Subdivision 1. Notice required; contents. (a) Except in an emergency, an excavator shall and a land surveyor may contact the notification center and provide notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays and not more than 14 calendar days before beginning any excavation or boundary survey. An excavation or boundary survey begins, for purposes of this requirement, the first time excavation or a boundary survey occurs in an area that was not previously identified by the excavator or land surveyor in the notice.

(b) The notice may be oral or written, and must contain the following information:

(1) the name of the individual providing the notice;

(2) the precise location of the proposed area of excavation or survey;

(3) the name, address, and telephone number of the individual or individual's company;

(4) the field telephone number, if one is available;

(5) the type and extent of the activity;

(6) whether or not the discharge of explosives is anticipated;

(7) the date and time when the excavation or survey is to commence; and

(8) the estimated duration of the activity.

Subd. 1a. Plans for excavation. (a) Any person, prior to soliciting bids or entering into a contract for excavation, shall provide a proposed notice to the notification center to obtain from the affected operators of underground facilities the type, size, and general location of underground facilities. Affected operators shall provide the information within 15 working days. An operator who provides information to a person who is not a unit of government may indicate any portions of the information which are proprietary and may require the person to provide appropriate confidentiality protection. The information obtained from affected operators must be submitted on the final drawing used for the bid or contract and must depict the utility quality level of that information. This information must be updated not more than 90 days before completion of the final drawing used for the bid or contract.

(b) This subdivision does not apply to bids and contracts for:

(1) routine maintenance of underground facilities or installation, maintenance, or repair of service lines;

(2) excavation for operators of underground facilities performed on a unit of work or similar basis; or

(3) excavation for home construction and projects by home owners.

(c) A person required by this section to show existing underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more preliminary design meetings during the design phase to communicate the project design and coordinate utility relocation. Affected facility operators shall attend these meetings or make other arrangements to provide information.

(d) A person required by this section to show existing underground facilities on its drawings shall conduct one or more preconstruction meetings to communicate the project design and coordinate utility relocation. Affected facility operators and contractors shall attend these meetings or make other arrangements to provide information.

(e) This subdivision does not affect the obligation to provide a notice of excavation as required under subdivision 1.

Subd. 2. Duties of notification center; regarding notice. The notification center shall assign an inquiry identification number to each notice and retain a record of all notices received for at least six years. The center shall immediately transmit the information contained in a notice to every operator that has an underground facility in the area of the proposed excavation or boundary survey.

Subd. 3. Locating underground facility; operator. (a) Prior to the excavation start time on the notice, an operator shall locate and mark or otherwise provide the approximate horizontal location of the underground facilities of the operator and provide readily available information regarding the operator's abandoned and out-of-service underground facilities as shown on maps, drawings, diagrams, or other records used in the operator's normal course of business, without cost to the excavator. The excavator shall determine the precise location of the underground facility, without damage, before excavating within two feet of the marked location of the underground facility.

(b) Within 96 hours or the time specified in the notice, whichever is later, after receiving a notice for boundary survey from the notification center, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, unless otherwise agreed to between the land surveyor and operator, an operator shall locate and mark or otherwise provide the approximate horizontal location of the underground facilities of the operator, without cost to the land surveyor.

(c) For the purpose of this section, the approximate horizontal location of the underground facilities is a strip of land two feet on either side of the underground facilities.

(d) Markers used to designate the approximate location of underground facilities must follow the current color code standard used by the American Public Works Association.

(e) If the operator cannot complete marking of the excavation or boundary survey area before the excavation or boundary survey start time stated in the notice, the operator shall promptly contact the excavator or land surveyor.

(f) After December 31, 1998, operators shall maintain maps, drawings, diagrams, or other records of any underground facility abandoned or out-of-service after December 31, 1998.

(g) An operator or other person providing information pursuant to this subdivision is not responsible to any person, for any costs, claims, or damages for information provided in good faith regarding abandoned, out-of-service, or private or customer-owned underground facilities.

Subd. 4. Locating underground facility; excavator or land surveyor. (a) The excavator or land surveyor shall determine the precise location of the underground facility, without damage, before excavating within two feet on either side of the marked location of the underground facility.

(b) If the excavator or land surveyor cancels the excavation or boundary survey, the excavator or land surveyor shall cancel the notice through the notification center.

(c) The notice is valid for 14 calendar days from the start time stated on the notice. If the activity will continue after the expiration time, then the person responsible for the activity shall serve an additional notice at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, before the expiration time of the original notice, unless the excavator makes arrangements with the operators affected to periodically verify or refresh the marks, in which case the notice is valid for six months from the start time stated on the notice.

(d) The excavator is responsible for reasonably protecting and preserving the marks until no longer required for proper and safe excavation near the underground facility. If the excavator has reason to believe the marks are obliterated, obscured, missing, or incorrect, the excavator shall notify the facility operator or notification center in order to have an operator verify or refresh the marks.

History: 1987 c 353 s 10; 1992 c 493 s 5; 1993 c 341 art 1 s 21; 1997 c 196 s 1; 1998 c 348 s 1-3; 2004 c 163 s 2-6