2005 California Government Code Sections 4216-4216.9 Article 2. Regional Notification Center System

4216.  As used in this article the following definitions apply:
   (a) "Approximate location of subsurface installations" means a
strip of land not more than 24 inches on either side of the exterior
surface of the subsurface installation.  "Approximate location" does
not mean depth.
   (b) "Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock, or
other material in the ground is moved, removed, or otherwise
displaced by means of tools, equipment, or explosives in any of the
following ways:  grading, trenching, digging, ditching, drilling,
augering, tunneling, scraping, cable or pipe plowing and driving, or
any other way.
   (c) Except as provided in Section 4216.8, "excavator" means any
person, firm, contractor or subcontractor, owner, operator, utility,
association, corporation, partnership, business trust, public agency,
or other entity which, with their, or his or her, own employees or
equipment performs any excavation.
   (d) "Emergency" means a sudden, unexpected occurrence, involving a
clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate action to prevent or
mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health, property, or essential
public services.  "Unexpected occurrence" includes, but is not
limited to, fires, floods, earthquakes or other soil or geologic
movements, riots, accidents, damage to a subsurface installation
requiring immediate repair, or sabotage.
   (e) "Inquiry identification number" means the number which is
provided by a regional notification center to every person who
contacts the center pursuant to Section 4216.2.  The inquiry
identification number shall remain valid for not more than 28
calendar days from the date of issuance, and after that date shall
require regional notification center revalidation.
   (f) "Local agency" means a city, county, city and county, school
district, or special district.
   (g) "Operator" means any person, corporation, partnership,
business trust, public agency, or other entity which owns, operates,
or maintains a subsurface installation.  For purposes of Section
4216.1 an "operator" does not include an owner of real property where
subsurface facilities are exclusively located if they are used
exclusively to furnish services on that property and the subsurface
facilities are under the operation and control of that owner.
   (h) "Regional notification center" means a nonprofit association
or other organization of operators of subsurface installations which
provides advance warning of excavations or other work close to
existing subsurface installations, for the purpose of protecting
those installations from damage, removal, relocation, or repair.
   (i) "State agency" means every state agency, department, division,
bureau, board, or commission.
   (j) "Subsurface installation" means any underground pipeline,
conduit, duct, wire, or other structure, except nonpressurized
sewerlines, nonpressurized storm drains, or other nonpressurized
drain lines.
4216.1.  Every operator of a subsurface installation, except the
Department of Transportation, shall become a member of, participate
in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification center.
Operators of subsurface installations who are members of, participate
in, and share in, the costs of a regional notification center,
including, but not limited to, the South Shore Utility Coordinating
Council, the  Underground Service Alert--Northern California or the
Underground Service Alert--Southern California are in compliance with
this section and Section 4216.9.
4216.2.  (a) Except in an emergency, every person planning to
conduct any excavation shall contact the appropriate regional
notification center, at least two working days, but not more than 14
calendar days, prior to commencing that excavation, if the excavation
will be conducted in an area which is known, or reasonably should be
known, to contain subsurface installations other than the
underground facilities owned or operated by the excavator and, if
practical, the excavator shall delineate with white paint or other
suitable markings the area to be excavated.
   (b) Except in an emergency, every excavator covered by Section
4216.8 planning to conduct an excavation on private property may
contact the appropriate regional notification center if the private
property is known, or reasonably should be known, to contain
subsurface installations other than the underground facilities owned
or operated by the excavator and, if practical, the excavator shall
delineate with white paint or other suitable markings the area to be
excavated.
   (c) The regional notification center shall provide an inquiry
identification number to the person who contacts the center pursuant
to this section and shall notify any member, if known, who has a
subsurface installation in the area of the proposed excavation.  An
inquiry identification number may be validated for more than 28 days
when mutually agreed between the excavator and any member operator so
notified that has a subsurface installation in the area of the
proposed excavation; and, it may be revalidated by notification to
the regional notification center by the excavator prior to the time
of its expiration.
   (d) A record of all notifications by excavators and operators to
the regional notification center shall be maintained for a period of
not less than three years.  The records shall be available for
inspection by the excavator and any member, or their representative,
during normal working hours and according to guidelines for
inspection as may be established by the regional notification
centers.
   (e) As used in this section, the delineation is practical when any
of the following conditions exist:
   (1) When delineating a prospective excavation site with white
paint could not be misleading to those persons using affected streets
and highways.
   (2) When the delineation could not be misinterpreted as a traffic
or pedestrian control.
   (3) Where an excavator can determine the exact location of an
excavation prior to the time an area has been field marked pursuant
to Section 4216.3.
   (4) Where delineation could not be construed as duplicative.
   (f) Where an excavator makes a determination that it is not
practical to delineate the area to be excavated, the excavator shall
contact the regional notification center to advise the operators that
the excavator shall identify the area to be excavated in another
manner sufficient to enable the operator to determine the area of the
excavation to be field marked pursuant to Section 4216.3.
4216.3.  (a) Any operator of a subsurface installation who receives
timely notification of any proposed excavation work in accordance
with Section 4216.2 shall, within two working days of that
notification, excluding weekends and holidays, or before the start of
the excavation work, whichever is later, or at a later time mutually
agreeable to the operator and the excavator, locate and field mark
the approximate location and, if known, the number of subsurface
installations that may be affected by the excavation to the extent
and degree of accuracy that the information is available either in
the records of the operator or as determined through the use of
standard locating techniques other than excavating, otherwise advise
the person who contacted the center of the location of the operator's
subsurface installations that may be affected by the excavation, or
advise the person that the operator does not operate any subsurface
installations that would be affected by the proposed excavation.
   (b) Every operator of a subsurface installation who field marks
the location of a subsurface installation shall make a reasonable
effort to make field markings in conformance with the uniform color
code of the American Public Works Association.
   (c) If, at any time during an excavation for which there is a
valid inquiry identification number, an operator's field markings are
no longer reasonably visible, the excavator shall contact the
appropriate regional notification center. The regional notification
center shall contact any member, if known, who has a subsurface
installation in the area of the excavation. Upon receiving timely
notification or renotification pursuant to this subdivision, the
operator shall re-locate and re-mark, within two working days, those
subsurface installations which may be affected by the excavation to
the extent necessary, in conformance with this section.
   (d) The excavator shall notify the appropriate regional
notification center of the failure of an operator to comply with this
section. The notification shall include the inquiry identification
number issued by the regional notification center. A record of all
notifications received pursuant to this subdivision shall be
maintained by the regional notification center for a period of not
less than three years. The records shall be available for inspection
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 4216.2.
4216.4.  (a) The excavator shall determine the exact location of
subsurface installations in conflict with the excavation by
excavating with hand tools within the area of the approximate
location of subsurface installations as determined by the field
marking provided in accordance with Section 4216.3 before using any
power-operated or power-driven excavating or boring equipment within
the approximate location of the subsurface installation, except that
power-operated or power-driven excavating or boring equipment may be
used for the removal of any existing pavement if there are no
subsurface installations contained in the pavement. If there is an
express written mutual agreement between the operator, or operators,
and the excavator, the excavator may utilize vacuum excavation
devices, or power-operated or power-driven excavating or boring
equipment within the approximate location of a subsurface
installation and to any depth.
   (b) If the exact location of the subsurface installation cannot be
determined by hand excavating in accordance with subdivision (a),
the excavator shall request the operator to provide additional
information to the excavator, to the extent that information is
available to the operator, to enable the excavator to determine the
exact location of the installation.
4216.5.  The requirements of this article apply to state agencies
and to local agencies which own or operate subsurface installations,
except as otherwise provided in Section 4216.1.  A local agency which
is required to provide the services described in Section 4216.3 may
charge a fee in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of providing
that service.
4216.6.  (a) (1) Any operator or excavator who negligently violates
this article is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
   (2) Any operator or excavator who knowingly and willfully violates
any of the provisions of this article is subject to a civil penalty
in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
   (3) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article,
this section is not intended to affect any civil remedies otherwise
provided by law for personal injury or for property damage, including
any damage to subsurface installations, nor is this section intended
to create any new civil remedies for those injuries or that damage.
   (4) This article shall not be construed to limit any other
provision of law granting governmental immunity to state or local
agencies or to impose any liability or duty of care not otherwise
imposed by law upon any state or local agency.
   (b) An action may be brought by the Attorney General, the district
attorney, or the local or state agency which issued the permit to
excavate, for the enforcement of the civil penalty pursuant to this
section.  If penalties are collected as a result of a civil suit
brought by a state or local agency for collection of those civil
penalties, the penalties imposed shall be paid to the general fund
of the agency.  If more than one agency is involved in enforcement,
the penalties imposed shall be apportioned among them by the court in
a manner that will fairly offset the relative costs incurred by the
state or local agencies, or both, in collecting these fees.
4216.7.  (a) In the case where an excavator has failed to comply
with the notification requirements of Section 4216.2 and the
requirements of Section 4216.4, the excavator shall be liable for any
claim for damages to the subsurface installation arising from the
excavation, by an owner or operator who has complied with the
requirements of Section 4216.1 and Section 4216.3, to the extent that
the damage was proximately caused by the excavator's failure to
comply.  This subdivision shall not affect claims including, but not
limited to, third-party claims, brought against the excavator by
other parties for damages arising from the excavation.
   (b) In the case where an owner or operator of a subsurface
installation has failed to comply with the regional notification
center system requirements of Section 4216.1, that owner or operator
shall forfeit his or her claim for damages to his or her subsurface
installation arising from the excavation against an excavator who has
complied with the requirements of Section 4216.2 to the extent
damages were proximately caused by the owner or operator's failure to
comply.  This subdivision shall not affect claims including, but not
limited to, third-party claims, brought against the excavator by
other parties for  damages arising from the excavation.
   (c) In the case where an owner or operator of a subsurface
installation receives timely notification of proposed excavation work
pursuant to Section 4216.2 but fails to comply with subdivision (a)
of Section 4216.3, that owner or operator shall forfeit his or her
claim for damages to his or her subsurface installation arising from
the excavation against an excavator who has complied with the
notification requirements of Section 4216.2 to the extent damages
were proximately caused by the owner or operator's failure to comply.
  This subdivision shall not affect claims including, but not limited
to, third-party claims, brought against the excavator by other
parties for damages arising from the excavation.
4216.8.  This article does not apply to any of the following
persons:
   (a) An owner of real property who contracts for an excavation
project on the property, not requiring a permit issued by a state or
local agency, with a contractor or subcontractor licensed pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 7065) of Chapter 9 of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code.
   (b) An owner of residential real property, not engaged as a
contractor or subcontractor licensed pursuant to Article 5
(commencing with Section 7065) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of the
Business and Professions Code, who as part of improving his or her
principal residence or appurtenances thereto is performing or having
performed excavation work not requiring a permit issued by a state or
local agency.
   (c) Any person or private entity that leases or rents power
operated or power-driven excavating or boring equipment, regardless
of whether an equipment operator is provided for that piece of
equipment or not, to a contractor or subcontractor licensed pursuant
to Article 5 (commencing with Section 7065) of Chapter 9 of Division
3 of the Business and Professions Code, if the signed rental
agreement between the person or private entity and the contractor or
subcontractor contains the following provision:
"It is the sole responsibility of the lessee or renter to follow the
requirements of the regional notification center law pursuant to
Article 2 (commencing with Section 4216) of Chapter 3.1 of Division 5
of Title 1 of the Government Code.  By signing this contract, the
lessee or renter accepts all liabilities and responsibilities
contained in the regional notification center law."
4216.9.  (a) No permit to excavate issued by any local agency, as
defined in Section 4216, or any state agency, shall be valid unless
the applicant has been provided an initial inquiry identification
number by a regional notification center pursuant to Section 4216.2.
For purposes of this section, "state agency" means every state
agency, department, division, bureau, board, or commission, including
the Department of Transportation.
   (b) This article does not exempt any person or corporation from
Sections 7951, 7952, and 7953 of the Public Utilities Code.