comprehensive one-call systems to

SEPTEMBER 30, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Public Works and

Union, and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of theTransportation with amendments, committed to the
IB

Union Calendar No. 415

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4394

[Report No. 103–765, Parts I and II]

To provide for the establishment of mandatory State-operated comprehensive

one-call systems to protect natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines

and all other underground facilities from being damaged by any excavations, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1994

Mr. PALLONE introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Public Works and Transportation and Energy and Commerce

SEPTEMBER 29, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with amendments

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

SEPTEMBER 30, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. BEVILL, Mr.

TORRICELLI, Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey, Mr. KOPETSKI, Mr. INHOFE,

Mr. VENTO, and Ms. FURSE

SEPTEMBER 30, 1994

Reported from the Committee on Public Works and Transportation with

amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 11, 1994]

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of mandatory State-oper-
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ated comprehensive one-call systems to protect natural

gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and all other underground facilities from being damaged by any excavations,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act, the term—

5 (1) ‘‘damage’’ means any impact or contact with

6 an underground facility, its appurtenances, or its

7 protective coating, or weakening of the support for the

8 facility or protective housing, which requires repair;

9 (2) ‘‘excavation’’ means any operation in which

10 earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved,

11 removed, or otherwise displaced by means of any

12 mechanized tools or equipment, or any explosive, but

13 shall not include the tilling of soil for agricultural

14 purposes to a depth of 18 inches or less;

15 (3) ‘‘excavator’’ means a person who conducts ex16 cavation;

17 (4) ‘‘facility operator’’ means any person who

18 operates an underground facility;

19 (5) ‘‘hazardous liquid’’ has the meaning given

20 such term in section 60101(a)(4) of title 49, United

21 States Code;
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1 (6) ‘‘natural gas’’ has the meaning given the

2 term ‘‘gas’’ in section 60101(a)(2) of title 49, United

3 States Code;

4 (7) ‘‘person’’ includes any agency of Federal,

5 State, or local government;

6 (8) ‘‘pipeline facilities’’—

7 (A) when used with respect to natural gas,

8 has the meaning given the term ‘‘gas pipeline fa9 cility’’ in section 60101(a)(3) of title 49, United

10 States Code; and

11 (B) when used with respect to hazardous

12 liquids, has the meaning given the term ‘‘hazard13 ous liquid pipeline facility’’ in section

14 60101(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code;

15 (9) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Trans16 portation;

17 (10) ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in

18 section 60101(a)(20) of title 49, United States Code;

19 (11) ‘‘State program’’ means the program of a

20 State to comply with the provisions of this Act, in21 cluding a one-call notification system; and

22 (12) ‘‘underground facility’’ means any under23 ground pipeline facilities, or any underground line,

24 system, or structure used for gathering, storing, trans25 mitting, or distributing communication, electricity,
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1 water, steam, sewerage, or any other commodities the

2 Secretary determines should be included under the re3 quirements of this Act, except that such term does not

4 include any such pipeline facility, line, system, or

5 structure if the person who owns or leases the real

6 property in which the pipeline facility, line, system,

7 or structure is located also operates the pipeline facil8 ity, line, system, or structure only for the purpose of

9 furnishing services or materials to itself.

10 SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE TOLL-FREE NUMBER SYSTEM.

11 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,

12 the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Federal Com13 munications Commission, facility operators, excavators,

14 and one-call notification system operators, provide for the

15 establishment of a nationwide toll-free telephone number

16 system to be used by one-call notification systems provided

17 for pursuant to this Act.

18 SEC. 4. STATE PROGRAMS.

19 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall, within 3 years

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, provide for a com21 prehensive statewide one-call notification program, includ22 ing a one-call notification system, in accordance with this

23 Act, to protect all underground facilities from damage due

24 to any excavation. A State program may be provided for

25 through the establishment of a new program, or through
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1 modification or improvement of an existing program. A

2 State program may be implemented by a nongovernmental

3 organization.

