[Effective 7/1/2024]

(a)

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 65-31-106 v2

  • Calendar day: means a twenty-four (24) hour period beginning with the date and time that a notification to excavate or demolish is to begin, including Monday through Sunday and all holidays. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Damage: includes the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground utility, penetration or destruction of any protective coating, housing or other protective device of an underground utility, the partial or complete severance of an underground utility and rendering any underground utility inaccessible. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • demolition: means any operation by which a structure or mass of material is wrecked, razed, rendered, moved or removed by means of any tools, equipment, or discharge of explosives. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Electronic white lining: means the application of a visual indicator to a digital or virtual map marking the boundaries of the area of proposed excavation or the area of ongoing excavation. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Excavator: means any person who engages in activities described in subdivisions (A) and (B) in the definition of "excavate" contained in this section. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Location: means the proposed area for which digging or excavating is scheduled within three (3) to ten (10) working days, such area not to exceed two thousand feet (2,000') in length unless an excavator and an operator or an operator's designated representative, such as a one-call service, agree to a larger area. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • One-Call Service: means a telephone notification service described in §. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Operator: means any person who owns or operates a utility. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Person: means any individual. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Proposed area of excavation: means a general surface location which excavators are to furnish to operators of underground utilities or to a one-call service as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 65-31-102
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Except as provided in § 65-31-109, before beginning any excavation or demolition operation described in § 65-31-104, each person responsible for such excavation or demolition shall serve written, telephonic or electronic notice of intent to excavate or demolish at least three (3) working days prior to the actual date of excavation or demolition, but not more than ten (10) full working days prior to such time, unless a different period has been agreed to in writing by the person responsible for the excavation or demolition and the operator or designated representative. Should a period of time of fifteen (15) calendar days from the actual date specified to start excavation or demolition expire without the excavation or demolition being completed, then the person responsible for such excavation or demolition shall serve an additional written, telephonic or electronic notice of intent to excavate or demolish at least three (3) working days prior to the expiration of time on the fifteenth calendar day.
(2) If the proposed area of excavation or demolition is not served by the one-call service as provided in § 65-31-107, then the notice required by this subsection (a) shall be served on each operator which has filed a list required by § 65-31-105 indicating that it has underground utilities located in the county where the excavation or demolition is to occur.
(3) If the proposed area of excavation or demolition is served by the one-call service, as provided for in § 65-31-107, the notice required by this subsection (a) shall be served on such one-call service; provided, that where demolition of a building is proposed, each affected operator shall be given reasonable time to remove or protect its utilities before demolition of the building begins.
(b) The written, telephonic or electronic notice required by subsection (a) shall contain the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the person filing the notice of intent and, if different, the person responsible for the excavation or demolition, the starting date, the anticipated duration of the excavation or demolition, the type of excavation or demolition operation to be conducted, the specific location of the proposed excavation or demolition, and whether or not explosives are anticipated to be used. The person responsible for the excavation or demolition shall designate the location of the proposed area of excavation or demolition by marking the area, consistent with the marking standards established by the rules adopted pursuant to § 65-31-108(a), with “safety white” color-coded stakes, with white paint, or by electronic white lining, unless:

(1) The operator or its agent can determine the precise location of the proposed area of excavation based solely on the street address from a one-call service locate ticket because of the size of the property;
(2) The operator or its agent can determine the precise location of the proposed area of excavation from a one-call service locate ticket that references a driveway or other easily identifiable point on the property and that identifies the property by street address or block and lot number;
(3) The operator or its agent can determine the precise location of the proposed area of excavation from a one-call service locate ticket that identifies the property as being located on a street or road between two (2) designed intersections of the street or road and two (2) cross streets or roads when a street address or block and lot number is unavailable or does not apply; or
(4) The person responsible for the excavation or demolition and all operators with underground facilities in the proposed area of excavation have had a meeting prior to the beginning of the excavation or demolition for the exchange of information on the location of the proposed excavation or demolition.
(c) If the notification required by this section is made by telephone or e-mail, an adequate record of such notification shall be maintained by each notified operator or one-call service to document compliance with the requirements of this chapter, and a copy of this record shall be furnished by any operator or one-call service to the person giving notice of intent to excavate or demolish, when so requested by that person.
(d) Except as provided in § 65-31-109, before beginning any excavation or demolition within one hundred feet (100′) of the edge of the pavement of a street or highway when that area lies outside a street, highway, public space or a private easement of an operator, an excavator shall serve notice of the excavation or demolition at least three (3) working days before the actual date of excavation or demolition as set forth in this section. If after receiving proper notification as required in this section, an operator fails to locate its facilities within three (3) working days in the manner required by § 65-31-108, the excavator shall be authorized to proceed with the excavation. If an operator fails to locate its facilities within three (3) working days in the manner required by § 65-31-108 after receiving proper notification as required by this section and an underground facility of the operator is damaged by an excavator as a result of the operator’s failure to discharge such duty, then the excavator shall not be liable for the damage; provided, that, if the excavator observes clear evidence of the presence of an unmarked utility in the area of the proposed excavation, the excavator shall exercise reasonable care to avoid damage to the utility that may be caused by the excavation, and the excavator shall be liable for damages arising from its failure to use reasonable care in such circumstances.
(e) The notice requirements of this section do not apply to:

(1) A property owner utilizing non-mechanized tools or equipment on their own property; or
(2) The use of non-mechanized tools or equipment by or on behalf of a member operator to a depth not greater than twelve inches (12″) for locating, repairing, connecting, protecting, or routine maintenance of the member operator’s underground facilities.
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