Calendar No. 280

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1115

[Report No. 105–143]

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve

purposes.the one-call notification process, and for other

NOVEMBER 7, 1997

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 280

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1115

[Report No. 105–143]

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the one-call notification

process, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 31, 1997

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr.

WARNER, Mr. ROBB, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr.

CONRAD, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. DORGAN, Mr.

SPECTER, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

Transportation

NOVEMBER 7, 1997

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN without amendment

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the

one-call notification process, 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,
2

•S 1115 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive One3 Call Notification Act of 1997’’.

4 SECTION 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) unintentional damage to underground facili7 ties during excavation is a significant cause of dis8 ruptions in telecommunications, water supply, elec9 tric power and other vital public services, such as

10 hospital and air traffic control operations, and is a

11 leading cause of natural gas and hazardous liquid

12 pipeline accidents;

13 (2) excavation that is performed without prior

14 notification to an underground facility operator or

15 with inaccurate marking of such a facility prior to

16 excavation can cause damage that results in fatali17 ties, serious injuries, harm to the environment and

18 disruption of vital services to the public; and

19 (3) protection of the public and the environ20 ment from the consequences of underground facility

21 damage caused by excavations will be enhanced by

22 a coordinated national effort to improve one-call no23 tification programs in each State and the effective24 ness and efficiency of one-call notification systems

25 that operate under such programs.
3

•S 1115 RS

1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ONE-CALL PROGRAM.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle III of title 49, United

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

4 following:

‘‘CHAPTER 61—ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PROGRAM

‘‘Sec.

‘‘6101. Purposes.

‘‘6102. Definitions.

‘‘6103. Minimum standards for State one-call notification programs.

‘‘6104. Compliance with minimum standards.

‘‘6105. Review of one-call system best practices.

‘‘6106. Grants to States.

‘‘6107. Authorization of appropriations.

5 ‘‘§ 6101. Purposes

6 ‘‘The purposes of this chapter are—

7 ‘‘(1) to enhance public safety;

8 ‘‘(2) to protect the environment;

9 ‘‘(3) to minimize risks to excavators; and

10 ‘‘(4) to prevent disruption of vital public

11 services,

12 by reducing the incidence of damage to underground facili13 ties during excavation through the adoption and efficient

14 implementation by all States of State one-call notification

15 programs that meet the minimum standards set forth

16 under section 6103.

17 ‘‘§ 6102. Definitions

18 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter—

19 ‘‘(1) ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.—The

20 term ‘‘one-call notification system’’ means a system

21 operated by an organization that has as one of its

22 purposes to receive notification from excavators of
4

•S 1115 RS

1 intended excavation in a specified area in order to

2 disseminate such notification to underground facility

3 operators that are members of the system so that

4 such operators can locate and mark their facilities in

5 order to prevent damage to underground facilities in

6 the course of such excavation.

7 ‘‘(2) STATE ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PRO8 GRAM.—The term ‘‘State one-call notification pro9 gram’’ means the State statutes, regulations, orders,

10 judicial decisions, and other elements of law and pol11 icy in effect in a State that establish the require12 ments for the operation of one-call notification sys13 tems in such State.

14 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State,

15 the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

16 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

17 the Secretary of Transportation.

18 ‘‘§ 6103. Minimum standards for State one-call notification pro19 grams

20 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—A State one-call notifi21 cation program shall, at a minimum, provide for—

22 ‘‘(1) appropriate participation by all under23 ground facility operators;

24 ‘‘(2) appropriate participation by all excavators;

25 and
5

•S 1115 RS

1 ‘‘(3) flexible and effective enforcement under

2 State law with respect to participation in, and use

3 of, one-call notification systems.

4 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATE PARTICIPATION.—In determining

5 the appropriate extent of participation required for types

6 of underground facilities or excavators under subsection

7 (a), a State shall assess, rank, and take into consideration

8 the risks to the public safety, the environment, excavators,

9 and vital public services associated with

10 ‘‘(1) damage to types of underground facilities;

11 and

12 ‘‘(2) activities of types of excavators.

13 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State one-call notifica14 tion program also shall, at a minimum, provide for

15 ‘‘(1) consideration of the ranking of risks under

16 subsection (b) in the enforcement of its provisions;

17 ‘‘(2) a reasonable relationship between the ben18 efits of one-call notification and the cost of imple19 menting and complying with the requirements of the

20 State one-call notification program; and

21 ‘‘(3) voluntary participation where the State de22 termines that a type of underground facility or an

23 activity of a type of excavator poses a de minimis

24 risk to public safety or the environment.
6

•S 1115 RS

1 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—To the extent the State deter2 mines appropriate and necessary to achieve the purposes

3 of this chapter, a State one-call notification program shall,

4 at a minimum, provide for

5 ‘‘(1) administrative or civil penalties commensu6 rate with the seriousness of a violation by an exca7 vator or facility owner of a State one-call notification

8 program;

9 ‘‘(2) increased penalties for parties that repeat10 edly damage underground facilities because they fail

11 to use one-call notification systems or for parties

12 that repeatedly fail to provide timely and accurate

13 marking after the required call has been made to a

14 one-call notification system;

15 ‘‘(3) reduced or waived penalties for a violation

16 of a requirement of a State one-call notification pro17 gram that results in, or could result in, damage that

18 is promptly reported by the violator;

19 ‘‘(4) equitable relief; and

20 ‘‘(5) citation of violations.

