BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to excavation damage prevention and public safety; amending RCW 19.122.010, 19.122.020, and 19.122.070; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 19.122.010 and 1984 c 144 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this chapter to assign responsibilities for locating and keeping accurate records of underground facilities and utility locations, protecting and repairing damage to existing underground facilities, and protecting the public health and safety from interruption in ((~~utility~~)) services caused by damage to existing underground ((~~utility~~)) facilities.

Sec. 2. RCW 19.122.020 and 1984 c 144 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:

(1) "Business day" means any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a legal local, state, or federal holiday.

(2) "Damage" includes the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground facility, penetration, impairment, or destruction of any underground protective coating, housing, or other protective device, or the severance, partial or complete, of any underground facility to the extent that the project owner or the affected underground facility or utility owner determines that repairs are required.

(3) "Emergency" means any condition constituting a clear and present danger to life or property, or a customer service outage.

(4) "Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock, or other material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means, except the tilling of soil less than twelve inches in depth for agricultural purposes, or road and ditch maintenance that does not change the original road grade or ditch flowline.

(5) "Excavator" means any person who engages directly in excavation.

(6) "Identified facility" means any underground facility which is indicated in the project plans as being located within the area of proposed excavation.

(7) "Identified but unlocatable underground facility" means an underground facility which has been identified but cannot be located with reasonable accuracy.

(8) "Locatable underground facility" means an underground facility which can be field-marked with reasonable accuracy.

(9) "Marking" means the use of stakes, paint, or other clearly identifiable materials to show the field location of underground facilities, in accordance with the current color code standard of the American public works association. Markings shall include identification letters indicating the specific type of the underground facility.

(10) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of a state, and its employees, agents, or legal representatives.

(11) "Reasonable accuracy" means location within twenty-four inches of the outside dimensions of both sides of an underground facility.

(12) "Reasonable care" means, but is not limited to, excavation in such a way that anytime the excavation is within twenty-four inches from an underground facility, the precise location of the facility is first determined by either hand digging, vacuum, or other nondestructive means of excavation to precisely locate the underground facility.

(13) "Underground facility" means any item buried or placed below ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, cablevision, electric energy, petroleum products, gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids, or other substances and including but not limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, and those parts of poles or anchors below ground.

((~~(13)~~)) (14) "One-number locator service" means a service through which a person can notify underground facility owners and utilities and request field-marking of underground facilities.

Sec. 3. RCW 19.122.070 and 1984 c 144 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((~~Any~~)) A person who violates ((~~any~~)) a provision of this chapter((~~, and which violation results in damage to underground facilities,~~)) is subject to a civil penalty of not more than ((~~one~~)) twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation. In the case of a continuing violation, every day in violation of this chapter is deemed to be a separate and distinct offense with a maximum civil penalty of five hundred thousand dollars for any related series of violations. The civil penalty may be compromised by the Washington utilities and transportation commission commensurate with the seriousness of the violation committed by a facility owner or excavator. Consideration will be given to reducing or waiving penalties for a first time offense for a violation that results in little or no damage, provided that the violation will be promptly corrected. All penalties recovered in such actions shall be deposited in the general fund.

(2) Any excavator who willfully or maliciously damages a field-marked underground facility shall be liable for treble the costs incurred in repairing or relocating the facility. In those cases in which an excavator fails to notify known underground facility owners or the one-number locator service, any damage to the underground facility shall be deemed willful and malicious and shall be subject to treble damages for costs incurred in repairing or relocating the facility.

(3) This chapter does not affect any civil remedies for personal injury or for property damage, including that to underground facilities, nor does this chapter create any new civil remedies for such damage.