Nebraska Statutes 76-2329. Emergency conditions; bar test survey; notificationrequirements; liability
(1) Sections 76-2321 and 76-2323 shall not apply to an excavation made under an emergency condition if all reasonable precautions are taken to protect the underground facilities. If an emergency condition exists, the excavator shall give notification in substantial compliance with section 76-2321 as soon as practical. Upon being notified that an emergency condition exists, each operator shall provide all reasonably available location information to the excavator as soon as possible. If the emergency condition has arisen through no fault of the excavator, sections 76-2324 and 76-2325 shall not apply and the excavator shall be liable for damage to any underground facility located in the area if the damage occurs because of the negligent acts or omissions of the excavator.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 76-2329
- Bar test survey: means a leakage survey completed with a nonconductive piece of equipment made by manually driving small holes in the ground at regular intervals along the route of an underground gas pipe for the purpose of extracting a sample of the ground atmosphere and testing the atmosphere in the holes with a combustible gas detector or other suitable device. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2303.01
- Damage: shall mean any impact with, partial or complete severance, destruction, impairment, or penetration of, or removal or weakening of support from an underground facility, including its protective coating, housing, or other protective device. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2306
- Emergency condition: shall mean any condition which constitutes a clear and present danger to life, health, or property or which demands immediate action to prevent or repair a major service outage. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2307
- Excavation: shall mean any activity in which earth, rock, or other material in or on the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by means of tools, equipment, or explosives and shall include grading, trenching, digging, ditching, drilling, augering, tunneling, scraping, and cable or pipe plowing or driving but shall not include (1) normal maintenance of roads if the maintenance does not change the original road grade and does not involve the road ditch, (2) tilling of soil and gardening for seeding and other agricultural purposes, (3) digging of graves or in landfills in planned locations, (4) maintenance or rebuilding of railroad track or facilities located on a railroad right-of-way by the railroad company or its contractors when such maintenance or rebuilding does not change the track grade, or (5) hand digging around the base of a pole for pole inspection as part of routine maintenance or replacement of a pole when the replacement pole is similarly sized and is installed in the existing hole. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2308
- Excavator: shall mean a person who engages in excavation in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2309
- Gas or hazardous liquid underground pipeline facility: shall mean any underground facility used or intended for use in the transportation of gas or the treatment of gas or used or intended for use in the transportation of hazardous liquids including petroleum or petroleum products. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2310
- Operator: shall mean a person who manages or controls the functions of an underground facility but shall not include a person who is an owner or tenant of real property where underground facilities are located if the underground facilities are used exclusively to furnish services or commodities on the real property. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2313
- Underground facility: shall mean any item of personal property buried or placed below ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic communications, telephonic communications, telegraphic communications, cable television, electric energy, oil, gas, hazardous liquids, or other substances, including pipes, trunk lines, fiber optic cables, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, and attachments to such personal property. See Nebraska Statutes 76-2317
(2) Sections 76-2321 and 76-2323 shall not apply to a bar test survey deemed necessary to address an emergency condition performed by the operator of the gas or hazardous liquid underground pipeline facility or a qualified excavator who has been engaged to work on behalf of the operator in response to a reported or suspected leak of natural gas, propane, or other combustible liquid or gas. If the emergency condition has arisen through no fault of the excavating operator, section 76-2325 shall not apply.
(3) Sections 76-2321 and 76-2323 shall not apply to an excavation deemed necessary to address an emergency condition performed by the operator of the gas or hazardous liquid underground pipeline facility or a qualified excavator who has been engaged to work on behalf of the operator to address a leak of natural gas, propane, or other combustible liquid or gas. In such event, the operator shall give notification in substantial compliance with section 76-2321 prior to the excavation undertaken by the operator to address the emergency condition. Upon being notified that an emergency condition exists, each operator shall provide all reasonably available location information to the excavating operator as soon as possible, but the excavating operator need not wait for such location information prior to excavation or continuing excavation. If the emergency condition has arisen through no fault of the excavating operator, section 76-2325 shall not apply.