21 ‘‘§ 6104. Compliance with minimum standards

22 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In order to qualify for a grant

23 under section 6106, each State shall, within 2 years after

24 the date of the enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call
7

•S 1115 RS

1 Notification Act of 1997, submit to the Secretary a grant

2 application under subsection (b).

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) Upon application by a State, the Secretary

5 shall review that State’s one-call notification pro6 gram, including the provisions for implementation of

7 the program and the record of compliance and en8 forcement under the program.

9 ‘‘(2) Based on the review under paragraph (1),

10 the Secretary shall determine whether the State’s

11 one-call notification program meets the minimum

12 standards for such a program set forth in section

13 6103 in order to qualify for a grant under section

14 6106.

15 ‘‘(3) In order to expedite compliance under this

16 section, the Secretary may consult with the State as

17 to whether an existing State one-call notification

18 program, a specific modification thereof, or a pro19 posed State program would result in a positive de20 termination under paragraph (2).

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall prescribe the form of,

22 and manner of filing, an application under this sec23 tion that shall provide sufficient information about a

24 State’s one-call notification program for the Sec25 retary to evaluate its overall effectiveness. Such in-
8

•S 1115 RS

1 formation may include the nature and reasons for

2 exceptions from required participation, the types of

3 enforcement available, and such other information as

4 the Secretary deems necessary.

5 ‘‘(5) The application of a State under para6 graph (1) and the record of actions of the Secretary

7 under this section shall be available to the public.

8 ‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM.—A State may main9 tain an alternative one-call notification program if that

10 program provides protection for public safety, the environ11 ment, or excavators that is equivalent to, or greater than,

12 protection under a program that meets the minimum

13 standards set forth in section 6103.

14 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Within 3 years after the date of the

15 enactment of the Comprehensive One-call Notification Act

16 of 1997, the Secretary shall begin to include the following

17 information in reports submitted under section 60124 of

18 this title—

19 ‘‘(1) a description of the extent to which each

20 State has adopted and implemented the minimum

21 Federal standards under section 6103 or maintains

22 an alternative program under subsection (c);

23 ‘‘(2) an analysis by the Secretary of the overall

24 effectiveness of the State’s one-call notification pro25 gram and the one-call notification systems operating
9

•S 1115 RS

1 under such program in achieving the purposes of

2 this chapter;

3 ‘‘(3) the impact of the State’s decisions on the

4 extent of required participation in one-call notifica5 tion systems on prevention of damage to under6 ground facilities; and

7 ‘‘(4) areas where improvements are needed in

8 one-call notification systems in operation in the

9 State.

10 The report shall also include any recommendations the

11 Secretary determines appropriate. If the Secretary deter12 mines that the purposes of this chapter have been substan13 tially achieved, no further report under this section shall

14 be required.

15 ‘‘§ 6105. Review of one-call system best practices

16 ‘‘(a) STUDY OF EXISTING ONE-CALL SYSTEMS.—Ex17 cept as provided in subsection (d), the Secretary, in con18 sultation with other appropriate Federal agencies, State

19 agencies, one-call notification system operators, under20 ground facility operators, excavators, and other interested

21 parties, shall undertake a study of damage prevention

22 practices associated with existing one-call notification sys23 tems.

24 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF STUDY OF DAMAGE PREVENTION

25 PRACTICES.—The purpose of the study is to assemble in-
10

•S 1115 RS

1 formation in order to determine which existing one-call no2 tification systems practices appear to be the most effective

3 in preventing damage to underground facilities and in pro4 tecting the public, the environment, excavators, and public

5 service disruption. As part of the study, the Secretary

6 shall at a minimum consider—

7 ‘‘(1) the methods used by one-call notification

8 systems and others to encourage participation by ex9 cavators and owners of underground facilities;

10 ‘‘(2) the methods by which one-call notification

11 systems promote awareness of their programs, in12 cluding use of public service announcements and

13 educational materials and programs;

14 ‘‘(3) the methods by which one-call notification

15 systems receive and distribute information from ex16 cavators and underground facility owners;

