Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 515 - RULES OF GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 515-9 - SAFE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS › Subject 515-9-4 - ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES UNDER THE GEORGIA UNDERGROUND FACILITY PROTECTION ACT › Rule 515-9-4-.14 - Georgia Underground Marking Standards

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) White Lining.
(a)
Scope
. This Rule shall have
				statewide application; provided, however, that any municipal or county
				governing authority in this State may adopt, by resolution or ordinance, more
				stringent requirements relating to white lining, but no local governing
				authority may adopt less stringent marking standards requirements.
(b)
Purpose
. The purpose of
				white lining the area to be located is to allow everyone involved with the dig
				site to know the exact location of the proposed excavation. White lining the
				excavation site is an excellent way to assist the underground facilities or
				underground facility locators in marking lines in the work area right the first
				time and in less time. This technique eliminates speculation by the locator
				about where the excavation will take place and will often enable the
				underground facility or its agent to locate faster and more accurately. In
				short, pre-marking the area and the extent of the intended excavation can
				reduce delays and the time it takes to conduct the locate.
(c)
Background
. White lining is
				a practice that has been widely used in the United States where the National
				Transportation Board concluded that pre-marking is a practice that helps
				prevent excavation damage. The procedure simply involves an excavator using
				white paint to indicate the route or area that is going to be excavated, such
				that the locator then knows exactly how much marking is required and where.
				White lining reduces confusion about what underground facilities need to be
				marked or not marked.
(d)
Directive to UPC.
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §§
										25-9-4(a)(1),
				25-9-6(a)(1) and
				(b),
				25-9-7(a)(2), and
				25-9-13(f) and
				pursuant to Commission Utility Rule
				515-9-6-.01, the Utilities
				Protection Center, Inc. ("UPC" or "One-Call Center") is hereby directed to
				establish policies and procedures which identify when white lining is required.
				Examples of areas to be white lined are smaller (involving only a portion of a
				particular address) or linear excavations such as telecommunication drops and
				lines, service lines (such as for water, gas, electricity and sewer), utility
				pits, cuts and repairs, curb repairs, bore holes, directional boring pathways,
				pole and signage placements, etc. Such examples are merely explanatory of the
				type of excavation where white lining is appropriate and are not meant to be
				exclusive.
(e)
Exceptions to
				White Lining
. Unless otherwise required by applicable municipal or
				county ordinance, white lining will not be required in the following
				situations:
1. Any large project so
				designated in accordance with GPSC Rule
				515-9-4-.13;
2. Any jobsite that can be described with
				such particularity as required by O.C.G.A.
				25-9-6(b);
				and
3. "Emergencies" and
				"extraordinary circumstances" as such terms are defined in O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-3(10) and
				O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-3(14),
				respectively, are [pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-12] statutory exceptions to
				O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-6(a)
				requirement for obtaining a locate ticket prior to commencing mechanized
				excavation and, hence, also exceptions to the requirement for white lining
				under this Rule. However, if a particular emergency notification is later
				determined not to have been an emergency or an extraordinary circumstance, then
				the excavator's failure to procure a locate ticket before excavating will be
				treated as a violation of O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-6 and of this Rule as per
				O.C.G.A. §
											25-9-12. Also, pre-excavation
				emergency locate ticket requests (that is, a requests for a locate ticket on an
				expedited basis sooner than the prescribed statutory time limit) will not be an
				exception to white lining as required in this Rule.
(f)
White Lining Symbols as Directions
				to Locator
. White lining proposed dig sites that will follow a single
				path or trench shall be marked using white lines and/or arrows and shall be
				located for twenty (20) feet on either side of the white line and for twenty
				(20) feet outward beyond the designate "START" and "END" of such linear white
				line. Therefore, it is important to identify the starting & ending points.
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(g)
Identification of White Lining
				Excavator
. In order to enable the locating underground facility or its
				locators to quickly identify the requested locate at the job site and expedite
				the locating process, each excavator when white lining shall identify himself
				or itself by labeling the white line area with the excavator's name or the
				applicable locate ticket number or both.