Section 1. That sections 121.04, 153.64, 3781.25, 3781.26, | 9 |
3781.27,
3781.28,
3781.29, 3781.30, 3781.31, and 3781.32 be | 10 |
amended and sections
3781.261, 3781.281,
3781.33, 3781.34, | 11 |
3781.35, 3781.36, 3781.37, and 3781.38 of the
Revised
Code be | 12 |
enacted to read as follows: | 13 |
(1) "Public improvement" means any construction, | 62 |
reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, or repair
of | 63 |
a building, highway, drainage system, water system, road,
street, | 64 |
alley, sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, water works,
and all | 65 |
other structures or works of any nature by a public
authority. | 66 |
(2) "Public authority" includes the state, or a county, | 67 |
township, municipal corporation, school district, or other | 68 |
political subdivision, or any public agency, authority, board, | 69 |
commission, instrumentality, or special district of or in the | 70 |
state or a county, township, municipal corporation, school | 71 |
district, or other political subdivision. | 72 |
(3) "Underground utility facilities" includes any item
buried | 73 |
or placed below ground or submerged under water for use in | 74 |
connection with the storage or conveyance of water or sewage; or | 75 |
electronic, telephonic, or telegraphic communications; | 76 |
electricity; electric energy; petroleum products; manufactured, | 77 |
mixed, or natural gas; synthetic or liquified natural gas;
propane | 78 |
gas; or other substances. "Underground utility
facilities" | 79 |
includes, but is not limited to, all operational
underground | 80 |
pipes, sewers, tubing, conduits, cables, valves,
lines, wires, | 81 |
manholes, and attachments, whether owned by any
public or private | 82 |
or profit or nonprofit person, firm,
partnership, company, | 83 |
corporation, joint stock association, joint
venture, or voluntary | 84 |
association, wherever organized or
incorporated, except for a | 85 |
private septic system in a single- or
doublemulti-family dwelling | 86 |
utilized only for that dwelling and not
connected to any other | 87 |
system. | 88 |
(B) In any public improvement which may involve
underground | 115 |
utility facilities, the public authority, prior to
preparing plans | 116 |
and specifications, shall contact the registered
underground | 117 |
utilityeach protection servicesservice and theany owners of | 118 |
underground utility
facilities that are not members of a | 119 |
registered underground
utility protection service for the | 120 |
existence and location of all
underground utility facilities | 121 |
within the construction area. The
public authority shall
include, | 122 |
in the plans and specifications
for such improvement,
the | 123 |
identity and location of the existing
underground utility | 124 |
facilities located in the construction area as
provided to the | 125 |
public authority by the owner of the underground
utility facility | 126 |
and the name, address, and telephone number of
each owner of any | 127 |
underground utility facilities in the
construction area that does | 128 |
not subscribe to a registered
underground utility protection | 129 |
service. Any anticipated temporary
or permanent relocation of | 130 |
underground utility facilities deemed
necessary by the public | 131 |
authority shall be negotiated or arranged
by the public authority | 132 |
with the owners of the underground utility
facilities prior to | 133 |
the start of construction. If a temporary or
permanent
relocation | 134 |
of utility facilities is necessary, the owner
of the
underground | 135 |
utility facility shall be given a reasonable
time to
move such | 136 |
utility facilities unless the contractor to whom
the
contract for | 137 |
a public improvement is awarded or its
subcontractor
agrees with | 138 |
the owner of the underground utility
facility to
coordinate | 139 |
relocation with construction operations.
The public
authority, | 140 |
within ten calendar days after award of a
contract for
a public | 141 |
improvement, shall notify in writing all
owners of
underground | 142 |
utility facilities known to be located in
the
construction area | 143 |
of the public improvement of the name and
address of the | 144 |
contractor to whom the contract for the public
improvement was | 145 |
awarded. Where notice is given in writing by
certified mail, the | 146 |
return receipt, signed by any person to whom
the notice is | 147 |
delivered, shall be conclusive proof of notice. | 148 |
(C) The contractor to whom a contract for a public | 149 |
improvement is awarded or its subcontractor, at least two working | 150 |
days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, prior to | 151 |
commencing construction operations in the construction area which | 152 |
may involve underground utility facilities, shall cause notice to | 153 |
be given to the registered underground utility protection
services
| 154 |
and the owners of underground utility facilities
shown
on the | 155 |
plans and specifications who are not members of a
registered | 156 |
underground utility protection service, in writing, by
telephone, | 157 |
or in person. Where notice is given in writing by
certified mail, | 158 |
the return receipt, signed by any person to whom
the notice is | 159 |
delivered, shall be conclusive proof of notice.
The
owner of the | 160 |
underground utility facility, within forty-eight
hours, excluding | 161 |
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
holidays, after
notice is received, | 162 |
shall stake, mark, or
otherwise designate the
location of the | 163 |
underground utility
facilities in the
construction area in such a | 164 |
manner as to
indicate their course
together with the approximate | 165 |
depth at which they were installed.
The marking or locating
shall | 166 |
be coordinated to stay
approximately two days ahead of the | 167 |
planned
constructionSections 3781.28 to 3781.31 of the Revised | 168 |
Code shall govern public improvements to the extent they are | 169 |
applicable. | 170 |
(D) If the public authority fails to comply with the | 171 |
requirements of division (B) of this section, the contractor to | 172 |
whom the work is awarded or its subcontractor complies with the | 173 |
requirements of division (C) of this section, and the contractor | 174 |
or its subcontractor encounters underground utility facilities in | 175 |
the construction area that would have been shown on the plans and | 176 |
specifications for such improvement had the registered
underground | 177 |
utilitya protection service or owner of the
underground utility | 178 |
facility who is not a member of a registered
underground utility | 179 |
protection service whose name, address, and
telephone number is | 180 |
provided by the public authority been
contacted, then the | 181 |
contractor, upon notification to the public
authority, is entitled | 182 |
to an increase to the contract price for
itself or its | 183 |
subcontractor for any additional work that must be
undertaken or | 184 |
additional time that will be required and is
entitled to an | 185 |
extension of the completion date of the contract
for the period of | 186 |
time of any delays to the construction of the
public improvement. | 187 |
Any public authority who complies with the requirements of | 197 |
division (B) of this section and any contractor or its | 198 |
subcontractor who complies with the requirements of division (C) | 199 |
of this section shall not be responsible to the owner of the | 200 |
underground utility facility if underground utility lines are | 201 |
encountered not as marked in accordance with the provisions of | 202 |
division (C) of this section by the owner of the underground | 203 |
utility facility, unless the contractor or its subcontractor has | 204 |
actual notice of the underground utility facility. Except as
noted | 205 |
in this division, this section does not affect rights
between the | 206 |
contractor or its subcontractor and the owner of the
underground | 207 |
utility facility for failure to mark or erroneously
marking | 208 |
utility lines. The public authority shall not make as a | 209 |
requirement of any contract for public improvement any change in | 210 |
responsibilities between the public authority and the owners of | 211 |
the underground utility facilities in connection with damage, | 212 |
injury, or loss to any property in connection with underground | 213 |
utility facilities. | 214 |
The contractor or its subcontractor shall alert immediately | 215 |
the occupants of nearby premises as to any emergency that the | 216 |
contractor or subcontractor may
create or discover at or near such | 217 |
premises. The contractor or
its subcontractor shall report | 218 |
immediately to the owner or
operator of the underground facility | 219 |
any break or leak on its
lines or any dent, gouge, groove, or | 220 |
other damage to such lines
or to their coating or cathodic | 221 |
protection, made or discovered in
the course of their excavation. | 222 |
(F) An underground utility protection service shall
register | 228 |
with the secretary of state and the public utilities
commission of | 229 |
Ohio, identifying its name, address, telephone
number, membership, | 230 |
and other pertinent information. The
secretary of state and | 231 |
commission shall establish procedures for
accepting such | 232 |
registrations and providing information about
registrants to | 233 |
public authorities on request.
| 234 |
(A) "Protection service" means a notification center, but
not | 237 |
an
owner of an individual utility, that exists for the
purpose of | 238 |
receiving notice from persons that prepare plans and | 239 |
specifications for or that engage in excavation work, that | 240 |
distributes this information to its members and participants, and | 241 |
that ishas registered by March 14, 1989 with the secretary of | 242 |
state and the public
utilities commission of Ohio under former | 243 |
division (F) of section
153.64
of the Revised Code as it existed | 244 |
on March 14, 1989that date. | 245 |
(B) "Underground utility facility" meansincludes any item | 246 |
buried
or placed below the surface of the earthground or | 247 |
submerged under water
for use in connection with the storage or | 248 |
conveyance of water or
sewage; electronic, telephonic, or | 249 |
telegraphic communications;
television signals; electricity; | 250 |
electric energy; crude oil; petroleum products;
artificial or | 251 |
liquefied petroleum; manufactured, mixed, or natural gas; | 252 |
synthetic or liquefied natural gas; propane gas; coal; steam; hot | 253 |
water; or other substances; except that it
does not include. | 254 |
"Underground utility facility"
includes all operational | 255 |
underground pipes, sewers, tubing,
conduits, cables, valves, | 256 |
lines, wires, worker access holes, and
attachments, owned by any | 257 |
person, firm, or company. "Underground utility facility" does not | 258 |
include either of the following: | 259 |
(C) "Utility" means any owner or operator, or an agent of an | 267 |
owner or operator, of an underground utility
facility, including | 268 |
any public authority as defined in section
153.64 of the Revised | 269 |
Code, that owns or operates an underground utility
facility, | 270 |
except. "Utility" does not include the owners of the
following | 271 |
types of real
property with respect to any underground
utility | 272 |
facility located
on that property: | 273 |
(H) "Excavation" means the use of hand tools, powered | 297 |
equipment, or explosives to move earth, rock, or other materials | 298 |
in order to penetrate or bore or drill into the earth, or to | 299 |
demolish any structure whether or not it is intended that the | 300 |
demolition will disturb the earth. "Excavation" includes such | 301 |
agricultural operations as the installation of drain tile, but | 302 |
excludes agricultural operations such as tilling that do not | 303 |
penetrate the earth to a depth of more than twelve inches. | 304 |
"Excavation" excludes any activity by a governmental entity which | 305 |
does not penetrate the earth to a depth of more than twelve | 306 |
inches. "Excavation" excludes any underground mining operations | 307 |
that do not involve disturbance to the earth's surface. | 308 |
(S) "Improvement" means any construction, reconstruction, | 347 |
improvement, enlargement, alteration, or repair of a building, | 348 |
highway, drainage system, water system, road, street, alley, | 349 |
sewer, ditch, sewage disposal plant, water works, and all other | 350 |
structures or works of any nature. | 351 |
Sec. 3781.26. (A) Each utility that owns or operates | 366 |
underground utility facilities shall participate in and register | 367 |
the location of its underground utility facilities with a | 368 |
protection service that serves the area where the facilities are | 369 |
located. A utility may elect to participate in the service on a | 370 |
limited basis and if it does so, it shall register the location
of | 371 |
its underground utility facilities only by identifying the | 372 |
municipal corporations, and outside the limits of a municipal | 373 |
corporation, the townships by county and, where applicable, the | 374 |
immediate geographic area in which it has facilities.
