319.026. Notice of excavator, form of--written record maintained--incorrect location of facility, duty of excavator--visible markings necessary to continue work.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

319.026. Notice of excavator, form of--written record maintained--incorrect location of facility, duty of excavator--visible markings necessary to continue work.

Notice of excavator, form of--written record maintained--incorrectlocation of facility, duty of excavator--visible markingsnecessary to continue work.

319.026. 1. An excavator shall serve notice of intent to excavate tothe notification center by toll-free telephone number operated on atwenty-four hour per-day, seven day per-week basis or by facsimile or bycompleting notice via the Internet at least two working days, but not morethan ten working days, before the expected date of commencing theexcavation activity. The notification center receiving such notice shallinform the excavator of all notification center participants to whom suchnotice will be transmitted and shall promptly transmit all details of suchnotice provided under subsection 2 of this section to every notificationcenter participant in the area of excavation.

2. Notices of intent to excavate given pursuant to this section shallcontain the following information:

(1) The name and telephone number of the person filing the notice ofexcavation, if the telephone number is different than that of theexcavator, and the name, address, telephone number of the excavator andwhether the excavator's telephone is equipped with a recording device;

(2) The date the excavation activity is expected to commence, thedepth of planned excavation and, if applicable, that the use of explosivesis anticipated on the excavation site, and the type of excavation beingplanned, including whether the excavation involves trenchless excavation;

(3) The facsimile number, e-mail address, and cellular telephonenumber of the excavator, if any;

(4) The name of the person primarily responsible for conducting theexcavation or managing the excavation process, and if any of theinformation stated in subdivision (1) or (3) of this subsection isdifferent for the person primarily responsible for the excavation, thenotice shall also state the same information for that person;

(5) A detailed description accepted by the notification centersufficient for the location of the excavation by any one or more of thefollowing means: by reference to a specific street address, or bydescription of location in relation to the nearest numbered, lettered, ornamed state or county road or city street for which a road sign is posted,or by latitude and longitude including the appropriate description indegrees, minutes, and seconds, or by state plane coordinates;

(6) A description of the site of excavation by approximate distanceand direction from the nearest state or county road or city street orintersection of such roads or streets unless previously provided undersubdivision (5) of this subsection, and the proximity of the site to anyprominent landmarks;

(7) A description of the location or locations of the excavation atthe site described by direction and approximate distance in relation toprominent features of the site, such as existing buildings or roadways;

(8) Directions as to how to reach the site of the excavation from thenearest such road, if the excavation is not on or near a posted numbered,lettered, or named state or county road or city street.

3. The notification center receiving such notice shall solicit allinformation required by subsection 2 of this section and shall require theexcavator to provide all such information before notice by the excavator isdeemed to be completed pursuant to sections 319.015 to 319.050. Thenotification center shall transmit all details of such notice as requiredby this section.

4. A record of each notice of intent to excavate shall be maintainedby the notification center or, prior to January 1, 2003, by the nonmemberowner or operator receiving direct notifications for a period of fiveyears. The record shall include the date the notice was received and allinformation required by subsection 2 of this section which was provided bythe excavator and a record of the underground facility owners notified bythe notification center. If the notification center creates a record ofthe notice by telephonic recording, such record of the original noticeshall be maintained for one year from the date of receipt. Records ofnotices to excavate maintained by the notification center in electronicform shall be deemed to be records under this subsection. Persons holdingrecords of notices of intent to excavate and records of informationprovided to the excavator by the notification center or owner or operatorof the facility, shall make copies of such records available for areasonable copying fee upon the request of the owner or operator of theunderground facilities or the excavator filing the notice.

5. If in the course of excavation the person responsible for theexcavation operations discovers that the owner or operator of theunderground facility who is a participant in a notification center hasincorrectly located the underground facility, he or she shall notify thenotification center which shall inform the notification center participant.If the owner or operator of the underground facility is not a participantin a notification center prior to the January 1, 2003, effective date formandatory participation pursuant to section 319.022, the person responsiblefor the excavation shall notify the owner. The person responsible formaintaining records of the location of underground facilities for thenotification center participant shall correct such records to show theactual location of such facilities, if current records are incorrect.

6. When markings have been provided in response to a notice of intentto excavate, excavators may commence or continue to work within the areadescribed in the notice for so long as the markings are visible. Ifmarkings become unusable due to weather, construction or other cause, theexcavator shall contact the notification center to request remarking. Suchnotice shall be given in the same manner as original notice of intent toexcavate, and the owner or operator shall remark the site in the samemanner, within the same time, as required in response to an original noticeof intent to excavate. Each excavator shall exercise reasonable care notto unnecessarily disturb or obliterate markings provided for location ofunderground facilities. If remarking is required due to the excavator'sfailure to exercise reasonable care, or if repeated unnecessary requestsfor remarking are made by an excavator even though the markings are visibleand usable, the excavator may be liable to the owner or operator for thereasonable cost of such remarking.