Req. No. 1241 Page 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
SENATE BILL 345 By: Frix
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Underground
Facilities Damage Prevention Act; amending 63 O.S.
2021, Section 142.2, as last amended by Sect ion 1,
Chapter 118, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
142.2), which relates to definitions; modifying
certain definition; updating statutory language;
updating statutory references; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE P EOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 142.2, as
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 118, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 142.2), is amended to read as follows:
Section 142.2. As used in the Oklahoma Underground Facilities
Damage Prevention Act:
1. “Certified project” means a project where the public agency
responsible for the public project, in consultation with the
statewide one-call notification center, as part of its procedure,
certifies that the project right -of-way is free and clear of
underground faciliti es or wherein the public agency responsible for
such project, as part of its procedure, notifies all persons
Req. No. 1241 Page 2 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
determined by the public agency to have underground facilities
located within the construction right -of-way and certifies that all
known underground facilities are duly located or noted on the
engineering drawings for the project;
2. “Damage” means any impact upon or removal of support from an
underground facility as a res ult of explosion, excavation , or
demolition which according to the operating p ractices of the
operator of the underground facilities would necessitate the repair
thereof;
3. “Demolish” means to wreck, raze, render, move , or remove a
structure by means of any equipment or explosive;
4. “Demolition” means the act or operation of demolishing a
structure;
5. “Excavate” means to dig, compress , or remove earth, rock , or
other materials in or on the ground by use of mechanized equipment
or blasting, including, but not necessarily limited to, augering,
boring, backfilling, drilling, gradi ng, pile driving, plowing in,
pulling in, trenching, tunneling , and plowing; provided, however,
that neither:
a. the moving of earth by tools manipulated only by human
or animal power, except in a private or public
easement or right-of-way,
b. the moving of earth by tools manipulated only by human
power for burying communication lines of a
Req. No. 1241 Page 3 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
communications provider in a private or public
easement or right-of-way when depth is not gr eater
than twelve (12) inches and within twelve (12) inches
of a communications provider terminal,
c. any form of cultivation for agricultural purposes, nor
any augering, dozing by noncommercial dozer operators ,
or digging for postholes, farm ponds, land c learing or
other normal agricultural purposes,
d. routine maintenance,
e. work by a public agency or its contractors on a
preengineered project,
f. work on a certified project,
g. work on a permitted project,
h. the opening of a grave in a cemetery,
i. a solid waste disposal site which is a preengineered
project, nor
j. any individual excavating on his or her own property
and who is not in the excavating business for hire,
except in a private or public easement or right -of-
way,
shall be deemed excavation;
6. “Excavation” means the act or operation of excavating;
7. “Excavator” means a person or public agency that intends to
excavate or demolish within this state;
Req. No. 1241 Page 4 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
8. “Notification center” means the statewide center currently
known as the Oklahoma One -Call System, Inc., which has as one of its
purposes to receive notification of plan ned excavation and
demolition in a specified area from excavators, and to disseminate
such notification of planned excavation or demolition to operators
who are members and parti cipants;
9. “Operator” shall mean and include any person or public
agency owning or operating underground facilities;
10. “Permitted project” means a project where a permit for the
work to be performed must be issued by a state or federal agency
and, as a prerequisite to receiving such permit, the applicant must
locate all underground facilities in the area of the work and in the
vicinity of any blasting and notify each owner of such underground
facilities;
11. “Person” includes any individual, partnersh ip, corporation,
association, cooperative, trust , or other entity, including a person
engaged as a contractor by a public agency, but not including a
public agency;
12. “Preengineered project ” means a public project wherein the
public agency responsible f or such project, as part of its
engineering and contract procedures, holds a m eeting prior to the
commencement of any construction work on such project in which all
persons, determined by the public agency, in consultation with the
statewide one-call notification center, to have underground
Req. No. 1241 Page 5 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
facilities located within the construction area of the project are
invited to attend and given an opportunity to verify or inform the
public agency of the location of their underground facilities, if
any, within the cons truction area and where the location of all
known underground facilities are d uly located or noted on the
engineering drawing and specifications for the project;
13. “Public agency” means the state or, any board, commission ,
or agency of the state , or a county of this state;
14. “Routine maintenance” means the grading of roads and barrow
or drainage ditches, the removal and replacement of pavement,
including excavation relating thereto , and the installation and
maintenance of drainage and bridge facilitie s, signs, guardrails,
and electrical and communications facilities in or on th e public
rights-of-way by a public agency;
15. “Underground facility ” means any underground line, cable,
facility, system, and appurtenances thereto, for producing, storing,
conveying, transmitting , or distributing communication (including
voice, video, or data information), electricity, power, light, heat,
intrastate and interstate gas pipelines, as described in 49 CFR
C.F.R., Part 192.1, intrastate and interstate hazardous liqu id or
carbon dioxide pipelines, as described in 49 CFR C.F.R., Part 195.1,
water (including storm water), steam, sewage and other commodities ,
and any oil and gas pipeline located in a private or public easement
or right-of-way;
Req. No. 1241 Page 6 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
16. “Design” or “survey” means a notice to facility operators
to provide underground facility information during the design or
engineering phase of a project to mitigate potential impact to
existing underground facilities;
17. “Watch and protect” means an operator or its designate d
representative is present to observe an excavation within ten (10)
feet of the operator’s marking of its existing underground facility;
18. “Pre-excavation meeting request ” means a notice to
underground facility operators to participate in scheduled mee tings
for the purpose of planning large projects and coordinate resources
accordingly; and
19. “Large projects” are those excavation projects that involve
one of the following:
a. exceeds distances defined in paragraph 5 of subsection
D of Section 142.6 o f this title, or
b. estimated duration is more than ninety (90) days.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
60-1-1241 MSBB 1/3/2025 9:39:27 AM