I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1115

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 12, 1997

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive One5 Call Notification Act of 1997’’.
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1 SECTION 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) unintentional damage to underground facili4 ties during excavation is a significant cause of dis5 ruptions in telecommunications, water supply, elec6 tric power and other vital public services, such as

7 hospital and air traffic control operations, and is a

8 leading cause of natural gas and hazardous liquid

9 pipeline accidents;

10 (2) excavation that is performed without prior

11 notification to an underground facility operator or

12 with inaccurate marking of such a facility prior to

13 excavation can cause damage that results in fatali14 ties, serious injuries, harm to the environment and

15 disruption of vital services to the public; and

16 (3) protection of the public and the environ17 ment from the consequences of underground facility

18 damage caused by excavations will be enhanced by

19 a coordinated national effort to improve one-call no20 tification programs in each State and the effective21 ness and efficiency of one-call notification systems

22 that operate under such programs.

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

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

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

26 following:
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‘‘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.

1 ‘‘§ 6101. Purposes

2 ‘‘The purposes of this chapter are—

3 ‘‘(1) to enhance public safety;

4 ‘‘(2) to protect the environment;

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

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

7 services,

8 by reducing the incidence of damage to underground facili9 ties during excavation through the adoption and efficient

10 implementation by all States of State one-call notification

11 programs that meet the minimum standards set forth

12 under section 6103.

13 ‘‘§ 6102. Definitions

14 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter—

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

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

17 operated by an organization that has as one of its

18 purposes to receive notification from excavators of

19 intended excavation in a specified area in order to

20 disseminate such notification to underground facility

21 operators that are members of the system so that
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1 such operators can locate and mark their facilities in

2 order to prevent damage to underground facilities in

3 the course of such excavation.

4 ‘‘(2) STATE ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PRO5 GRAM.—The term ‘‘State one-call notification pro6 gram’’ means the State statutes, regulations, orders,

7 judicial decisions, and other elements of law and pol8 icy in effect in a State that establish the require9 ments for the operation of one-call notification sys10 tems in such State.

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

12 the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

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

14 the Secretary of Transportation.

15 ‘‘§ 6103. Minimum standards for State one-call notification pro16 grams

17 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—A State one-call notifi18 cation program shall, at a minimum, provide for—

19 ‘‘(1) appropriate participation by all under20 ground facility operators;

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

22 and

23 ‘‘(3) flexible and effective enforcement under

24 State law with respect to participation in, and use

25 of, one-call notification systems.
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1 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATE PARTICIPATION.—In determining

2 the appropriate extent of participation required for types

3 of underground facilities or excavators under subsection

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

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

6 and vital public services associated with

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

8 and

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

10 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State one-call notifica11 tion program also shall, at a minimum, provide for

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

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

14 ‘‘(2) a reasonable relationship between the ben15 efits of one-call notification and the cost of imple16 menting and complying with the requirements of the

17 State one-call notification program; and

18 ‘‘(3) voluntary participation where the State de19 termines that a type of underground facility or an

20 activity of a type of excavator poses a de minimis

21 risk to public safety or the environment.

22 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—To the extent the State deter23 mines appropriate and necessary to achieve the purposes

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

25 at a minimum, provide for
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1 ‘‘(1) administrative or civil penalties commensu2 rate with the seriousness of a violation by an exca3 vator or facility owner of a State one-call notification

4 program;

5 ‘‘(2) increased penalties for parties that repeat6 edly damage underground facilities because they fail

7 to use one-call notification systems or for parties

8 that repeatedly fail to provide timely and accurate

9 marking after the required call has been made to a

10 one-call notification system;

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

12 of a requirement of a State one-call notification pro13 gram that results in, or could result in, damage that

14 is promptly reported by the violator;

15 ‘‘(4) equitable relief; and

16 ‘‘(5) citation of violations.

17 ‘‘§ 6104. Compliance with minimum standards

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

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

20 the date of the enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call

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

22 application under subsection (b).

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—

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

25 shall review that State’s one-call notification pro-
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1 gram, including the provisions for implementation of

2 the program and the record of compliance and en3 forcement under the program.

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

5 the Secretary shall determine whether the State’s

6 one-call notification program meets the minimum

7 standards for such a program set forth in section

8 6103 in order to qualify for a grant under section

9 6106.

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

11 section, the Secretary may consult with the State as

12 to whether an existing State one-call notification

13 program, a specific modification thereof, or a pro14 posed State program would result in a positive de15 termination under paragraph (2).

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

17 and manner of filing, an application under this sec18 tion that shall provide sufficient information about a

19 State’s one-call notification program for the Sec20 retary to evaluate its overall effectiveness. Such in21 formation may include the nature and reasons for

22 exceptions from required participation, the types of

23 enforcement available, and such other information as

24 the Secretary deems necessary.
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1 ‘‘(5) The application of a State under para2 graph (1) and the record of actions of the Secretary

3 under this section shall be available to the public.

4 ‘‘(c) ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM.—A State may main5 tain an alternative one-call notification program if that

6 program provides protection for public safety, the environ7 ment, or excavators that is equivalent to, or greater than,

8 protection under a program that meets the minimum

9 standards set forth in section 6103.