4 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.—Using $4,000,000 of the

5 amounts previously collected under section 7005 of the Con6 solidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (49

7 U.S.C. App. 1682a) for each of the fiscal years 1996, 1997,

8 and 1998, to the extent provided in advance in appropria9 tions Acts, the Secretary shall make grants to States or op10 erators of one-call notification systems for use in establish11 ing one-call notification systems, modifying existing sys12 tems to conform to standards established under this Act,

13 and improving systems to exceed such standards. Such

14 grants may be used to—

15 (1) improve communications systems linking

16 one-call notification systems;

17 (2) improve location capabilities, including

18 mapping, training personnel, geographical informa19 tion system development, and location technology de20 velopment and use;

21 (3) improve record retention and recording capa22 bilities;

23 (4) enhance public information and education

24 campaigns;
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1 (5) increase and improve enforcement mecha2 nisms, including administrative processing of viola3 tions; and

4 (6) otherwise further the purposes of this Act.

5 (c) COMPLIANCE.—If a State fails to comply with the

6 requirements of this Act, the Secretary or any person ag7 grieved by such failure may in a civil action obtain appro8 priate relief against any appropriate officer or entity of the

9 State, including the State itself, to compel such compliance.

10 SEC. 5. REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF STATE PROGRAM.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

12 (b), each State program provided for under section 4(a)

13 shall, at a minimum—

14 (1) provide for a one-call notification system or

15 systems which shall—

16 (A) apply to all excavators and to all facil17 ity operators;

18 (B) operate in all areas of the State and not

19 duplicate the geographical coverage of other one20 call notification systems;

21 (C) receive and record appropriate informa22 tion from excavators about intended excavations;

23 (D) inform facility operators of any in24 tended excavations that may be in the vicinity of

25 their underground facilities; and
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1 (E) inform excavators of the identity of fa2 cility operators who will be notified of the in3 tended excavation;

4 (2) provide for 24-hour coverage for emergency

5 excavation, with the manner and scope of coverage de6 termined by the State;

7 (3) employ mechanisms to ensure that the gen8 eral public, and in particular all excavators, are

9 aware of the one-call telephone number and the re10 quirements, penalties, and benefits of the State pro11 gram relating to excavations;

12 (4) inform excavators of any procedures that the

13 State has determined must be followed when excavat14 ing;

15 (5) require that any excavator must contact the

16 one-call notification system in accordance with State

17 specifications, which may vary depending on whether

18 the excavation is short term, long term, routine, con19 tinuous, or emergency;

20 (6) require facility operators to provide for locat21 ing and marking or otherwise identifying their facili22 ties at an excavation site, in accordance with State

23 specifications, which may vary depending on whether

24 the excavation is short term, long term, routine, con25 tinuous, or emergency;
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1 (7) provide effective mechanisms for penalties

2 and enforcement as described in section 6;

3 (8) provide for a fair and appropriate schedule

4 of fees to cover the costs of providing for, maintain5 ing, and operating the State program; and

6 (9) provide an opportunity for citizen suits to

7 enforce the requirements of section 4(a).

8 (b) EXCEPTION.—Where excavation is undertaken by

9 or for a person, on real property owned or leased by that

10 person, and the same person operates all underground fa11 cilities located at the site of the excavation, a State program

12 need not require that such person contact the one-call notifi13 cation system before excavating.

14 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

15 (a) GENERAL PENALTIES.—Each State program pro16 vided for under section 4(a) shall provide that any exca17 vator or facility operator who violates the requirements of

18 the State program shall be liable for an appropriate admin19 istrative or civil penalty.

20 (b) INCREASED PENALTIES.—If a violation results in

21 damage to an underground facility resulting in death, seri22 ous bodily harm, or actual damage to property exceeding

23 $50,000, or damage to a hazardous liquid underground fa24 cility resulting in the release of more than 50 barrels of

25 product, the penalties shall be increased, and an additional
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1 penalty of imprisonment may be assessed for a willful viola2 tion.

