An Act To Make Changes to the So-called Dig Safe Law
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1892
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: BERRY, LAWRENCE, LANDRY, BLACK
Amends: 23 MRSA §3360-A

Legislative Document
No. 1892
H.P. 1358
House of Representatives, December 24, 2019
An Act To Make Changes to the So-called Dig Safe Law
Submitted by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 20, 2019.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BERRY of Bowdoinham.
Cosponsored by Senator LAWRENCE of York and
Representative: LANDRY of Farmington, Senator: BLACK of Franklin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §3360-A, sub-§1, ¶E, as amended by PL 2011, c. 588, §2, is 
further amended to read:
E.  "Underground facility" means any item of personal property buried or placed 
below ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, 
electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, electric energy, oil, gas or 
other substances and including, but not limited to, pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, 
valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, appurtenances and those parts of poles 
below ground.  This definition Except for liquefied propane gas distribution systems 
that have underground pipes, "underground facility" does not include liquefied 
propane gas distribution systems that are not included within the scope of 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations, Part 192 and.  "Underground facility" does not include highway 
drainage culverts or under drains.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §3360-A, sub-§6-C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 588, §9, is 
further amended to read:
6-C.  Penalties.  In an adjudicatory proceeding, the Public Utilities Commission may, 
in accordance with this subsection, impose an administrative penalty on any person who 
violates this subsection.  The administrative penalty may not exceed $500 $1,000, except 
that, if the person has been found in violation of this subsection within the prior 12 
months, the administrative penalty may not exceed $5,000 $10,000.  Administrative 
penalties imposed pursuant to this subsection are in addition to any other remedies or 
forfeitures provided by law and any liability that may result from the act or omission 
constituting the violation.  Before imposing any penalties under this subsection, the 
commission shall consider evidence of the record of the violator, including, to the extent 
applicable, the number of successful excavations undertaken by the violator or the 
number of locations successfully marked by the violator during the prior 12 months.  The 
commission may require a person who violates any provision of this section to 
participate, at the expense of the violator, in an educational program developed and 
conducted by the system.
The Public Utilities Commission may impose administrative penalties for any of the 
following violations:
A.  Failure of an excavator to give notice of an excavation as required under 
subsection 3, except to the extent the excavator is exempt from the provisions of 
subsection 3 pursuant to other provisions of this section;
B.  Excavation by an excavator in a reckless or negligent manner that poses a threat 
to an underground facility;
C.  Excavation by an excavator that does not comply with the requirements of 
subsection 4-C, except to the extent the excavator is exempt from the provisions of 
subsection 4-C pursuant to subsection 5-C;
D.  Failure of an underground facility operator to mark the location of the operator's 
underground facilities within the time limits required by subsection 4;
E.  Marking by an underground facility operator of the location of an underground 
facility in a reckless or negligent manner; or
F.  Failure of an excavator to comply with the requirements of subsection 5-C, 5-D, 
5-E, 5-I or 5-J.
The commission shall establish by rule standards for when and at what level penalties 
must be assessed under this subsection.  Rules adopted under this subsection are major 
substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill specifies that liquefied propane gas distribution systems that have 
underground pipes are subject to the so-called dig safe law.
It also increases the administrative penalties for violations of the so-called dig safe 
law from $500 to $1,000 for a violation and from $5,000 to $10,000 for a subsequent 
violation occurring within 12 months of an earlier violation.