17 ‘‘(4) the use of any performance and service

18 standards to verify the effectiveness of a one-call no19 tification system;

20 ‘‘(5) the effectiveness and accuracy of mapping

21 used by one-call notification systems;

22 ‘‘(6) the relationship between one-call notifica23 tion systems and preventing intentional damage to

24 underground facilities;
11

•S 1115 RS

1 ‘‘(7) how one-call notification systems address

2 the need for rapid response to situations where the

3 need to excavate is urgent;

4 ‘‘(8) the extent to which accidents occur due to

5 errors in marking of underground facilities, untimely

6 marking or errors in the excavation process after a

7 one-call notification system has been notified of an

8 excavation;

9 ‘‘(9) the extent to which personnel engaged in

10 marking underground facilities may be endangered;

11 ‘‘(10) the characteristics of damage prevention

12 programs the Secretary believes could be relevant to

13 the effectiveness of State one-call notification pro14 grams; and

15 ‘‘(11) the effectiveness of penalties and enforce16 ment activities under State one-call notification pro17 grams in obtaining compliance with program re18 quirements.

19 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of the

20 enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call Notification Act

21 of 1997, the Secretary shall publish a report identifying

22 those practices of one-call notification systems that are the

23 most and least successful in—

24 ‘‘(1) preventing damage to underground facili25 ties; and
12

•S 1115 RS

1 ‘‘(2) providing effective and efficient service to

2 excavators and underground facility operators.

3 The Secretary shall encourage States and operators of

4 one-call notification programs to adopt and implement the

5 most successful practices identified in the report.

6 ‘‘(d) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.—Prior to undertak7 ing the study described in subsection (a), the Secretary

8 shall determine whether timely information described in

9 subsection (b) is readily available. If the Secretary deter10 mines that such information is readily available, the Sec11 retary is not required to carry out the study.

12 ‘‘6106. Grants to States

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a grant

14 of financial assistance to a State that qualifies under sec15 tion 6104(b) to assist in improving—

16 ‘‘(1) the overall quality and effectiveness of one17 call notification systems in the State;

18 ‘‘(2) communications systems linking one-call

19 notification systems;

20 ‘‘(3) location capabilities, including training

21 personnel and developing and using location tech22 nology;

23 ‘‘(4) record retention and recording capabilities

24 for one-call notification systems;

25 ‘‘(5) public information and education;
13

•S 1115 RS

1 ‘‘(6) participation in one-call notification sys2 tems; or

3 ‘‘(7) compliance and enforcement under the

4 State one-call notification program.

5 ‘‘(b) STATE ACTION TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In

6 making grants under this section the Secretary shall take

7 into consideration the commitment of each State to im8 proving its State one-call notification program, including

9 legislative and regulatory actions taken by the State after

10 the date of enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call No11 tification Act of 1997.

12 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FOR ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYS13 TEMS.—A State may provide funds received under this

14 section directly to any one-call notification system in such

15 State that substantially adopts the best practices identi16 fied under section 6105.

17 ‘‘§ 6107. Authorization of appropriations

18 ‘‘(a) FOR GRANTS TO STATES.—There are author19 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary in fiscal year

20 1999 no more than $1,000,000 and in fiscal year 2000

21 no more than $5,000,000, to be available until expended,

22 to provide grants to States under section 6106.

23 ‘‘(b) FOR ADMINISTRATION.—There are authorized

24 to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be
14

•S 1115 RS

1 necessary during fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000 to

2 carry out sections 6103, 6104, and 6105.

3 ‘‘(c) GENERAL REVENUE FUNDING.—Any sums ap4 propriated under this section shall be derived from general

5 revenues and may not be derived from amounts collected

6 under section 60301 of this title.’’.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) The analysis of chapters for subtitle III of

9 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding

10 at the end thereof the following:

‘‘CHAPTER 61—ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PROGRAM’’.

11 (2) Chapter 601 of title 49, United States

12 Code, is amended

13 (A) by striking ‘‘sections 60114 and’’ in

14 section 60105(a) of that chapter and inserting

15 ‘‘section’’;

16 (B) by striking section 60114 and the item

17 relating to that section in the table of sections

18 for that chapter;

19 (C) by striking ‘‘60114(c), 60118(a),’’ in

20 section 60122(a)(1) of that chapter and insert21 ing ‘‘60118(a),’’;

22 (D) by striking ‘‘60114(c) or’’ in section

23 60123(a) of that chapter;

24 (E) by striking ‘‘sections 60107 and

25 60114(b)’’ in subsections (a) and (b) of section
15

•S 1115 RS

1 60125 and inserting ‘‘section 60107’’ in each

2 such subsection; and

3 (F) by striking subsection (d) of section

4 60125, and redesignating subsections (e) and

5 (f) of that section as subsections (d) and (e).