3 (c) DECREASED PENALTIES.—A State program shall

4 provide for reduced penalties for a violation, that results

5 in or could result in damage, that is promptly reported by

6 the violator.

7 (d) EQUITABLE RELIEF AND MANDAMUS ACTIONS.—

8 Each State program shall provide for appropriate equitable

9 relief and mandamus actions.

10 (e) IMMEDIATE CITATION OF VIOLATIONS.—A State

11 program may include procedures for issuing a citation of

12 violation at the site and time of the violation.

13 SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

14 (a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESPONSIBIL15 ITIES.—

16 (1) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordi17 nate the implementation of this Act with the imple18 mentation of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of

19 1968 and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act

20 of 1979.

21 (2) REVIEW OF PROGRAMS.—Within 18 months

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

23 shall review, and report to Congress on, the extent to

24 which any policies, programs, and procedures of the
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1 Department of Transportation could be used to

2 achieve the purposes of this Act.

3 (b) MODEL PROGRAM.—

4 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Within 1 year after the

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con6 sultation with facility operators, excavators, one-call

7 notification system operators, and State and local

8 governments, shall develop and make available to

9 States a model State program, including a model en10 forcement program. Such model program may be

11 amended by the Secretary on the Secretary’s initia12 tive or in response to reports submitted by the States

13 pursuant to section 9, or as a result of workshops con14 ducted under paragraph (3) of this subsection.

15 (2) SUGGESTED ELEMENTS.—The model pro16 gram developed under paragraph (1) shall meet all

17 the requirements of this Act. The Secretary shall con18 sider incorporating the following elements into the

19 model program:

20 (A) The one-call notification system or sys21 tems shall—

22 (i) receive and record appropriate in23 formation from excavators about intended

24 excavations, including—
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1 (I) the name of the person con2 tacting the one-call notification system;

3 (II) the name, address, and tele4 phone number of the excavator;

5 (III) the specific location of the

6 intended excavation, along with the

7 starting date thereof and a description

8 of the intended excavation activity;

9 and

10 (IV) the name, address, and tele11 phone number of the person for whom

12 the work is being performed; and

13 (ii) maintain records on each notice of

14 intent to excavate for the period of time nec15 essary to ensure that such records remain

16 available for use in the adjudication of any

17 claims relating to the excavation.

18 (B) The provision of information on exca19 vation requirements at the time of issuance of ex20 cavation or building permits, or other specific

21 mechanisms for ensuring excavator awareness.

22 (C) A requirement that any excavator must

23 contact the one-call notification system at least

24 2 business days, and not more than 10 business

25 days, before excavation begins.
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1 (D) Alternative notification procedures for

2 excavation activities conducted as a normal part

3 of ongoing operations within specific geographic

4 locations over an extended period of time.

5 (E) A requirement that facility operators—

6 (i) provide for locating and marking,

7 in accordance with the American Public

8 Works Association Uniform Color Code for

9 Utilities, or otherwise identifying, in ac10 cordance with standards established by the

11 State, their underground facilities at the

12 site of an intended excavation within no

13 more than 2 business days after notification

14 of such intended excavation; and

15 (ii) monitor such excavation as appro16 priate.

17 (F) Provision for notification of excavators

18 if no underground facilities are located at the ex19 cavation site.

20 (G) Provision for the approval of a State

21 program under this Act with time limitations

22 longer than those required under subparagraphs

23 (C) and (E) of this paragraph where special cir24 cumstances, such as severe weather conditions or

25 remoteness of location, pertain.
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1 (H) Procedures for excavators and facility

2 operators to follow when the location of under3 ground facilities is unknown.

4 (I) Procedures to improve underground fa5 cility location capabilities, including compiling

6 and notifying excavators, facility operators, and

7 one-call centers of any information about pre8 viously unknown underground facility locations

9 when such information is discovered.

10 (J) Alternative rules for timely compliance

11 with State program requirements in emergency

12 circumstances.

