69-4-503. Notification -- locating and marking. (1) Before beginning an excavation, the excavator shall notify, through a one-call notification center, all owners of underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation.
     (2) After an excavator has notified the appropriate one-call notification center of a proposed excavation, an owner of an underground facility shall:
     (a) provide the locates and mark the location within 2 business days; or
     (b) respond immediately if the excavator notifies the one-call notification center that an emergency exists.
     (3) (a) After an owner of an underground facility has located and marked the underground facilities, the excavator shall determine if weather, time, or other factors may have affected location marks, warranting relocation of the facilities.
     (b) If excavation has not occurred within 30 days of the locate and mark, the excavator shall request that the facility be relocated and remarked before excavating unless other arrangements have been made with the underground facility owner. The excavator is responsible for costs associated with relocating and remarking a facility that is not excavated within 30 days of the locate and mark.
     (4) Upon receipt of the notice provided for in this section, the owner of the underground facility shall provide the excavator with reasonably accurate information as to the owner's locatable underground facilities by surface locating and marking the location of the facilities. If there are identified but unlocatable underground facilities, the owner of the facilities shall provide the excavator with the best available information as to their locations. An excavator may not excavate until all known facilities have been located and marked. An excavator is not responsible for damages to an underground facility that cannot be located by its owner. Once the facilities are located and marked by the facility owner, the excavator is responsible for maintaining the markings.
     (5) Upon receipt of notice from the excavator, the facility owner shall respond within 2 business days by locating and marking the facility or by notifying the excavator that locating and marking is unnecessary. An excavator may not begin excavating before the locating and marking is complete or before the excavator is notified that locating and marking is unnecessary.
     (6) An excavator shall locate and mark the area to be excavated if requested by the facility owner or the owner's representative. If an excavator discovers an underground facility that has not been located and marked, the excavator shall stop excavating in the vicinity of the facility and notify the facility owner or the one-call notification center.
     (7) An underground facility owner may attempt to identify the location of a private underground facility connected to the owner's facility, but the facility owner is not liable for the accuracy of the locate.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 180, L. 1971; R.C.M. 1947, 32-4803(part); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 43, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 286, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 179, L. 1997.