Bill Text: NC H748 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Underground Damage Prevention Act/Changes
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-13 - Ref to the Com on Environment, if favorable, Energy and Public Utilities [H748 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2017-H748-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2017
H 1
HOUSE BILL 748
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Short Title: Underground Damage Prevention Act/Changes. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representative Millis. For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site. |
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Referred to: |
Environment, if favorable, Energy and Public Utilities |
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April 13, 2017
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT amending the underground damage prevention act.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 87‑117 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑117. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
…
(1a) Board. – Underground Damage Prevention Review Board.
…."
SECTION 2. G.S. 87‑120 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑120. Notification Center; responsibilities.
(a) The operators in the
State shall maintain a Notification Center for the sole purpose of providing the
services required by this Article. The Notification Center shall maintain
information concerning receipt of notification of proposed excavation and
demolition activities as provided in this Article and shall maintain
information received from operators concerning the location of the operators'
facilities and the operators' positive responses to marking of the facilities. The
Notification Center shall also receive, maintain, and provide general
administration of reports of alleged violations of this Article and responses. The
Notification Center is not responsible in any way for identifying or marking
facilities for operators. The Notification Center is not responsible in any way
for resolving reports of alleged violations of this Article. All operators in the
State shall join the Notification Center as provided in subsection (b) of this
section, and they shall use the services of the Notification Center to perform
the acts required by the provisions of this Article. There shall be only one
Notification Center for the State of North Carolina. The Notification Center is
not an agency of the State or any of the State's political subdivisions and is
not subject to the provisions of Chapter 132 or Chapter 133 of the General
Statutes.
…
(c) The Notification Center shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(1) Maintain a record of the notices received under subsection (d) of this section for at least four years.
(2) Maintain a record of reports of alleged
violations of this Article received under subsection (e) of this section for at
least four years, including responses to such reports.
(3) Receive and transmit notices as provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(4) Develop and update, as needed, a business continuation plan.
(5) Notify those persons against whom reports of
alleged violations of this Article have been made and receive and maintain
information submitted from such persons in defense against the allegations.
(6) Provide a positive response system.
(7) Establish and operate a
damage prevention training program for members of the Notification Center. No
person may recover damages in any manner or form from the Notification Center
arising out of or related to the manner in which the Notification Center
conducts a damage prevention training program or receives, transmits, or
otherwise administers a report of an alleged violation of this Article.program.
…
(e) The Notification Center shall receive reports of
alleged violations of this Article. The Notification Center shall contact
persons against whom reports have been filed to inform them of the alleged
violation within 10 days of the filing of the report. The Notification Center
shall maintain the following information regarding reports of alleged
violations:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the
person making the report;
(2) The nature of the report, including the statute
that is alleged to have been violated;
(3) Information provided by the person making the
report, including correspondence, both written and electronic, pictures, and
videos; and
(4) Information provided by the person against whom
the report has been filed, including correspondence, both written and
electronic, pictures, and videos."
SECTION 3. G.S. 87‑122 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑122. Excavator responsibilities.
…
(b) The notice required by subsection (a) of this section shall, at a minimum, contain all of the following:
…
(5) The location of the
proposed excavation or demolition, not to exceed one‑quarter mile in
geographical length, or five adjoining addresses, not to exceed one‑quarter
mile in geographical length.addresses, whichever is less.
…."
SECTION 4. G.S. 87‑125 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑125. Notice in case of emergency excavation or demolition.
(a) An excavator performing
an emergency excavation or demolition is not required to give notice to the
Notification Center as provided in G.S. 87‑122. However, the
excavator shall, as soon as practicable, give oral notice to the
Notification Center which shall include a description of the circumstances
justifying the emergency. The excavator may request emergency assistance from
each affected operator in locating and providing immediate protection to the
facilities in the affected area.
…."
SECTION 5. G.S. 87‑129 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑129. Underground Damage Prevention Review Board; enforcement; civil penalties.
…
(a7) The Board shall receive reports of alleged violations of this Article and shall maintain a record of those reports for at least four years, including responses to the reports. The Board shall contact persons against whom reports have been filed to inform them of the alleged violation within 10 days of the filing of the report. The Board shall maintain the following information regarding reports of alleged violations:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the report.
(2) The nature of the report, including the statute that is alleged to have been violated.
(3) Information provided by the person making the report, including correspondence, both written and electronic, pictures, and videos.
(4) Information provided by the person against whom the report has been filed, including correspondence, both written and electronic, pictures, and videos.
(b) The Notification Center shall transmit all
reports of alleged violations of this Article to the Board, including any
information received by the Notification Center regarding the report.
…
(c) A person determined by
the Board under subsection (b1) of this section to have violated this Article
may appeal the Board's determination by initiating an arbitration proceeding
before the Utilities Commission within 30 days of the Board's determination.issuance
of the Utilities Commission's order. If the violating party elects to
initiate an arbitration proceeding, the violating party shall pay a filing fee
of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) to the Utilities Commission, and the
Utilities Commission shall open a docket regarding the report. The Utilities
Commission shall direct the parties enter into an arbitration process. The
parties shall be responsible for selecting and contracting with the arbitrator.
Upon completion of the arbitration process, the Utilities Commission shall
issue an order encompassing the outcome of the binding arbitration process,
including a determination of fault, a penalty, and assessing the costs of
arbitration to the non‑prevailing party.
(c1) A person may timely
appeal an order issued by the Utilities Commission pursuant to this section to
the superior court division of the General Court of Justice in the county where
the alleged violation of this Article occurred or in Wake County, for trial de
novo within 30 days of entry of the Utilities Commission's order. The authority
granted to the Utilities Commission within this section is limited to this
section and does not grant the Utilities Commission any authority that they
are it is not otherwise granted under Chapter 62 of the General
Statutes.
(c2) An action for the recovery of any penalty under this section shall be instituted in Wake County and shall be instituted in the name of the State of North Carolina on the relation of the Utilities Commission against the person incurring the penalty. The action may be instituted and prosecuted by the Attorney General, the district attorney of the Wake County Superior Court, or the injured person. The procedure in actions under this subsection, the right of appeal, and the rules regulating appeals shall be the same as provided by law in other civil actions.
…
(e) The Board shall establish and implement a public awareness program to inform the public of the purpose and function of the Board."
SECTION 6. This act is effective when it becomes law.