13 (K) If a State has procedures for licensing

14 or permitting entities to do business, procedures

15 for the revocation of the license or permit to do

16 business of any excavator determined to be a ha17 bitual violator of the requirements of the State

18 program.

19 (3) WORKSHOPS.—Within 6 months after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there21 after, the Secretary shall conduct workshops with fa22 cility operators, excavators, one-call notification sys23 tem operators, and State and local governments in

24 order to develop, amend, and promote the model pro25 gram, and to provide an opportunity to share infor-
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1 mation among such parties and to recognize State

2 programs that exemplify the goals of this Act.

3 (c) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall develop,

4 in conjunction with facility operators, excavators, one-call

5 notification system operators, and State and local govern6 ments, public service announcements and other educational

7 materials and programs to be broadcast or published to edu8 cate the public about one-call notification systems, includ9 ing the national phone number.

10 SEC. 8. ALTERNATE FORM OF STATE PROGRAM.

11 (a) CERTIFICATION.—A State that wishes to establish

12 or maintain a State program that differs from the require13 ments of this Act may certify to the Secretary that such

14 State program is at least as protective of the public health

15 and safety and the environment as a State program de16 scribed in section 5. Except as provided in subsection (b)

17 of this section, unless the Secretary has, within 6 months

18 after receipt of such a certification, disapproved the certifi19 cation, the Secretary shall be considered to have concurred

20 in the certification. The Secretary shall inform a State of

21 the reasons for any disapproval of a certification under this

22 section.

23 (b) CONDITIONAL APPROVAL.—Approval under sub24 section (a) may be given where a State program is substan25 tially in compliance with the requirements of this Act, on
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1 the condition that such State program, within 6 months

2 after the granting of conditional approval, shall be brought

3 in full compliance with such requirements.

4 SEC. 9. STATE REPORTS.

5 (a) REQUIREMENT.—

6 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Within 2 years after the

7 date of enactment of this Act, each State shall submit

8 to the Secretary an interim report on progress made

9 in implementing this Act.

(2) STATUS REPORTS.—Within 41 10 ⁄2 years after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually there12 after, each State shall report to the Secretary on the

13 status of its State program and its requirements, and

14 any other information the Secretary requires.

15 (b) SIMPLIFIED REPORTING FORM.—Within 3 years

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

17 develop and distribute to the States a simplified form for

18 complying with the reporting requirements of subsection

19 (a)(2).

20 SEC. 10. MORE PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS.

21 Nothing in this Act prohibits a State from implement22 ing a one-call notification system that provides greater pro23 tection for underground facilities from damage due to exca24 vation than a system provided for under this Act.

Amend the title to read as follows: ‘‘A bill to provide

for mandatory, comprehensive, Statewide one-call notifi-
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cation systems to protect natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and all other underground facilities from

being damaged by any excavations, and for other purposes.’’.

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehen3 sive One-Call Notification Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

5 For purposes of this Act, the term—

6 (1) ‘‘damage’’ means any impact or

7 contact with an underground facility, its

8 appurtenances, or its protective coating,

9 or weakening of the support for the facil10 ity or protective housing, which requires

11 repair;

12 (2) ‘‘excavation’’ means any operation

13 in which earth, rock, or other material in

14 the ground is moved, removed, or other15 wise displaced by means of any mecha16 nized tools or equipment, or any explo17 sive, but shall not include any generally

18 accepted agricultural practices and ac19 tivities taken in support thereof and rou20 tine lawn and garden activities;

21 (3) ‘‘excavator’’ means a person who

22 conducts excavation;
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1 (4) ‘‘facility operator’’ means any per2 son who operates an underground facil3 ity;

4 (5) ‘‘hazardous liquid’’ has the mean5 ing given such term in section 60101(a)(4)

6 of title 49, United States Code;

7 (6) ‘‘natural gas’’ has the meaning

8 given the term ‘‘gas’’ in section

9 60101(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code;

