2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 34 - Public Utilities › Chapter 27 - Underground Facilities Protection › § 34–2704. Notification prior to excavation

§ 34–2704. Notification prior to excavation.
(a) Except as provided in § 34-2709, no person shall excavate or engage in demolition in a street, highway, or public space, or on private property, without first notifying at least 96 hours, but no more than 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) ('time limit"), before the commencement of the proposed excavation or demolition, each utility operator that may have underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation or demolition. The notification shall be accomplished by the person notifying the one-call center, in any manner approved by the one-call center, within the time limit, and the one-call center shall, in turn, notify the appropriate utility operators.
(b) The notice required by subsection (a) of this section must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person responsible for the proposed excavation or demolition, the utility job number, the planned starting date, the anticipated duration, the type of excavation or demolition work to be conducted, the location of the proposed excavation or demolition, with a maximum length per notice of 1,320 feet, and whether or not explosives are to be used.
(c)(1) If it is determined by a utility operator that a proposed excavation or demolition is planned in such proximity to an underground facility that the underground facility may be damaged, dislocated, or disturbed, the utility operator shall identify the approximate horizontal location of the underground facility on the ground to within 2 feet from the outermost part of the underground facility within 72 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) by marking, staking, locating, or otherwise providing the location of the utility operator's underground facility. The method of identifying the location shall conform to standards and requirements, including the use of the color-coding system, established in regulations issued by the Mayor.
(2) If it is determined by a District of Columbia agency or instrumentality that a proposed excavation or demolition is planned in such proximity to an underground facility that the facility may be damaged, dislocated, or disturbed, the District of Columbia agency or instrumentality shall identify the approximate horizontal location of the underground facility on the ground to within 2 feet from the outermost part of the underground facility within 72 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) by marking, staking, locating, or otherwise providing the location of the District of Columbia agency or instrumentality underground facility. The method of identifying the location shall conform to standards or requirements, including the use of the color-coding system, established in regulations issued by the Mayor.
(3) After receiving notice from the one-call center as described in subsection (a) of this section, a utility operator shall, within 72 hours, notify the one-call center whether it has marked its underground facilities as required by this section, determined that it has no underground facilities that are required to be marked, or provide another valid response to the status of the ticket. No person may begin excavation or demolition until receiving notification from the one-call center that the notices from the utility operators have been provided.
(d)(1) When the actual excavation or demolition operation enters the immediate vicinity of an underground facility, the person responsible for excavation or demolition shall provide adequate protection to the underground facility, including the provision of support as needed, and expose the underground facility by hand digging.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "immediate vicinity of an underground facility" means the space within 18 inches from the outermost part of the underground facility to the proposed excavation marked in the field.
(e) Repealed.
(f) Repealed.
(g) The notification through the one-call center is valid for 15 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, from the time of notification to the one-call center. Three days before the end of the 15-day period, or at any time when line-location markings on the ground become illegible, the person excavating or demolishing shall contact the one-call center and request the re-marking of the lines. The utility operator shall re-mark the lines as soon as possible. However, the re-marking of the lines shall be completed within 48 hours from the time of the request.
(h) For the purposes of this section, a District of Columbia agency or instrumentality shall mark buried infrastructure for traffic operations, including streetlights and traffic signals.
(Mar. 4, 1981, D.C. Law 3-129, § 5, 28 DCR 264; May 23, 2000, D.C. Law 13-114, § 2(c), 47 DCR 1993; Mar. 16, 2021, D.C. Law 23-186, § 2(e), 68 DCR 001024.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 43-1704.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 34-2705 and § 34-2709.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-114 in subsec. (b) substituted “the location of the proposed excavation or demolition, with a maximum length per notice of 1,320 feet,” for “the location of the proposed excavation or demolition,” and added subsec. (g).
Editor's Notes
Near the beginning of the first sentence of subsection (a), the reference to § 34-2709 was substituted for a reference to § 43-1710 1981 Ed., to correct an error in D.C. Law 3-129.