Code of Maine Rules › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › 407 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 895 - UNDERGROUND FACILITY DAMAGE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS › Section 407-895-6 - RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OPERATOR

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Dig Safe
				System Membership
1.
Members
a. An underground
				facility operator, as defined in Section
				2(V), must join the
				Dig Safe System. Any other operator may voluntarily join the Dig Safe
				System.
b. All members of the Dig
				Safe System shall pay to the Dig Safe System the cost of operation apportioned
				to the members pursuant to Subsection
				5(B)(6).
c. All members of the Dig Safe System shall
				maintain communications equipment that is compatible with the Dig Safe System's
				communication equipment maintained pursuant to Subsection
				5(B)(3).
d. Except as otherwise provided in this
				provision of the rule, each Dig Safe System member shall provide to the Dig
				Safe System the location of all underground facilities that the member would be
				obligated to mark upon receipt of notice pursuant to Section 6(B). The location
				of facilities may be indexed by street or in any more specific manner
				consistent with Dig Safe System methodology. The operator shall provide the
				information to the Dig Safe System to use in its notification process and,
				unless otherwise specified in this rule, the operator shall provide the
				information in a format that the Dig Safe System is capable of using, such as
				electronic or digital format, or by drawing the specific location of any
				underground facilities on maps provided by the Dig Safe System.
i.
Telephone and cable service drops
				exempt
. Telephone utilities and cable operators are not required under
				this provision to provide to the Dig Safe System the location of service drops
				from a main line to customer premises. As a result, if a telephone utility or
				cable operator only has a service drop in the area of a proposed excavation,
				the telephone utility or cable operator will not receive notice from the Dig
				Safe System of the proposed excavation and will not therefore be required to
				mark the service drop. If, however, the telephone utility or cable operator has
				other underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation, the
				telephone utility or cable operator will receive notice from the Dig Safe
				System of the proposed excavation and the telephone utility or cable operator
				will be required to mark all of its underground facilities within the area of
				the proposed excavation including telephone or cable drops.
ii.
Water utility transmission mains
				waiver
. The Commission shall grant a waiver from this provision for any
				water utility transmission mains that are downstream of a treatment plant or
				underground water source and may require the water utility to provide the Dig
				Safe System with an alternative method of facility location specification, such
				as a corridor, for notification purposes.
iii. Unless a member operator has provided
				the Dig Safe System with the location of planned new facilities no fewer than
				21 business days prior to installation, the member operator shall provide to
				the Dig Safe System the location of newly installed and newly discovered
				facilities or portions of those facilities, no later than 21 business days
				after a newly installed facility or portion of a facility is covered with soil
				or other material or after the location of a facility is discovered pursuant to
				subsection 6(B)(6). For the purposes of this subsection, a facility or portion
				of a facility is considered covered with soil or other material if it is not
				visible because of the presence of the soil or other
				material.