10 (7) ‘‘person’’ includes any agency of

11 Federal, State, or local government;

12 (8) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

13 of Transportation;

14 (9) ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given

15 such term in section 60101(a)(20) of title

16 49, United States Code;

17 (10) ‘‘State program’’ means the pro18 gram of a State to establish or maintain

19 a one-call notification system; and

20 (11) ‘‘underground facility’’ means

21 any underground line, system, or struc22 ture used for gathering, storing, trans23 mitting, or distributing oil, petroleum

24 products, other hazardous liquids, natu25 ral gas, communication, electricity,
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1 water, steam, sewerage, or any other

2 commodities the Secretary determines

3 should be included under the require4 ments of this Act, but such term does not

5 include a portion of a line, system, or

6 structure if the person who owns or

7 leases, or holds an oil or gas mineral

8 leasehold interest in, the real property in

9 which such portion is located also oper10 ates, or has authorized the operation of,

11 the line, system, or structure only for the

12 purpose of furnishing services or mate13 rials to such person, except to the extent

14 that such portion contains predominantly

15 natural gas or hazardous liquids and—

16 (A) is located within an easement

17 for a public road (as defined under

18 section 101(a) of title 23, United

19 States Code), or a toll highway,

20 bridge, or tunnel (as described in sec21 tion 129(a)(2) of such title); or

22 (B) is located on a mineral lease

23 and is within the boundaries of a city,

24 town, or village.
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1 SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE TOLL-FREE NUMBER SYSTEM.

2 Within 1 year after the date of enactment

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consulta4 tion with the Federal Communications Com5 mission, facility operators, excavators, and

6 one-call notification system operators, pro7 vide for the establishment of a nationwide

8 toll-free telephone number system to be used

9 by State one-call notification systems.

10 SEC. 4. STATE PROGRAMS.

11 (a) CONSIDERATION.—Each State shall con12 sider whether to adopt a comprehensive

13 statewide one-call notification program with

14 each element described in section 5, to pro15 tect all underground facilities from damage

16 due to any excavation. Such State program

17 may be provided for through the establish18 ment of a new program, or through modifica19 tion or improvement of an existing program,

20 and may be implemented by a nongovern21 mental organization.

22 (b) PROCEDURES.—State consideration

23 under subsection (a) shall be undertaken

24 after public notice and hearing, and shall be

25 completed within 3 years after the date of en26 actment of this Act. Such consideration may
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1 be undertaken as part of any proceeding of a

2 State with respect to the safety of pipelines or

3 other underground facilities.

4 (c) COMPLIANCE.—If a State fails to comply

5 with the requirements of this section, the Sec6 retary or any person aggrieved by such fail7 ure may in a civil action obtain appropriate

8 relief against any appropriate officer or en9 tity of the State, including the State itself, to

10 compel such compliance.

11 (d) APPROPRIATENESS.—Nothing in this Act

12 prohibits a State from making a determina13 tion that it is not appropriate to adopt a State

14 program described in section 5, pursuant to

15 its authority under otherwise applicable State

16 law.

17 SEC. 5. ELEMENTS OF STATE PROGRAM.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State’s consider19 ation under section 4(a) shall include consid20 eration of program elements that—

21 (1) provide for a one-call notification

22 system or systems which shall—

23 (A) apply to all excavators and to

24 all facility operators;
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1 (B) operate in all areas of the

2 State and not duplicate the geo3 graphical coverage of other one-call

4 notification systems;

5 (C) receive and record appro6 priate information from excavators

7 about intended excavations;

8 (D) inform facility operators of

9 any intended excavations that may be

10 in the vicinity of their underground

11 facilities; and

12 (E) inform excavators of the iden13 tity of facility operators who will be

14 notified of the intended excavation;

15 (2) provide for 24-hour coverage for

16 emergency excavation, with the manner

17 and scope of coverage determined by the

18 State;

19 (3) employ mechanisms to ensure that

20 the general public, and in particular all

21 excavators, are aware of the one-call tele22 phone number and the requirements,

