ENROLLED
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ACT No. 249
Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE BILL NO. 396
BY REPRESENTATIVE ARNOLD
AN ACT1
To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1749.12(4), 1749.13(B)(1) and (3), 1749.14(A) and (B), and2
1749.20(B)(introductory paragraph), to enact R.S. 40:1749.12(14) and3
1749.14(C)(1)(b)(v), and to repeal R.S. 40:1749.13(E), relative to the Louisiana4
Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law; to define excavation;5
to define "forestry excavator"; to require regional notification centers to receive6
emergency locate requests twenty-four hours a day; to authorize a notice of intent7
to excavate to be sent electronically; to require a member operator to furnish the8
regional notification center with emergency contact information; to require a record9
of electronic notice to be retained by the regional notification center; to require an10
operator of an underground cable television utility to participate in regional11
notification centers; to repeal expired temporary notification provisions; to provide12
for violations; and to provide for related matters.13
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:14
Section 1. R.S. 40:1749.12(4), 1749.13(B)(1) and (3), 1749.14(A) and (B), and15
1749.20(B)(introductory paragraph) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.16
40:1749.12(14) and 1749.14(C)(1)(b)(v) are hereby enacted to read as follows: 17 ENROLLEDHB NO. 396
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§1749.12. Definitions1
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to2
them in this Section:3
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(4) "Excavation" or "excavate" means any operation for the purpose of5
movement or removal of earth, rock, or other materials in or on the ground by the use6
of powered or mechanical or manual means, including pile driving, digging, blasting,7
auguring, boring, back filling, dredging, compressing, plowing-in, trenching,8
ditching, tunneling, land-leveling, grading, and mechanical probing. "Excavation"9
or "excavate" shall not include manual probing.10
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(14) "Forestry excavator" means an excavator who is a logger, prescribed12
burner, site preparation operator, or tree planter for commercial forestry operations.13
§1749.13. Excavation and demolition; prohibitions14
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B.(1) Except as provided in R.S. 40:1749.15, prior to any excavation or16
demolition, each excavator or demolisher, including cable television owners or17
operators, shall serve telephonic or electronic notice of the intent to excavate or18
demolish to the regional notification center or centers serving the area in which the19
proposed excavation or demolition is to take place. Such notice shall be given to the20
notification center at least forty-eight hours, but not more than one hundred twenty21
hours, excluding weekends and holidays, in advance of the commencement of any22
excavation or demolition activity. Holidays shall consist of the following: New23
Year's Day; Good Friday; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day; and24
Christmas Day, or the days on which those holidays are observed by the state.25
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(3) Telephonic notice shall be recorded on tape or stored into an electronic1
data bank by the regional notification center and a record of the notice shall be2
retained for a three-year period from the date of notification. A record of an3
electronic notice shall also be retained by the regional notification center for a three-4
year period from the date of notification.5
* * *6
§1749.14. Regional notification center7
A. Each operator of an underground utility or facility, excluding cable8
television but, including all state agencies and political subdivisions of the state,9
shall become a member of, participate in, and share the cost of a regional notification10
center, except as provided for in R.S. 40:1749.19. Each regional notification center11
shall have the capability to receive emergency locate requests twenty-four hours a12
day and to disseminate the information as soon as it is received to the appropriate13
operators and all affected regional notification centers in this state.14
B. A regional notification center receiving a notice of intent to excavate shall15
notify all member operators having underground utilities or facilities in or near the16
site of the proposed excavation. All member operators shall furnish the regional17
notification center with current emergency contact or notification information,18
including twenty-four hour telephone numbers.19
C.(1) Each operator of an underground facility or utility, after having20
received the notification request from the regional notification center of an intent to21
excavate, shall supply, prior to the proposed excavation, the following information22
to the person responsible for the excavation:23
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(v) In the case whereby a forestry excavator has requested that the utilities25
and facilities be marked for location, the operator of a utility or facility shall mark26
the area of their utilities or facilities. The markings provided by the operator shall27
be deemed good as long as the markings are visible or up to thirty calendar days28
from the time the markings were made, whichever is shorter.29
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§1749.20. Violations; penalties1
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B. An excavator or demolisher who violates the provisions of R.S.3
40:1749.13, 1749.16, or 1749.17(B) shall be subject to the following:4
* * *5
Section 2. R.S. 40:1749.13(E) is hereby repealed in its entirety.6
Section 3. This Act shall become effective on September 1, 2010.7
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED: