New Jersey Statutes 48:2-80. Underground facility operator, responsibilities; underground facility markings
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 48:2-80
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(1) Participate in and comply with the requirements of the One-Call Damage Prevention System established pursuant to section 4 of this act; and
(2) Mark, stake, locate or otherwise provide the position and number of its underground facilities which may be affected by a planned excavation or demolition within three business days after receipt of the information concerning a notice of intent to excavate transmitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 10 of this act. An underground facility shall be marked in accordance with standards approved by the board, which shall be based upon approved industry standards, and shall be marked at the site within 18 inches horizontally from the outside wall of the facility, in a manner that will enable the excavator to employ prudent techniques, which may include hand-dug test holes, to determine the precise position of the operator’s underground facility. An underground facility shall be marked from information available in the operator’s records or by use of standard locating techniques other than excavation. In temporarily marking the approximate position of an underground facility, an operator shall utilize the following color coding:
Utility and Type Product Identifying color
Electric Power Distribution Safety Red
and Transmission
Municipal Electric Systems Safety Red
Gas Distribution and Transmission High Visibility Safety Yellow
Oil Distribution and Transmission High Visibility Safety Yellow
Dangerous Materials, Product High Visibility Safety Yellow
Lines, Steam Lines
Telephone and Telecommunications Safety Alert Orange
Police and Fire Communications Safety Alert Orange
Cable Television Safety Alert Orange
Water Systems Safety Precaution Blue
Slurry Systems Safety Precaution Blue
Sewer Lines Safety Green
b. If an operator does not own, operate or control any underground facilities at the site concerning which he received information of a notice of intent to excavate transmitted pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of this act, the operator shall make a reasonable effort to so advise the person giving the notice of intent to excavate, providing the notice is given within the time frame set forth in subsection a. of section 10 of this act.
c. An operator shall maintain a record of all damage to its underground facilities, including all damage reported by an excavator pursuant to subsection e. of section 10 of this act. An operator shall provide an updated copy of this record to the board on a quarterly basis.
d. Any underground facilities operator that fails to mark, locate, or otherwise provide the position and number of its underground facilities which may be affected by a planned excavation or demolition, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection a. of this section, shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel downtime, incurred by an excavator damaging a facility owned, operated or controlled by the underground facility operator. An excavator that damages an underground facility in violation of the provisions of the “Underground Facility Protection Act,” P.L.1994, c.118 (C. 48:2-73 et seq.) shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel downtime, incurred by the underground facilities operator that owns or controls the damaged underground facility. Any dispute arising from the provisions of this subsection, where the claim is less than $25,000, shall be subject to an alternative dispute resolution process as established within the Office of Dispute Settlement in the Office of the Public Defender. Nothing in this act shall be construed to discourage parties from pursuing alternative dispute resolution processes for an amount greater than $25,000. The parties may by mutual agreement designate another alternative dispute resolution association for all matters.
L.1994,c.118,s.8; amended 1997, c.7, s.2; 2005, c.22, s.2.