23 penalties, and benefits of the State pro24 gram relating to excavations;
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1 (4) inform excavators of any proce2 dures that the State has determined must

3 be followed when excavating;

4 (5) require that any excavator must

5 contact the one-call notification system

6 in accordance with State specifications,

7 which may vary depending on whether

8 the excavation is short term, long term,

9 routine, continuous, or emergency;

10 (6) require facility operators to pro11 vide for locating and marking or other12 wise identifying their facilities at an ex13 cavation site, in accordance with State

14 specifications, which may vary depend15 ing on whether the excavation is short

16 term, long term, routine, continuous, or

17 emergency;

18 (7) provide effective mechanisms for

19 penalties and enforcement as described

20 in section 6;

21 (8) provide for a fair and appropriate

22 schedule of fees to cover the costs of pro23 viding for, maintaining, and operating

24 the State program; and
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1 (9) provide an opportunity for citizen

2 suits to enforce the State program.

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Where excavation is un4 dertaken by or for a person, on real property

5 owned or leased, or in which an oil or gas

6 mineral leasehold interest is held, by that per7 son, and the same person operates all under8 ground facilities located at the site of the ex9 cavation, a State program may elect not to re10 quire that such person contact the one-call

11 notification system before excavating.

12 SEC. 6. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

13 (a) GENERAL PENALTIES.—Each State’s con14 sideration under section 4(a) shall include

15 consideration of a requirement that any exca16 vator or facility operator who violates the re17 quirements of the State program shall be lia18 ble for an appropriate administrative or civil

19 penalty.

20 (b) INCREASED PENALTIES.—If a violation

21 results in damage to an underground facility

22 resulting in death, serious bodily harm, or ac23 tual damage to property exceeding $50,000, or

24 damage to a hazardous liquid underground

25 facility resulting in the release of more than
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1 50 barrels of product, the penalties shall be

2 increased, and an additional penalty of im3 prisonment may be assessed for a knowing

4 and willful violation.

5 (c) DECREASED PENALTIES.—Each State’s

6 consideration under section 4(a) shall include

7 consideration of reduced penalties for a viola8 tion, that results in or could result in damage,

9 that is promptly reported by the violator.

10 (d) EQUITABLE RELIEF AND MANDAMUS AC11 TIONS.—Each State’s consideration under sec12 tion 4(a) shall include consideration of provi13 sions for appropriate equitable relief and

14 mandamus actions.

15 (e) IMMEDIATE CITATION OF VIOLATIONS.—

16 Each State’s consideration under section 4(a)

17 shall include consideration of procedures for

18 issuing a citation of violation at the site and

19 time of the violation.

20 SEC. 7. GRANTS TO STATES.

21 (a) AUTHORITY.—Using $4,000,000 of the

22 amounts previously collected under section

23 7005 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget

24 Reconciliation Act of 1985 (previously codi25 fied as 49 U.S.C. App. 1682a) or section 60301
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1 of title 49, United States Code, for each of the

2 fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, to the extent

3 provided in advance in appropriations Acts,

4 the Secretary shall make grants to States, or

5 to operators of one-call notification systems

6 in such States, which have elected to adopt a

7 State program described in section 5, or to es8 tablish and maintain a State program pursu9 ant to subsection (b) of this section. Such

10 grants may be used in establishing one-call

11 notification systems, modifying existing sys12 tems to conform to standards established

13 under this Act, and improving systems to ex14 ceed such standards. Such grants may be used

15 to—

16 (1) improve communications systems

17 linking one-call notification systems;

18 (2) improve location capabilities, in19 cluding training personnel and develop20 ing and using location technology;

21 (3) improve record retention and re22 cording capabilities;

23 (4) enhance public information and

24 education campaigns;
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1 (5) increase and improve enforcement

2 mechanisms, including administrative

3 processing of violations; and

4 (6) otherwise further the purposes of

5 this Act.

