Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 801 – Purpose; citation; construction
(a) For the purposes of providing for the protection of the public health and safety, certain procedures are necessary to assure that persons performing excavation or demolition operations know, prior to commencing such operations, of the presence or location of underground utilities in the excavation or demolition area. Certain precautions must be taken to avoid injuries and damage to life, limb and property, to avoid disruption and discontinuation of utility services to members of the public and to promote safe operations during excavation and demolition.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 801
- Damage: shall mean , but is not limited to:
- 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
(b) This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Underground Utility Damage Prevention and Safety Act.” This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.