SLS 21RS-166 REENGROSSED
2021 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 169
BY SENATOR ALLAIN
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
PUBLIC UTILITIES. Provides relative to the Louisiana Underground Utilities and
Facilities Damage Prevention Law. (8/1/21)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1749.12(7) and (12) through (18), the introductory paragraph
3 of 1749.14(C)(1), and the introductory paragraph of 1749.17(B), and to enact R.S.
4 40:1749.12(19), relative to the Louisiana Underground Utilities and Facilities
5 Damage Prevention Law; to provide for definitions, terms, and conditions; and to
6 provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 40:1749.12(7) and (12) through (18), the introductory paragraph of
9 1749.14(C)(1), and the introductory paragraph of 1749.17(B) are hereby amended and
10 reenacted and R.S. 40:1749.12(19) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 §1749.12. Definitions
12 As used in this Part, the following terms have the meanings ascribed to them
13 in this Section:
14 * * *
15 (7) "Excavation" or "excavate" means any operation causing movement or
16 removal of earth, rock, or other materials in or on the ground or submerged in a
17 marine environment that could reasonably result in damage to underground or
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
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SLS 21RS-166 REENGROSSED
1 submerged utilities or facilities by the use of powered or mechanical or manual
2 means, including but not limited to pile driving, digging, blasting, augering, boring,
3 back filling, dredging, compaction, plowing-in, trenching, ditching, tunneling, land-
4 leveling, grading, and mechanical probing. "Excavation" or "excavate" shall not
5 include manual probing, normal commercial farming operations, or any activity
6 resulting from force majeure, related occurrences, including but not limited to
7 an act of God, or an act of nature.
8 * * *
9 (12) "Normal commercial farming operations" means the following
10 operations or activities for agriculture cultivation purposes:
11 (a) Operations or activities that do not encroach upon a private utility
12 or pipeline servitude, public right-of-way, or a public franchise area.
13 (b) Operations or activities that do encroach upon a private utility or
14 pipeline servitude and the depth of the excavation is less than twelve inches in
15 the soil below the existing surface grade.
16 (13) "Operator" means any person who owns or operates a public or private
17 underground facility or utility which furnishes a service or material or stores,
18 transports, or transmits electric energy, steam, oil, gases, natural gas, gas, mixture
19 of gases, petroleum, petroleum products, hazardous or flammable fluids, toxic or
20 corrosive fluids/gases, including telephone or telegraph system, fiber optic electronic
21 communication systems, or water or water systems, or drainage, sewer systems, or
22 traffic control systems or other items of like nature.
23 (13)(14) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, association, limited
24 liability company, corporation, joint venture, municipality, governmental agency,
25 political subdivision, or agent of the state or any legal representative thereof.
26 (14)(15) "Pipeline" means all intrastate and interstate pipeline facilities
27 defined by 49 CFR 192.3 and 49 CFR 195.2.
28 (15)(16) "Regional notification center" means any one of the following:
29 (a) An entity designated as nonprofit by the Internal Revenue Service under
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SLS 21RS-166 REENGROSSED
1 Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and which is organized to protect its
2 members from damage and is certified by the Department of Public Safety and
3 Corrections in accordance with this Part.
4 (b) An organization of operators, consisting of two or more separate operators
5 who jointly have underground utilities or facilities in three or more parishes in
6 Louisiana, which is organized to protect its own installation from damage and has
7 been certified by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in accordance
8 with this Part.
9 (c) An operator who has underground utilities or facilities in a majority of
10 parishes in Louisiana and is organized to protect its own installation from damage,
11 and has been certified by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in
12 accordance with this Part.
13 (16)(17) "Service line or lines" means underground facilities or utilities
14 which provide power, gas, natural gas, communication, or water capabilities to a
15 building or structure or buildings or group of structures.
16 (17)(18) "Underground facility or utility" means any pipe, conduit, duct,
17 wire, cable, valve, line, fiber optic equipment, or other structure which is buried or
18 placed below ground or submerged for use in connection with storage, conveyance,
19 transmission, or protection of electronics communication system, telephone or
20 telegraph system, or fiber optic, electric energy, oil, natural gas, gas, gases, steam,
21 mixture of gases, petroleum, petroleum products, hazardous or flammable
22 fluids/gases, toxic or corrosive fluids/gases, hazardous fluids/gases, or other
23 substances of like nature or water or water systems, sewer systems or traffic,
24 drainage control systems, or other items of like nature.
