Michigan Laws 460.731 – Prohibited conduct; violations as misdemeanor; penalty; civil fine; use of commission determination in court action or proceeding; instruction forms; rules; incident reports; maintenance and availabil
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 460.731
- Approximate location: means a strip of land at least 36 inches wide, but not wider than the width of the marked facility plus 18 inches on either side of the facility marks. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Blasting: means changing the level or grade of land or rendering, tearing, demolishing, moving, or removing earth, rock, buildings, structures, or other masses or materials by seismic blasting or the detonation of dynamite or any other explosive agent. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Commission: means the Michigan public service commission created in section 1 of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Damage: means any impact upon or exposure of an underground facility requiring its repair or replacement due to weakening, partial destruction, or complete destruction of the facility, including, but not limited to, the protective coating, lateral support, cathodic protection, or housing of the facility. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Excavation: means moving, removing, or otherwise displacing earth, rock, or other material below existing surface grade with power tools or power equipment, including, but not limited to, grading, trenching, tiling, digging, drilling, boring, augering, tunneling, scraping, cable or pipe plowing, and pile driving; and wrecking, razing, rending, moving, or removing a structure or mass of materials. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Facility operator: means a person that controls the operation of a facility. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Facility owner: means a person that owns a facility. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Governmental agency: means the state and its political subdivisions, including counties, townships, cities, villages, or any other governmental entity. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- Person: means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, governmental agency, department or agency, utility cooperative, or joint stock association, including any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. See Michigan Laws 460.723
- underground facility: means an underground or submerged conductor, pipe, or structure, including, but not limited to, a conduit, duct, line, pipe, wire, or other device and its appurtenances used to produce, store, transmit, or distribute a utility service, including communications, data, cable television, electricity, heat, natural or manufactured gas, oil, petroleum products, steam, sewage, video, water, and other similar substances, including environmental contaminates or hazardous waste. See Michigan Laws 460.723
(1) A person who engages in any of the following conduct is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both:
(a) Knowingly damages an underground facility and fails to promptly notify the facility owner or facility operator.
(b) Knowingly damages an underground facility and backfills the excavation or otherwise acts to conceal the damage.
(c) Willfully removes or otherwise destroys stakes or other physical markings used to mark the approximate location of underground facilities unless that removal or destruction occurs after the excavation or blasting is completed or as an expected consequence of the excavation or blasting activity.
(2) Upon complaint filed with the commission or upon the commission’s own motion, following notice and hearing, a person, other than a governmental agency, who violates any of the provisions of this act may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $5,000.00 for each violation. In addition to or as an alternative to any fine, the commission may require the person to obtain reasonable training to assure future compliance with this act. Before filing a complaint under this subsection, a person shall attempt to settle the dispute with the adverse party or parties using any reasonable means of attempted resolution acceptable to the involved parties. In determining the amount of any fine, the commission shall consider all of the following:
(a) The ability of the person charged to pay or continue in business.
(b) The nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation.
(c) Good-faith efforts by the person charged to comply with this act.
(d) The degree of culpability of the person charged and of the complainant.
(e) The history of prior violations of the person charged.
(3) A commission determination under subsection (2) shall not be used against a party in any action or proceeding before any court. A complaint filed under subsection (2) does not limit a person’s right to bring a civil action to recover damages that person incurred arising out of a violation of the requirements of this act.
(4) The commission shall develop forms with instructions and may promulgate administrative rules for processing complaints under this act, pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
(5) Not later than October 1, 2014, the commission shall establish requirements for reporting incidents involving damage to underground facilities.
(6) Beginning April 1, 2015, the commission shall maintain information on damaged facilities reported under subsection (5), including, but not limited to, any damage that occurs during excavation, digging, or blasting that is excluded from the definition of excavation under section 3(m). The commission shall make any information maintained under this subsection publicly available on its website.