(a)  A public utility served with the notice in accordance with §?39-1.2-5 shall, within seventy-two (72) hours, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, of the receipt of the notice, unless otherwise agreed between the person or public agency performing the work and the public utility, mark the approximate location of the underground utility facilities.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-7

  • Association: means the group of public utilities formed pursuant to § 39-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Damage: means and includes, but is not limited to, the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of a utility line; penetration or destruction of any utility line protective coating, housing, or other protective device; or the severance, partial or complete, of any utility line. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Excavation: means an operation for the purpose of movement or removal of earth, rock, or other materials in or on the ground, or otherwise disturbing the subsurface of the earth, by the use of powered or mechanized equipment, including, but not limited to: digging, blasting, auguring, back filling, test boring, drilling, pile driving, grading, plowing in, hammering, pulling in, trenching, and tunneling; excluding the movement of earth by tools manipulated only by human or animal power and the tilling of soil for agricultural purposes. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or a public utility, including a person engaged as a contractor by a public agency and including a public agency. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Public agency: means the state or any political subdivision thereof, including any governmental agency. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Public utility: means the owner or operator of underground facilities for furnishing electric, gas, telephone, or water service as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(20); and also means and includes, for the purposes of this chapter only, electric transmission companies and nonregulated power producers, as defined in § 39-1-2(a)(13) and (19); any cable television service; and any water company that voluntarily becomes a member of the association provided for under § 39-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1
  • Public utility facilities: means the underground plant and equipment owned and operated by a public utility for the purpose of furnishing electricity, gas, water, cable television, or telephone service; including the underground plant and equipment owned and operated by any water company, not subject to regulation by the administrator of the division of the public utilities, that voluntarily joins the association provided for under § 39-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1.2-1

(b)  Prior to notifying the association, any excavator must premark the area of proposed excavation in a manner that will enable the owner of the public utility facilities to identify the boundaries of the proposed excavation activities, except that premarking shall not be required if the proposed excavation will be continuous and exceed five hundred feet (500?) in length, or if such marks may reasonably interfere with traffic or pedestrian control or are misleading to the general public.

(c)  A public utility shall mark any of its underground utility facilities that are located within fifteen feet (15?) of the exterior limits of the premarked excavation area.

(d)  For the purposes of this chapter, the approximate location of underground utility facilities shall be marked with stakes, paint, or other physical means as may be necessary to ensure a distinctive mark. The public utility shall follow the color coding prescribed in this section.

UTILITY AND TYPE OF PRODUCT
SPECIFIC GROUP 		IDENTIFYING COLOR
   
Electric power distribution and transmission Safety Red
State and municipal electric systems Safety Red
Gas distribution and transmission High Visibility Safety Yellow
Dangerous materials, product line High Visibility Safety Yellow
Telephone and telegraph systems Safety Alert Orange
Water systems Safety Precaution Blue
Cable antenna television Safety Alert Orange
Premark White

(e)  In the event the excavator shall damage the underground public utility facilities as the result of an incorrect marking by the public utility, the excavator shall not be responsible for the resulting damage.

History of Section.
P.L. 1984, ch. 119, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 327, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 326, § 104; P.L. 2009, ch. 92, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 103, § 1.