The service | 375 |
shall establish reasonable fees for limited basis
participants. | 376 |
Any utility that elects to participate on a limited basis shall | 377 |
fully participate in and register the location of its underground | 378 |
utility facilities with the appropriate protection service within | 379 |
four years
after the effective date of this amendment. | 380 |
(B) Protection services, utilities,
commercial excavators, | 381 |
excavation
equipment dealers, the public
utilities commission of | 382 |
Ohio, the
board of building standards,
local law enforcement | 383 |
agencies, and
fire departments should
publicize the importance of | 384 |
ascertaining
the location of
underground utility facilities | 385 |
before excavating
and the use of
protection services to ascertain | 386 |
that information. | 387 |
(C) A protection service shall maintain records of | 388 |
notifications received from developers, designers, and
excavators, | 389 |
and of its notifications made to utilities,
developers, designers, | 390 |
and excavators, under sections 3781.27 and
3781.28 of the Revised | 391 |
Code. The records of a protection service
shall identify by | 392 |
reference number, the notifications it received
regarding a | 393 |
proposed excavation site, the notifications it
provided regarding | 394 |
a proposed excavation site, and the date and
time of each | 395 |
notification. | 396 |
(B) Except in the case of limited basis participants, the | 418 |
each
protection service shall provide notice of the proposed | 419 |
excavation
to each participant in the service that has | 420 |
underground utility
facilities in the area of the proposed | 421 |
excavation site. In the
case of limited basis participants, the | 422 |
each
protection service shall
notify the developer of the name of | 423 |
each
limited basis participant
with underground utility | 424 |
facilities
within the municipal
corporation or township and | 425 |
county of the
proposed excavation
site, and the developer shall | 426 |
contact that
utility. | 427 |
(C) Each utility that has any underground utility
facilities | 428 |
in the area of the proposed excavation site shall
notify the | 429 |
developer of the approximate locationstolerance zones and | 430 |
description
of the
utility's underground utility facilities | 431 |
located at the
proposed
excavation site, or that the utility does | 432 |
not have any
underground utility facilities at the site. The | 433 |
utility shall
make this notification within ten working days of | 434 |
receiving a
notice
under division (B) of this section or by a | 435 |
later date
acceptable
to the developer and utility. In the case | 436 |
of
an
interstate
hazardous liquid pipeline or an interstate gas | 437 |
pipeline, the
utility also shall provide written notice to the | 438 |
developer of any
special notification requirements. | 439 |
(D) The utility shall determine if any relocation,
support, | 440 |
or removal, or protective steps beyond those described
in | 441 |
divisions (A)(1) to (D)(4) of section 3781.30 of the Revised Code | 442 |
are required in order to prevent disturbance or interference with | 443 |
the underground utility facilities during excavation. The
utility | 444 |
shall determine whether it will permit the developer to
make those | 445 |
adjustments, and, if the adjustments are to be made by
the | 446 |
utility, a reasonable amount of time necessary to make those | 447 |
adjustments. | 448 |
(E)(1) Based on the information provided pursuant to
division | 449 |
(C) of this section, the developer shall indicate the
approximate | 450 |
locationstolerance zones of underground utility facilities either | 451 |
on
or with the
plans prepared for the project. The developer | 452 |
shall
include with
the plans the names, addresses, and telephone | 453 |
numbers
of
utilities with underground facilities at the | 454 |
excavation site,
indicating which utilities are limited basis | 455 |
participants; the
name and telephone number of theany | 456 |
appropriate protection
service; and any
required adjustments as | 457 |
described in division
(D) of this section,
including the | 458 |
reasonable time necessary for
the utility to make
those | 459 |
adjustments. In the case of an
interstate hazardous liquid | 460 |
pipeline or an interstate gas
pipeline, the developer also shall | 461 |
include any special
notification requirements. | 462 |
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2)(b)
of | 463 |
this section, the developer shall provide the plans to the | 464 |
commercial excavator before excavation beginsprior to entering | 465 |
into a contract that involves such excavation. If the developer | 466 |
does not
prepare written plans or have any written plans prepared, | 467 |
hethe
developer shall otherwise provide the approximate | 468 |
locationstolerance zones, identifying
information on the | 469 |
utilities,
information
on required
adjustments, and any special | 470 |
notification
requirements to the
commercial excavator before | 471 |
excavation begins. | 472 |
(2) This section does not apply in the case of the owner
of | 490 |
the types of real property identified in divisions (C)(1) to
(4) | 491 |
of section 3781.25 of the Revised Code, unless the owner
employs a | 492 |
designer to make written plans for work that will
