Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	Req. No. 5175 Page 1 1
4	4	2
5	5	3
6	6	4
7	7	5
8	8	6
9	9	7
10	10	8
11	11	9
12	12	10
13	13	11
14	14	12
15	15	13
16	16	14
17	17	15
18	18	16
19	19	17
20	20	18
21	21	19
22	22	20
23	23	21
24	24	22
25	25	23
26	26	24
27	27
28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
29	29
30	30	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
31	31
32	32	HOUSE BILL 2564 By: McBride
33	33
34	34
35	35
36	36
37	37
38	38	AS INTRODUCED
39	39
40	40	An Act relating to underground facilities; requiring
41	41	operators install under ground facility in certain
42	42	consistent manner; a mending 63 O.S. 2021, Section
43	43	142.9a, which relates to damage to underground
44	44	facilities; allowing exca vators and property owners
45	45	to seek certain damages; amending 63 O.S. 2021,
46	46	Section 142.10, which relates to the statewide
47	47	notification center; requiring noti fication center
48	48	make certain website report; and providing an
49	49	effective date.
50	50
51	51
52	52
53	53
54	54	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
55	55	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
56	56	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 142.14 of Title 63, unless there
57	57	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
58	58	Operators shall be responsible for ensuring underground
59	59	facilities are installed in a consistent manner. Installed
60	60	underground facilities shall not deviate more than six (6) inches
61	61	vertically in every one hundred (100) horizontal feet from the depth
62	62	below existing ground elevation . Installed underground facilities
63	63	shall not deviate more than six (6) inches horizontally in every one
64	64	hundred (100) feet from either the ed ge of the easement or the
65	65
66	66	Req. No. 5175 Page 2 1
67	67	2
68	68	3
69	69	4
70	70	5
71	71	6
72	72	7
73	73	8
74	74	9
75	75	10
76	76	11
77	77	12
78	78	13
79	79	14
80	80	15
81	81	16
82	82	17
83	83	18
84	84	19
85	85	20
86	86	21
87	87	22
88	88	23
89	89	24
90	90
91	91	agreed upon alignment given to the operator by the approving
92	92	easement or right-of-way owner when installing und erground
93	93	facilities.
94	94	SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 142.9a, is
95	95	amended to read as foll ows:
96	96	Section 142.9a A. Any excavator, except for a public agency,
97	97	who fails to comply with the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage
98	98	Prevention Act and who damages an underground facility owned or
99	99	operated by a nonprofit rural water corporation organize d pursuant
100	100	to Section 863 of Title 1 8 of the Oklahoma Statutes or a rural water
101	101	district organized pursuant to the Rural Water, Sewer, Gas, and
102	102	Solid Waste Management Districts Act , shall be liable for the
103	103	underground damage to and responsible for the repa ir of such
104	104	facilities. Any new unde rground facilities installed on and after
105	105	September 1, 1992, shall contain materials capable of being detected
106	106	so that the facilities can be accurately located.
107	107	B. Any excavator who damages or cuts an underground facili ty,
108	108	as a result of negligently faili ng to comply with the provisions of
109	109	the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act or as a
110	110	result of failing to take measures for the protection of an
111	111	underground facility shall be liable to the operator of th e
112	112	underground facility for the repai r of the damaged underground
113	113	facility.
114	114
115	115	Req. No. 5175 Page 3 1
116	116	2
117	117	3
118	118	4
119	119	5
120	120	6
121	121	7
122	122	8
123	123	9
124	124	10
125	125	11
126	126	12
127	127	13
128	128	14
129	129	15
130	130	16
131	131	17
132	132	18
133	133	19
134	134	20
135	135	21
136	136	22
137	137	23
138	138	24
139	139
140	140	C. Except for public agencies, any excavator who by willful act
141	141	or by reckless disregard of the rights of others, repeatedly
142	142	violates the provisions of the Oklahoma Underground Fac ilities
143	143	Damage Prevention Act and re peatedly damages underground facilities,
144	144	thereby threatening the public health, safety, and welfare, may be
145	145	enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction from further
146	146	excavation.
147	147	D. An excavator may recover damages from an operator for the
148	148	cost of:
149	149	1. Locating abandoned underground facilities ;
150	150	2. Hitting unmarked underground facilities or underground
151	151	facilities that have been installed outside of designated easements
152	152	or right-of-ways; and
153	153	3. Delays associated with an operator not locating underground
154	154	facilities within a maximum of three (3) business days , unless a
155	155	documented agreement is in place to delay the locate.
156	156	E. Excavators or property owners may recover damages from a
157	157	operator for placing underground facilitie s outside of a designated
158	158	easement or right-of-way.
159	159	SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 142.10, is
160	160	amended to read as follows:
161	161	Section 142.10 A. This act recognizes the value of and
162	162	authorizes the establishment of a stat ewide notification center.
163	163
164	164	Req. No. 5175 Page 4 1
165	165	2
166	166	3
167	167	4
168	168	5
169	169	6
170	170	7
171	171	8
172	172	9
173	173	10
174	174	11
175	175	12
176	176	13
177	177	14
178	178	15
179	179	16
180	180	17
181	181	18
182	182	19
183	183	20
184	184	21
185	185	22
186	186	23
187	187	24
188	188
189	189	B. Upon establishment, the notification center shall operate
190	190	twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) day s a week. Notification,
191	191	as required by Section 142.6 of this title, to operators who are
192	192	members of or participants in the notification center, shall be
193	193	given by notifying the notification center by telephone or other
194	194	acceptable means of communication, th e content of such notification
195	195	to conform to Section 142.6 of this title.
196	196	C. All operators who have underground facilities within the
197	197	defined geographical boundary of the notification center shall b e
198	198	required to be members in good standing of the notification center .
199	199	D. A suitable record shall be maintained by the notification
200	200	center to document the receipt of the notices fr om excavators and
201	201	positive responses from operators as required by this act.
202	202	E. The notification center shall be required to report on its
203	203	website the number of underground facility hit reports, abandoned
204	204	underground facility hit reports, and abandoned underground facility
205	205	locates that are reported by excavators.
206	206	Public agencies, as defined in this act, shall have acc ess to
207	207	the record of underground f acilities.
208	208	SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
209	209
210	210	59-1-5175 JBH 12/28/22

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2564 Compare Versions