(1) Project owners shall indicate in bid or contract documents the existence of underground facilities known by the project owner to be located within the proposed area of excavation.
(2)  An excavator shall use reasonable care to avoid damaging underground facilities. An excavator shall:
(a)  Determine by hand digging, in the area twenty-four (24) inches or less from the facilities, the precise actual location of underground facilities that have been marked;
(b)  Plan the excavation to avoid damage to or minimize interference with underground facilities in and near the excavation area; and
(c)  Provide such support for underground facilities in and near the construction area, including during backfill operations, as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of such facilities.
contract signature

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Terms Used In Idaho Code 55-2207

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damage: means any impact or exposure that results in the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground facility, or the penetration, impairment, or destruction of any underground protective coating, housing, or other protective device, or the partial or complete destruction of the facility, or the severance, partial or complete, of any underground facility to the extent that the project owner or the affected underground facility owner determines that repairs are required. See Idaho Code 55-2202
  • Excavation: means any operation in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means including, but not limited to, explosives. See Idaho Code 55-2202
  • Excavator: means any person who engages directly in excavation. See Idaho Code 55-2202
  • Hand digging: means any excavation involving nonmechanized tools or equipment that when used properly will not damage underground facilities. See Idaho Code 55-2202
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Underground facility: means any item buried or placed belowground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water (unless being delivered primarily for irrigation), stormwater, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, cable television, electric energy, petroleum products, gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids, or other substances and includes but is not limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, and those parts of poles or anchors belowground. See Idaho Code 55-2202
(3)  If an underground facility is damaged and such damage is the consequence of the failure to fulfill an obligation under this chapter, the party failing to perform that obligation shall be liable for the damage to the underground facility. Nothing in this chapter prevents the parties to an excavation contract from contracting with respect to the allocation of risk for changed or differing site conditions.
(4)  In any action brought under this section, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees.