2001 Florida Code
TITLE XXXIII Regulation Of Trade, Commerce, Investments, And Solicitations
Chapter 556 Underground Facility Damage Prevention And Safety  
556.102   Definitions.

556.102  Definitions.--As used in this act:

(1)  "Business days" means Monday through Friday, excluding the following holidays: New Year's Day, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Any such holiday that falls on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. Any such holiday that falls on a Sunday shall be observed on the following Monday.

(2)  "Business hours" means the hours of a day during which the toll-free telephone number is answered by a natural person.

(3)  "Damage" means any impact upon or contact with, including, without limitation, penetrating, striking, scraping, displacing, or denting, however slight, the protective coating, housing, or other protective devices of any underground facility, or the removal or weakening of any lateral or vertical support from any underground facility, or the severance, partial or complete, of any underground facility.

(4)  "Demolish" or "demolition" means any operation by which a structure or mass of material is wrecked, razed, rended, moved, or removed by means of any tool, equipment, or discharge of explosives, or any disturbance of the earth in any manner on public or private lands which could damage any underground facility.

(5)  "Excavate" or "excavation" means any manmade cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth's surface, formed by removal of earth, intended to change the grade or level of land, or intended to penetrate or disturb the surface of the earth.

(6)  "Excavator" or "excavating contractor" means any person performing excavation or demolition operations.

(7)  "Member operator" means any person who furnishes or transports materials or services by means of an underground facility except a municipality or county that has elected not to participate in the one-call notification system in the manner set forth in s. 556.103(1).

(8)  "Person" means any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality, or other political subdivision, governmental unit, department, or agency, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative of a person.

(9)  "Underground facility" means any public or private personal property which is buried, placed below ground, or submerged on any member operator's right-of-way, easement, or permitted use which is being used or will be used in connection with the storage or conveyance of water; sewage; electronic, telephonic, or telegraphic communication; electric energy; oil; petroleum products; natural gas; optical signals; or other substances, and includes, but is not limited to, pipelines, pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, and lines. For purposes of this act, a liquefied petroleum gas line regulated under chapter 527 is not an underground facility unless such line is subject to the requirements of Title 49 C.F.R. adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, provided there is no encroachment on any member operator's right-of-way, easement, or permitted use. Petroleum storage systems subject to regulation pursuant to chapter 376 are not considered underground facilities for the purposes of this act unless the storage system is located on a member operator's right-of-way or easement. Storm drainage systems are not considered underground facilities.

(10)  "System" means a one-call toll-free telephone notification system established by the corporation as provided in this act.

History.--s. 2, ch. 93-240; s. 2, ch. 94-132; s. 5, ch. 95-317; s. 2, ch. 97-306.