6 (b) ALTERNATE FORM OF STATE PROGRAM.—

7 The Secretary may make a grant under sub8 section (a) to a State that establishes or main9 tains a State program that differs from a State

10 program described in section 5 if such State

11 program is at least as protective of the public

12 health and safety and the environment as a

13 State program described in section 5.

14 SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

15 (a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESPON16 SIBILITIES.—

17 (1) COORDINATION.—The Secretary

18 shall coordinate the implementation of

19 this Act with the implementation of chap20 ter 601 of title 49, United States Code.

21 (2) REVIEW OF PROGRAMS.—Within 18

22 months after the date of enactment of

23 this Act, the Secretary shall review, and

24 report to Congress on, the extent to

25 which any policies, programs, and proce-
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1 dures of the Department of Transpor2 tation could be used to achieve the pur3 poses of this Act.

4 (b) MODEL PROGRAM.—

5 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Within 1 year

6 after the date of enactment of this Act,

7 the Secretary, in consultation with facil8 ity operators, excavators, one-call notifi9 cation system operators, and State and

10 local governments, shall develop and

11 make available to States a model State

12 program, including a model enforcement

13 program. Such model program may be

14 amended by the Secretary on the Sec15 retary’s initiative or in response to re16 ports submitted by the States pursuant to

17 section 9, or as a result of workshops con18 ducted under paragraph (3) of this sub19 section.

20 (2) SUGGESTED ELEMENTS.—The model

21 program developed under paragraph (1)

22 shall include all elements of a State pro23 gram described in section 5. The Sec24 retary shall consider incorporating the
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1 following elements into the model pro2 gram:

3 (A) The one-call notification sys4 tem or systems shall—

5 (i) receive and record appro6 priate information from exca7 vators about intended exca8 vations, including—

9 (I) the name of the person

10 contacting the one-call notifi11 cation system;

12 (II) the name, address,

13 and telephone number of the

14 excavator;

15 (III) the specific location

16 of the intended excavation,

17 along with the starting date

18 thereof and a description of

19 the intended excavation activ20 ity; and

21 (IV) the name, address,

22 and telephone number of the

23 person for whom the work is

24 being performed; and
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1 (ii) maintain records on each

2 notice of intent to excavate for

3 the period of time necessary to

4 ensure that such records remain

5 available for use in the adjudica6 tion of any claims relating to the

7 excavation.

8 (B) The provision of information

9 on excavation requirements at the

10 time of issuance of excavation or

11 building permits, or other specific

12 mechanisms for ensuring excavator

13 awareness.

14 (C) A requirement that any exca15 vator must contact the one-call notifi16 cation system at least 2 business

17 days, and not more than 10 business

18 days, before excavation begins.

19 (D) Alternative notification proce20 dures for excavation activities con21 ducted as a normal part of ongoing

22 operations within specific geographic

23 locations over an extended period of

24 time.
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1 (E) A requirement that facility op2 erators—

3 (i) provide for locating and

4 marking, in accordance with the

5 American Public Works Associa6 tion Uniform Color Code for Utili7 ties, or otherwise identifying, in

8 accordance with standards estab9 lished by the State or the Amer10 ican National Standards Institute,

11 their underground facilities at

12 the site of an intended excavation

13 within no more than 2 business

14 days after notification of such in15 tended excavation; and

16 (ii) monitor such excavation

17 as appropriate.

18 (F) Provision for notification of

19 excavators if no underground facili20 ties are located at the excavation site.

21 (G) Provision for the approval of

22 a State program under this Act with

23 time limitations longer than those re24 quired under subparagraphs (C) and

25 (E) of this paragraph where special
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1 circumstances, such as severe weath2 er conditions or remoteness of loca3 tion, pertain.

4 (H) Procedures for excavators

5 and facility operators to follow when

6 the location of underground facilities

7 is unknown.

8 (I) Procedures to improve under9 ground facility location capabilities,

10 including compiling and notifying ex11 cavators, facility operators, and one12 call centers of any information about

13 previously unknown underground fa14 cility locations when such informa15 tion is discovered.