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

11 enactment of the Comprehensive One-call Notification Act

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

13 information in reports submitted under section 60124 of

14 this title—

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

16 State has adopted and implemented the minimum

17 Federal standards under section 6103 or maintains

18 an alternative program under subsection (c);

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

20 effectiveness of the State’s one-call notification pro21 gram and the one-call notification systems operating

22 under such program in achieving the purposes of

23 this chapter;

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

25 extent of required participation in one-call notifica-
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1 tion systems on prevention of damage to under2 ground facilities; and

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

4 one-call notification systems in operation in the

5 State.

6 The report shall also include any recommendations the

7 Secretary determines appropriate. If the Secretary deter8 mines that the purposes of this chapter have been substan9 tially achieved, no further report under this section shall

10 be required.

11 ‘‘§ 6105. Review of one-call system best practices

12 ‘‘(a) STUDY OF EXISTING ONE-CALL SYSTEMS.—Ex13 cept as provided in subsection (d), the Secretary, in con14 sultation with other appropriate Federal agencies, State

15 agencies, one-call notification system operators, under16 ground facility operators, excavators, and other interested

17 parties, shall undertake a study of damage prevention

18 practices associated with existing one-call notification sys19 tems.

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

21 PRACTICES.—The purpose of the study is to assemble in22 formation in order to determine which existing one-call no23 tification systems practices appear to be the most effective

24 in preventing damage to underground facilities and in pro25 tecting the public, the environment, excavators, and public
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1 service disruption. As part of the study, the Secretary

2 shall at a minimum consider—

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

4 systems and others to encourage participation by ex5 cavators and owners of underground facilities;

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

7 systems promote awareness of their programs, in8 cluding use of public service announcements and

9 educational materials and programs;

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

11 systems receive and distribute information from ex12 cavators and underground facility owners;

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

14 standards to verify the effectiveness of a one-call no15 tification system;

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

17 used by one-call notification systems;

18 ‘‘(6) the relationship between one-call notifica19 tion systems and preventing intentional damage to

20 underground facilities;

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

22 the need for rapid response to situations where the

23 need to excavate is urgent;

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

25 errors in marking of underground facilities, untimely
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1 marking or errors in the excavation process after a

2 one-call notification system has been notified of an

3 excavation;

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

5 marking underground facilities may be endangered;

6 ‘‘(10) the characteristics of damage prevention

7 programs the Secretary believes could be relevant to

8 the effectiveness of State one-call notification pro9 grams; and

10 ‘‘(11) the effectiveness of penalties and enforce11 ment activities under State one-call notification pro12 grams in obtaining compliance with program re13 quirements.

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

15 enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call Notification Act

16 of 1997, the Secretary shall publish a report identifying

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

18 most and least successful in—

19 ‘‘(1) preventing damage to underground facili20 ties; and

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

22 excavators and underground facility operators.

23 The Secretary shall encourage States and operators of

24 one-call notification programs to adopt and implement the

25 most successful practices identified in the report.
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1 ‘‘(d) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.—Prior to undertak2 ing the study described in subsection (a), the Secretary

3 shall determine whether timely information described in

4 subsection (b) is readily available. If the Secretary deter5 mines that such information is readily available, the Sec6 retary is not required to carry out the study.

7 ‘‘6106. Grants to States

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

9 of financial assistance to a State that qualifies under sec10 tion 6104(b) to assist in improving—

11 ‘‘(1) the overall quality and effectiveness of one12 call notification systems in the State;

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

14 notification systems;

15 ‘‘(3) location capabilities, including training

16 personnel and developing and using location tech17 nology;

18 ‘‘(4) record retention and recording capabilities

19 for one-call notification systems;

20 ‘‘(5) public information and education;

21 ‘‘(6) participation in one-call notification sys22 tems; or

23 ‘‘(7) compliance and enforcement under the

24 State one-call notification program.
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1 ‘‘(b) STATE ACTION TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In

2 making grants under this section the Secretary shall take

3 into consideration the commitment of each State to im4 proving its State one-call notification program, including

5 legislative and regulatory actions taken by the State after

6 the date of enactment of the Comprehensive One-Call No7 tification Act of 1997.

8 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FOR ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYS9 TEMS.—A State may provide funds received under this

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

11 State that substantially adopts the best practices identi12 fied under section 6105.

13 ‘‘§ 6107. Authorization of appropriations

14 ‘‘(a) FOR GRANTS TO STATES.—There are author15 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary in fiscal year

16 1999 no more than $1,000,000 and in fiscal year 2000

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

18 to provide grants to States under section 6106.

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

20 to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be

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

22 carry out sections 6103, 6104, and 6105.

23 ‘‘(c) GENERAL REVENUE FUNDING.—Any sums ap24 propriated under this section shall be derived from general
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1 revenues and may not be derived from amounts collected

2 under section 60301 of this title.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

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

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

6 at the end thereof the following:

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

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

8 Code, is amended

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

10 section 60105(a) of that chapter and inserting

11 ‘‘section’’;

12 (B) by striking section 60114 and the item

13 relating to that section in the table of sections

14 for that chapter;

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

16 section 60122(a)(1) of that chapter and insert17 ing ‘‘60118(a),’’;

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

19 60123(a) of that chapter;

20 (E) by striking ‘‘sections 60107 and

21 60114(b)’’ in subsections (a) and (b) of section

22 60125 and inserting ‘‘section 60107’’ in each

23 such subsection; and
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1 (F) by striking subsection (d) of section

2 60125, and redesignating subsections (e) and

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

Passed the Senate November 9, 1997.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.