AN ACT Relating to the overhead powerline safety act; amending RCW 19.122.010 and 19.122.020; adding new sections to chapter 19.122 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1. Section 1, chapter 144, Laws of 1984 and RCW 19.122.010 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 utility locations, protecting and repairing damage to existing underground facilities, notifying utilities prior to commencing construction near overhead electric lines, and protecting the public health and safety from injury and interruption in utility services caused by damage to existing underground utility facilities or overhead electric lines.

Sec. 2. Section 2, chapter 144, Laws of 1984 and RCW 19.122.020 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 but is not limited to (a) in connection with underground facilities, 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 utility owner determines that repairs are required; and (b) in connection with overhead electric lines, contact with an electric line that results in interruption of service and any damage that the project owner or the affected utility owner determines requires repair or replacement.

(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) "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) "One-number locator service" means a service through which a person can: (a) Notify utilities and request field-marking of underground facilities; or (b) notify utilities of construction near overhead electric lines.

(14) "Construction" means excavation or work near overhead electric lines.

(15) "Work near an overhead electric line" includes but is not limited to performing work, piling, storing or otherwise handling material, erecting or dismantling scaffolding, signs, or structures, or operating any tools, machinery, or equipment within ten feet or such greater distance as may be prescribed by regulation of the department of labor and industries of any electrical distribution or transmission line rated for operation in excess of seven hundred fifty volts.

(16) "Overhead electric lines" means all electrical conductors installed above the ground with a voltage in excess of seven hundred fifty volts between conductors or from any conductor to ground.

(17) "Authorized person" means: (a) An employee or agent of an electric utility; (b) an employee or agent of a utility which provides communication services; (c) an employee of a state, county, or municipal agency which has authorized construction on or near utility facilities; (d) an employee or agent of an industrial plant whose work relates to the electrical system of the industrial plan; (e) an employee or agent of a cable television or communication services company or an employee of a contractor of a cable television or communication services company if specifically authorized by the owner of the poles to make cable television or communication services attachments.

(18) "Project owner" means the person on whose behalf excavation work or work near an overhead electric line is being performed.

(19) "Utility facility" includes an underground facility and an electrical distribution or transmission line rated for operation in excess of seven hundred fifty volts.

(20) "Contractor" means any excavator or any person who works or causes other persons to work near an overhead electric line.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Any person, contractor, or project owner shall promptly notify the utility operating an overhead electric line if there is a possibility that during the course of performing work near an overhead electric power line, the person engaged in such activity: (a) Could be reasonably expected to move or be placed within ten feet of any overhead electric line; (b) any equipment, tool or material used by the person could be reasonably expected to move or be placed within ten feet of any overhead electric line; or (c) any mechanical equipment or hoisting equipment operated by the person could be reasonably expected to move or be placed within ten feet of any overhead electric line.

(2) Notification of intention to perform work near an overhead electric line shall be made through a one-number locator service. If a one-number locator service is not available, notice shall be given in writing to the utility operating the overhead electric lines. The notice shall be communicated to the utility operating the overhead electric lines not less than two business days or more than ten business days before the scheduled date for commencement of work, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Work near an overhead electric line may not be performed until an agreement has been made between the utility operating the overhead electric lines and the project owner and the utility has completed work on the safety arrangements. Safety arrangements may include coordination of work and construction schedules, placement of temporary mechanical barriers to separate and prevent contact between material, tools, equipment, or persons and the overhead electric lines, temporary de-energization and grounding, or temporary relocation or raising of the overhead electric lines.

(3) The utility shall at its own cost, provide a written cost estimate for providing the necessary safety arrangements to the project owner. The project owner shall pay all costs of the utility in carrying out the safety arrangements. The utility is not required to carry out safety arrangements until after an agreement for payment has been made. The utility shall commence work on providing safety arrangements within five working days of an agreement for payment.

(4) The provisions contained in subsections (1) through (3) of this section do not apply to work near an overhead electric line performed by an authorized person.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Any person who violates any provision of this act, and which violation results in damage to overhead electric lines, is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation. All penalties recovered in such actions shall be deposited in the general fund.

(2) If a violation of section 3 of this act results in physical or electrical contact with any overhead electric lines, the person violating section 3 of this act is liable to the utility operating the overhead electric line for any damages including indirect and consequential damages as well as amounts paid to third parties as a result of injury or other damage arising from a person's, contractor's, or project owner's failure to comply with the requirements of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 3 and 4 of this act are each added to chapter 19.122 RCW.