§ 56-265.14. Short title
This chapter may be cited as the “Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act.” 1979, c. 291.
§ 56-265.15:1. Exemptions; routine maintenance
Nothing in this chapter shall apply to: 1. Any hand digging performed by an owner or occupant of a property. 2. The tilling of soil for agricultural purposes. 3. Any excavation done by a railroad when the excavation is made entirely on the land which the railroad owns and on which the railroad operates, provided […]
§ 56-265.15. Definitions; calculation of time periods
A. As used in this chapter: “Abandoned” means no longer in service and physically disconnected from a portion of the underground utility line that is in use for storage or conveyance of service. “Commission” means the State Corporation Commission. “Contract locator” means any person contracted by an operator specifically to determine the approximate horizontal location […]
§ 56-265.16:1. Operators to join notification centers; certification
A. Every operator, including counties, cities and towns, but excluding the Department of Transportation, having the right to bury underground utility lines shall join the notification center for the area. B. Every notification center shall be certified by the Commission. The Commission shall determine the optimum number of notification centers in the Commonwealth. If the […]
§ 56-265.16. Repealed
Repealed by Acts 1989, c. 448, effective July 1, 1990.
§ 56-265.17:1. Notification and procedures for designers
A. Each designer, who prepares drawings and plans for projects requiring excavation or demolition work, may notify the notification center and provide the center with the information required by § 56-265.18 and the designer’s professional license number. B. If a designer notifies the notification center to receive underground utility line information in accordance with § […]
§ 56-265.17:2. Procedures for project owners
The project owner shall provide copies of those portions of the drawings that affect the respective operator with underground utility lines in the project area who have responded in accordance with § 56-265.17:3. 2002, c. 841.
§ 56-265.17:3. Procedures for operators in response to a designer notice
An operator, upon notification by a designer in accordance with § 56-265.17:1, shall: 1. Respond to the designer’s request for underground utility line information within fifteen working days in accordance with subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 of this section; 2. Provide designers with the operator’s name, the type of underground utility line, and the approximate […]
§ 56-265.17. Notification required prior to excavation or demolition; waiting periods; marking of proposed site
A. Except as provided in subsection G, no person, including operators, shall make or begin any excavation or demolition without first notifying the notification center for that area. Notice to the notification center shall be deemed to be notice to each operator who is a member of the notification center. The notification center shall provide […]
§ 56-265.18. Notification requirements
Every notice served by any person on a notification center shall contain the following information: 1. The name of the individual serving such notice. 2. The specific location of the proposed work. In the event a specific description of the location of the excavation cannot be given, the person proposing to excavate or demolish shall […]
§ 56-265.19:1. Private sewer laterals and sewer system laterals
A. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the protection of sewer system laterals and private sewer laterals shall be implemented as provided in this section. When an excavation is to take place within a public right-of-way or public sewer easement, the sewer system operator shall exercise reasonable care to mark the approximate […]
§ 56-265.19. Duties of operator; regulations
A. If a proposed excavation or demolition is planned in such proximity to the underground utility line that the utility line may be destroyed, damaged, dislocated, or disturbed, the operator shall mark the approximate horizontal location of the underground utility line on the ground to within two feet of either side of the underground utility […]
§ 56-265.20:1. Locating nonmetallic underground utility lines
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 56-257.1, any plastic or other nonmetallic utility lines installed underground on and after July 1, 2002, shall be installed in such a manner as to be locatable by the operator for the purposes of this chapter. 2002, c. 841.
§ 56-265.20. Repealed
Repealed by Acts 1994, c. 890, effective January 1, 1995.
§ 56-265.21. Marking by color
In marking the approximate location of underground utility lines or proposed excavation if required pursuant to subsection E of § 56-265.17 the American Public Works Association color codes shall be used. 1979, c. 291; 1994, c. 890; 2002, c. 841.
§ 56-265.22:1. Meetings between excavators and operators
A. Any person planning excavation or demolition in such proximity to the underground utility lines that the utility lines may be destroyed, damaged, dislocated, or disturbed may request a meeting with the operator whose underground utility lines are located in the area of the proposed excavation or demolition to discuss the marking of such lines. […]
§ 56-265.22. Duties of notification center upon notification by person intending to excavate; record of notification made by telephone required
A. The notification center shall, upon receiving notice by a person, notify all member operators whose underground lines are located in the area of the proposed project, excavation or demolition. The notification center shall also indicate the names of those operators being notified to the person providing notice. B. If the notification required by this […]
§ 56-265.23. Exemption for roadway maintenance operations by the Virginia Department of Transportation and certain counties, cities, and towns
Employees of the Virginia Department of Transportation acting within the scope of their employment, and certain employees of those counties, cities, and towns which maintain their streets or roads in accordance with § 33.2-319 or § 33.2-366 performing street or roadway maintenance operations and acting within the scope of their employment, excavating entirely within the […]
§ 56-265.24. Duties of excavator
A. Any person excavating within two feet on either side of the staked or marked location of an operator’s underground utility line or demolishing in such proximity to an underground utility line that the utility line may be destroyed, damaged, dislocated or disturbed shall take all reasonable steps necessary to properly protect, support and backfill […]
§ 56-265.25. Liability of operator and excavator; penalties
A. 1. If any underground utility line is damaged as a proximate result of a person’s failure to comply with any provision of this chapter, that person shall be liable to the operator of the underground utility line for the total cost to repair the damaged facilities as that cost is normally computed by the […]