NY Gen Bus L § 765 (2021)
2021 New York Laws GBS - General Business Article 36 - Protection of Underground Facilities 765 - Penalties and Liabilities.

§  765.  Penalties and liabilities. 1. Civil penalties.  a. Failure to   comply with any provision of this article shall subject an excavator  or   an  operator  to  a  civil  penalty  of  up to two thousand five hundred   dollars for the first violation and up to  an  additional  ten  thousand   dollars  for each succeeding violation that occurs within a twelve month   period.b. The penalties provided for by this article shall not  apply  to  an   excavator  who damages an underground facility due to the failure of the   operator to comply with any of the provisions of this article nor  shall   in  such  instance  the excavator be liable for repairs as prescribed in   subdivision four of this section.* c. An action to recover a penalty under this article may be  brought   in the supreme court in the judicial district in which the violation was   alleged  to have occurred which shall be commenced and prosecuted by the   attorney general. The  public  service  commission  shall,  pursuant  to   section one hundred nineteen-b of the public service law, forward to the   attorney  general  its  determination  of  the amount of the penalty for   violations  of  rules  and  regulations   adopted   to   implement   the   requirements  of  this  article. Upon receipt of such determination, the   attorney general may commence an action to  recover  such  penalty.  All   moneys  recovered  in  any such action, together with the costs thereof,   and all moneys recovered as  the  result  of  any  such  public  service   commission  determination  shall be paid into the underground facilities   safety training account established pursuant to section ninety-seven-www   of the state finance law.* NB Effective until October 1, 2025* c. An action to recover a penalty under this article may be  brought   in the supreme court in the judicial district in which the violation was   alleged  to have occurred which shall be commenced and prosecuted by the   attorney general. The  public  service  commission  shall,  pursuant  to   section one hundred nineteen-b of the public service law, forward to the   attorney  general  its  determination  of  the amount of the penalty for   violations  or  rules  and  regulations   adopted   to   implement   the   requirements  of  this  article. Upon receipt of such determination, the   attorney general may commence an action to  recover  such  penalty.  All   moneys  recovered  in  any such action, together with the costs thereof,   shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.* NB Effective October 1, 20252. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, nothing  in  this   article  shall  impair,  limit  or  reduce  the statutory, common law or   contractual  duties  or  tort  or  other  liability  of  any   excavator   excavating or demolishing in the vicinity of underground facilities.3.  Any  excavator engaging in or proposing to engage in excavation or   demolition in a negligent or unsafe manner, which has resulted in or  is   likely  to  result  in damage to underground facilities in such a manner   that  life,  property  or  the  continuation  of  operator  service   is   endangered,  may  be  enjoined from such excavation or demolition or any   aspect thereof upon application of the operator owning the facilities or   the attorney general made in supreme court having  jurisdiction  in  the   county  wherein  the  excavation or demolition or proposed excavation or   demolition is to take place. Three or more instances  of  damage  by  an   excavator  to  underground  facilities  in  the  course  of  the  entire   self-same excavation or demolition activity shall be prima facie grounds   for enjoining the excavator from further performance of  the  excavation   or demolition activity.4.  In  the  event  that,  as  a  result  of a violation of any of the   provisions of this article by an excavator,  it  is  necessary  that  an   operator  make  any  repair  to or provide new support to an underground    facility, the excavator shall be liable to the operator  for  reasonable   costs so incurred.