involve | 493 |
excavation. If the owner employs a designer, the
designer shall | 494 |
contact the utility protection service and
utilities that are | 495 |
limited basis participants in accordance with
divisions (A) and | 496 |
(B) of this section, and shall include in or
with the plans the | 497 |
information required under division (E) of
this section. The owner | 498 |
shall provide that information to the
excavator. | 499 |
Sec. 3781.28. (A) Except as otherwise provided in
divisions | 500 |
(C), (D), (E), and (F) of this section, at least
forty-eight hours | 501 |
two working days, excluding the day the notice is given, but not | 502 |
more
than ten working days before commencing
excavation, the | 503 |
excavator
shall notify theeach protection service of
the | 504 |
location of the
excavation site and the date on which
excavation | 505 |
is planned to
commence. | 506 |
(B) On receipt of notice under division (A) of this
section, | 507 |
theeach protection service shall provide to each utility with | 508 |
underground utility facilities located at the excavation site, | 509 |
notice of the proposed excavation, except that in the case of a | 510 |
limited basis participant in the service, the service shall
notify | 511 |
the excavator of the name of each limited basis
participant with | 512 |
underground utility facilities located in the
municipal | 513 |
corporation or township and county of the proposed
excavation | 514 |
site, and the excavator shall notify the limited basis
participant | 515 |
of the proposed excavation at least forty-eight hourstwo working | 516 |
days, excluding the day the notice is given, but not more than ten | 517 |
working days before commencing excavation. The
excavator may make | 518 |
this notification by telephone. | 519 |
(E) If an excavation will cover a large area and will | 532 |
progress from one area to the next over a period of time, the | 533 |
excavator shall provide written notice of excavation with | 534 |
projected
timelines for segments of the
excavation as the | 535 |
excavation
progresses in order to coordinate
the marking of | 536 |
approximate
locationstolerance zones with actual excavation | 537 |
schedules. Under
such circumstances, the utility and excavator | 538 |
shall determine a
mutually agreed upon marking schedule based on | 539 |
the project
schedule. Once such a schedule is established, the | 540 |
marking and
notification requirements set forth in
division | 541 |
(A)(1) of section
3781.29 of the Revised Code shall not apply. | 542 |
(F)(1) In the case of a utility that is making an
emergency | 543 |
repair to its own underground utility system or a
governmental | 544 |
entity making an underground emergency repair to
traffic control | 545 |
devices, as defined in section 4511.01 of the
Revised Code, used | 546 |
on any street or highway under the entity's
jurisdiction, the | 547 |
utility or governmental entity shall notify theeach
protection | 548 |
service
and each limited basis participant of the
excavation | 549 |
site. This
notice need not occur before commencing
excavation. | 550 |
(b) If the owner of the property employs an excavator, the | 559 |
excavator shall comply with the requirements of this section. If | 560 |
the owner did not employ a designer to make written plans, the | 561 |
excavator shall provide the notice required under this section to | 562 |
theeach protection service and to each utility that is a limited | 563 |
basis
participant in thea protection service that has | 564 |
underground
utility
facilities within the municipal corporation | 565 |
or township
and county
of the excavation site, as indicated by | 566 |
the protection
service. | 567 |
Sec. 3781.29. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in | 575 |
division (A)(2) of this section, within forty-eight hourstwo | 576 |
working days, excluding the day of
receiving
notice under section | 577 |
3781.28 of the Revised Code, each
utility
shall review the status | 578 |
of its facilities within the excavation
site, locate and mark the | 579 |
approximate locationtolerance zone of
its
underground
utility | 580 |
facilities at the excavation site in such a manner as to
indicate | 581 |
their course, and
report the appropriate information to
the | 582 |
protection service for
its positive response system. If a
utility | 583 |
does not mark its
underground utility facilities or
contact the | 584 |
excavator within
forty-eight hours of receiving
notice
under | 585 |
section 3781.28 of the
Revised Codethat time, the
utility is | 586 |
deemed
to have given notice
that it does not have any
facilities | 587 |
at the
excavation site. If
the utility cannot
accurately mark | 588 |
the
approximate locationtolerance zone, the utility shall mark | 589 |
the approximate
locationtolerance zone to the best of its | 590 |
ability, notify the
excavator
using the positive response system | 591 |
that
the
markings
may not be
accurate, and provide additional | 592 |
guidance
to
the
excavator in
locating the facilities as needed | 593 |
during the
excavation. If the
utility cannot locate its | 594 |
underground utility
facilities or cannot
estimate them with | 595 |
reasonable accuracy and
provide notice of their
locations to the | 596 |
excavator, and any damage
occurs to the
underground utility | 597 |
facility through the
excavation, the utility
operating such an | 598 |
underground utility
facility shall be
responsible for repairing | 599 |
such damages and
shall be
liable for any injury of persons or | 600 |
property resulting
from the
damaged underground utility | 601 |
facility. | 602 |
(D) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (E) and (F) of | 628 |
this section, prior to notifying a protection service of the | 629 |
proposed excavation, an excavator shall define and
pre-mark the | 630 |
immediate area and the perimeter of the proposed
excavation site. | 631 |
Proposed construction or excavation markings
shall be
made in | 632 |
white through the use of an industry-recognized
method such as | 633 |
chalk-based paint, flags, stakes, or other method
applicable to | 634 |
the specific site and when possible shall indicate
the | 635 |
excavator's identity by name, abbreviation, or initial. | 636 |
(2) Upon receiving the information set forth in division | 647 |
(E)(1) of this section, the protection service shall provide the | 648 |
excavator with a reference number and a list of utilities that the | 649 |
protection service intends to notify. The protection service shall | 650 |
immediately notify each utility that according to the | 651 |
registration information provided under section 3781.26 of the | 652 |
Revised Code has facilities located within the designated area of | 653 |
the emergency excavation. | 654 |
(F)(6) Immediately report to the utility, the protection | 698 |
service, and, if necessary,
to the appropriate law enforcement | 699 |
agencies and fire departments by calling 9-1-1,
any damage to an | 700 |
underground
utility facility that results in
escaping flammable, | 701 |
corrosive,
explosive, or toxic liquids or
gas, and take | 702 |
reasonable
appropriate actions needed to protect
persons and | 703 |
property and to
minimize safety hazards until those
agencies and | 704 |
departments and
the utility arrive at the scene. | 705 |
Sec. 3781.31. (A) When a utility marks the approximate | 723 |
locationtolerance zone of its underground utility facilities in | 724 |
accordance with
division (A) of section 3781.29 of the Revised | 725 |
Code, the utility
may request that the excavator provide prior | 726 |
notice to the
utility of the actual commencement of the | 727 |
excavation. An
excavator that receives a request for notice under | 728 |
this division
shall provide the notice to the utility at least | 729 |
twenty-four
hoursone full working day prior to the commencement | 730 |
of
excavation. The excavator may
make this notice by telephone. | 731 |
(B) If the markings of approximate locationstolerance zones | 732 |
made under
section 3781.29 of the Revised Code are destroyed or | 733 |
removed
before excavation is completed, the excavator shall notify | 734 |
the
utility through the protection service that the markings have | 735 |
been destroyed or removed, and the
utility shall remark the | 736 |
approximate locations within forty-eight
hours of the notice | 737 |
tolerance zones in
accordance with division (A) of section | 738 |
3781.29 of the Revised
Code. | 739 |
(B) A developer shall not require, as a condition for | 744 |
entering into a contract for a project that will require | 745 |
excavation, that responsibility for performance of duties imposed | 746 |
under sections 3781.25 to 3781.32 of the Revised Code shall be | 747 |
assumed by a person other than the person on whom those duties
are | 748 |
imposed under those sections. This division does not
prohibit a | 749 |
utility from entering into any contract for the
performance of | 750 |
duties that are imposed on a utility under those
sections. | 751 |
Sec. 3781.33. (A)(1) There is hereby created the state | 755 |
underground protection advisory committee consisting of nine | 756 |
members as appointed pursuant to this section. Five members shall | 757 |
constitute a quorum. The governor shall make initial appointments | 758 |
within thirty days after the effective date of this section. Of | 759 |
the initial appointments, three shall be for terms ending on | 760 |
January 31, 2011, three shall be for terms ending on January 31, | 761 |
2012, and three shall be for terms ending on January 31, 2013. | 762 |
Thereafter, terms of office shall be for three years, with each | 763 |
term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term it | 764 |
succeeds. | 765 |
(3) Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for | 772 |
original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy | 773 |
occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which the | 774 |
member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the | 775 |
remainder of the term. A member shall continue in office | 776 |
subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until a | 777 |
successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has | 778 |
elapsed, whichever occurs first. | 779 |
(2) The board of trustees of the Ohio utilities protection | 787 |
service shall provide the governor with a list consisting of at | 788 |
least nine
representatives of utilities subject to regulation by | 789 |
the public
utilities commission and companies not subject to | 790 |
regulation by the commission that are engaged in the | 791 |
transportation of natural gas by pipeline. At least three | 792 |
individuals on the list shall
represent the interest of a gas | 793 |
company, natural gas company, or company not subject to regulation | 794 |
by the commission that is engaged in the transportation of natural | 795 |
gas by pipeline; at
least three individuals on the list shall | 796 |
represent the interests
of an electric light company; and at | 797 |
least three individuals on
the list shall represent the interest | 798 |
of a telephone or telegraph
company. For purposes of this | 799 |
division, "gas company," "natural
gas company,"
"electric light | 800 |
company," "telephone company," and
"telegraph
company" have the | 801 |
same meaning as in section 4905.03
of the
Revised Code. The | 802 |
governor shall appoint from the list one
person
representing a | 803 |
gas company, natural gas company, or company not subject to | 804 |
regulation by the commission that is engaged in the transportation | 805 |
of natural gas by pipeline; one person
representing
an electric | 806 |
light company; and one person representing a
telephone or | 807 |
telegraph company to serve on the committee. No
member of the | 808 |
board of trustees of the Ohio utilities protection
service shall | 809 |
be appointed to the committee. | 810 |
(C) As appropriate, each protection service and the | 853 |
department of commerce shall provide the committee with meeting | 854 |
space, staff services, and other technical and administrative | 855 |
assistance within their respective areas of expertise. Such | 856 |
assistance may include providing the committee with data, | 857 |
research, statistics, and analysis and providing the committee | 858 |
with investigators and hearing examiners. | 859 |
Sec. 3781.35. (A)(1) There is hereby created within the | 871 |
department of commerce the underground
protection commission of | 872 |
Ohio,
consisting of three members appointed by the governor, with | 873 |
the
advice and consent
of the senate. Two members of the | 874 |
commission
shall constitute a
quorum. The governor shall make | 875 |
initial
appointments to the
commission within thirty days after | 876 |
the
effective date of this
section. Of the initial appointments, | 877 |
one
shall be for a term
ending January 31, 2011, one shall be | 878 |
for a term ending January
31, 2012, and one shall be for a term | 879 |
ending
January 31, 2013.
Thereafter, terms of office shall be | 880 |
for three
years, with each
term ending on the same day of the | 881 |
same month as
did the term that
it succeeds. | 882 |
(3) Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for | 889 |
original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy | 890 |
occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which the | 891 |
member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the | 892 |
remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office | 893 |
subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until a | 894 |
successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has | 895 |
elapsed, whichever occurs first. | 896 |
(1) Review and assess, and if necessary investigate, all | 920 |
enforcement recommendations submitted by the state underground | 921 |
protection advisory committee. If, pursuant to section 3781.37 of | 922 |
the Revised Code and with a majority vote of its
members, the | 923 |
commission finds
reasonable grounds indicating that
a party | 924 |
against whom a complaint has been filed is a habitual or willful | 925 |
non-complier, it shall impose corrective
action and appropriate | 926 |
penalties. | 927 |
(B) The committee shall investigate and conduct review | 946 |
hearings regarding the complaints filed with a protection service. | 947 |
If, after an investigation and review hearing, and with a majority | 948 |
vote of its members, it finds reasonable grounds indicating that a | 949 |
party against whom a complaint has been filed is a habitual or | 950 |
willful non-complier, the committee shall provide its findings and | 951 |
recommend corrective action and civil penalties to the underground | 952 |
protection commission of Ohio, with such recommended civil | 953 |
penalties not to exceed ten thousand dollars per violation | 954 |
identified in the findings and recommendations. The commission | 955 |
shall review any recommendations submitted by the committee | 956 |
pursuant to this section, conduct a hearing in accordance with | 957 |
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, and issue a ruling regarding | 958 |
each case. | 959 |
The moneys in the fund shall be used at the discretion of the | 1003 |
underground protection commission consistent with this
section. | 1004 |
The moneys shall first be used to pay the administration
and | 1005 |
enforcement costs incurred pursuant to sections 3781.35 to | 1006 |
3781.37 of the Revised Code. Any moneys remaining in the fund | 1007 |
shall be used at the discretion of the commission for activities | 1008 |
to
improve the state's underground utility facilities protection | 1009 |
and
to provide grants to organizations to fund public education | 1010 |
and
awareness programs promoting and advancing the mission and | 1011 |
operations of the protection services. | 1012 |