25 (18)(19) "Wildfire" means an uncontrolled combustion of natural vegetation.
26 * * *
27 §1749.14. Regional notification center
28 * * *
29 C.(1) Each operator of an underground facility or utility, after having
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
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SLS 21RS-166 REENGROSSED
1 received the notification request from the regional notification center of an intent to
2 excavate or an intent to conduct normal commercial farming operations, shall
3 supply, prior to the proposed excavation or normal commercial farming operation,
4 the following information to the person responsible for the excavation or normal
5 commercial farming operation:
6 * * *
7 §1749.17. Excavation or demolition; repair of damage
8 * * *
9 B. Each person responsible for an excavation or demolition operation or
10 normal commercial farming operation which results in damage to an underground
11 facility or utility permitting the escape of any flammable, toxic, or corrosive
12 fluids/gases shall, immediately upon discovery of that damage:
13 * * *
The original instrument was prepared by Beth O'Quin. The following digest,
which does not constitute a part of the legislative instrument, was prepared
by Ann S. Brown.
DIGEST
SB 169 Reengrossed 2021 Regular Session Allain
Present law provides relative to the La. Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage
Prevention Law.
Present law provides that except as provided by law, no person shall excavate or demolish
in any street, highway, public place, or servitude of any operator, or near the location of an
underground facility or utility, or on the premises of a customer served by an underground
facility or utility without having first ascertained, as provided by law, the specific location
of all underground facilities or utilities in the area that would be affected by the proposed
excavation or demolition.
Present law provides that prior to any excavation or demolition, each excavator or
demolisher shall serve telephonic or electronic notice of the intent to excavate or demolish
to the regional notification center or centers serving the area in which the proposed
excavation or demolition is to take place.
Present law defines "excavation" or "excavate" to mean any operation causing movement
or removal of earth, rock, or other materials in or on the ground or submerged in a marine
environment that could reasonably result in damage to underground or submerged utilities
or facilities by the use of powered or mechanical or manual means, including but not limited
to pile driving, digging, blasting, augering, boring, back filling, dredging, compaction,
plowing-in, trenching, ditching, tunneling, land-leveling, grading, and mechanical probing.
"excavation" or "excavate" shall not include manual probing or any force majeure, act of
God, or act of nature.
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SLS 21RS-166 REENGROSSED
Proposed law adds normal commercial farming operations as an exception to the definition
of "excavation" or "excavate" and changes the definition of "excavation" or "excavate" with
regards to an exception from any force majeure, act of God or act of nature to any activity
resulting from force majeure related occurrences, including but not limited to an act of God
or an act of nature.
Proposed law defines"normal commercial farming operations" as the following operations
or activities for agriculture cultivation purposes:
(1)Operations or activities that do not encroach upon a private utility or pipeline
servitude, public right-of-way, or public franchise area.
(2)Operations or activities that do encroach upon a private utility or pipeline servitude
and the depth of the excavation is less than 12 inches in the soil below the existing
surface grade.
Present law requires operators of an underground facility or utility, after having received the
notification request from the regional notification center of an intent to excavate, to supply
certain information to the person responsible for the excavation.
Proposed law adds this requirement when there is a notification of intent to perform normal
commercial farming operations.
Present law requires that each person responsible for an excavation or demolition operation
that results in damage to an underground facility or utility, perform certain actions
immediately such as notification to certain persons, to minimize hazard, and comply with
any other laws and regulations.
Proposed law adds this requirement to commercial farming operations that results in damage
to an underground facility or utility.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Amends R.S. 40:1749.12(7) and (12)-(18) and 1749.14(C)(1) (intro par) and 1749.17(B)
(intro par); adds R.S. 40:1749.12(19))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer
Protection, and International Affairs to the original bill
1. Makes technical changes.
2. Changes the term "normal farming operations" to "normal commercial
farming operations".
3. Specifies in the definition of "normal commercial farming operations" that
the depth of the excavation is less than 12 inches in the soil below the
existing surface grade.
Senate Floor Amendments to engrossed bill
1. Adds commercial farming operations to present law provisions relative to
regional notification centers and repair of damage caused by excavation or
demolition.
2. Makes technical changes.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.