16 (J) Alternative rules for timely

17 compliance with State program re18 quirements in emergency cir19 cumstances.

20 (K) If a State has procedures for

21 licensing or permitting entities to do

22 business, procedures for the revoca23 tion of the license or permit to do

24 business of any excavator determined
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1 to be a habitual violator of the re2 quirements of the State program.

3 (3) WORKSHOPS.—Within 6 months

4 after the date of enactment of this Act,

5 and annually thereafter, the Secretary

6 shall conduct workshops with facility op7 erators, excavators, one-call notification

8 system operators, and State and local

9 governments in order to develop, amend,

10 and promote the model program, and to

11 provide an opportunity to share informa12 tion among such parties and to recognize

13 State programs that exemplify the goals

14 of this Act.

15 (c) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary

16 shall develop, in conjunction with facility op17 erators, excavators, one-call notification sys18 tem operators, and State and local govern19 ments, public service announcements and

20 other educational materials and programs to

21 be broadcast or published to educate the pub22 lic about one-call notification systems, includ23 ing the national phone number.

24 SEC. 9. STATE REPORTS.

25 (a) REQUIREMENT.—
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1 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Within 3 years

2 after the date of enactment of this Act,

3 each State shall submit to the Secretary a

4 report on progress made in implementing

5 this Act.

(2) STATUS REPORTS.—Within 41 6 ⁄2 years

7 after the date of enactment of this Act,

8 and annually thereafter, each State shall

9 report to the Secretary on the status of

10 its State program, if any, and its require11 ments, and any other information the

12 Secretary requires.

13 (b) SIMPLIFIED REPORTING FORM.—Within 3

14 years after the date of enactment of this Act,

15 the Secretary shall develop and distribute to

16 the States a simplified form for complying

17 with the reporting requirements of subsection

18 (a)(2).

19 SEC. 10. MORE PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS.

20 Nothing in this Act prohibits a State from

21 implementing a one-call notification system

22 that provides greater protection for under23 ground facilities from damage due to exca24 vation than a system established pursuant to

25 this Act.
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1 SEC. 11. USE OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR REMOTE AND ABOVE2 GROUND PIPELINE LOCATION.

3 The Secretary of Transportation shall

4 consult with other agencies as to the avail5 ability and affordability of technologies

6 which will help relocate pipelines from above7 ground and remote locations.

8 SEC. 12. RAILROAD COMPLIANCE WITH ONE-CALL.

9 If a railroad has rules requiring under10 ground facilities other than its own to be bur11 ied 3 feet or lower on its property or along its

12 right-of-way, the railroad shall not be re13 quired to inform the State one-call system

14 when the railroad undertakes routine mainte15 nance on its property or along its right-of-way

16 when such maintenance would disturb the

17 ground to a depth of no more than 18 inches

18 as measured from the surface of the ground.

19 Any accidents that occur during, or as a result

20 of such routine maintenance, must be re21 ported by the railroad to the Department of

22 Transportation and the appropriate local offi23 cials.
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1 SEC. 13. SENSE OF CONGRESS; REQUIREMENT REGARDING

2 NOTICE.

3 (a) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIP4 MENT AND PRODUCTS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that, to the greatest extent practicable,

6 all equipment and products purchased with

7 funds made available under this Act should be

8 American-made.

9 (b) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—

10 In providing financial assistance under this

11 Act, the Administrator of the Research and

12 Special Programs Administration of the De13 partment of Transportation, to the greatest

14 extent practicable, shall provide to each re15 cipient of the assistance a notice describing

16 the statement made in subsection (a).

Amend the title to read as follows: ‘‘A bill to require

State’s to consider adopting mandatory, comprehensive,

Statewide one-call notification systems to protect natural

gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and all other underground facilities from being damaged by any excavations,

and for other purposes.’’.

17 HR 4394 RH——2

18 HR 4394 RH——3