Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 811 – Civil liability
(a) Obtaining information as required by this chapter does not excuse any person making any excavation or demolition from doing so in a careful and prudent manner, nor shall it excuse any person from liability for any damage or injury resulting from the excavation or demolition.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 811
- Damage: shall mean , but is not limited to:
- Designer: shall mean any architect, engineer or other person, acting either as an employer or employee, who prepares a drawing for a construction or other project which requires excavation or demolition. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- DNREC Regulated Site: shall mean any parcel of land or portion thereof for which a final permit, remediation plan, institutional or administrative control, use restriction or similar limitation is imposed under the authority granted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control under Title 7 and for which due process opportunities have been provided. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- excavation: shall mean any operation in which earth, rock or other material in the ground is moved, removed or otherwise displaced or disturbed by means of any tools, equipment or explosives and includes, without limitation, grading, trenching, digging, dredging, ditching, drilling, augering, tunnelling, boring, backfilling, post pounding, driving objects into the ground, installation of form pins, hammering, scraping, cable or pipe plowing or driving, but does not include the surface cultivation of the soil for agricultural purposes, such as tilling, or patch-type paving where the same, including cutback, does not exceed 12 inches in depth measured from the surface of the pavement being patched. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- Excavator: shall mean any person, including those acting either as an employer or employee, intending to perform or performing excavation or demolition work. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- Operator: shall mean any person who furnishes or transports materials or services by means of a utility line. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- Person: shall mean any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality, other political subdivision, state or federal governmental unit, department or agency, state cooperative association, joint stock association and shall include any assignee, trustee, receiver or personal representative thereof. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 802
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) If the information required to be provided by operators pursuant to § 803 of this title is not provided in accordance with the terms thereof, any person damaging or injuring underground facilities of such operator shall not be liable for such damage or injury except on proof of negligence.
(c) Failure by DNREC to notify or otherwise contact an excavator or designer prior to a properly noticed excavation or demolition at any DNREC Regulated Site shall not relieve such excavator or designer from complying with all applicable federal, state, county or municipal laws or regulations, nor shall it create any liability in DNREC for any damage or injury resulting from any such excavation or demolition.
62 Del. Laws, c. 148, § ?2; 69 Del. Laws, c. 455, § ?1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 323, § ?4;