Public Act 93-0430
HB2839 Enrolled LRB093 08249 JLS 11712 b
AN ACT concerning utilities.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Underground Utility Facilities
Damage Prevention Act is amended by changing Sections 4, 7,
and 10 as follows:
(220 ILCS 50/4) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1604)
Sec. 4. Required activities. Every person who engages
in nonemergency excavation or demolition shall:
(a) take reasonable action to inform himself of the
location of any underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities in and near the area for which such operation is
to be conducted;
(b) plan the excavation or demolition to avoid or
minimize interference with underground utility facilities or
CATS facilities within the tolerance zone by utilizing such
precautions that include, but are not limited to, hand
excavation, vacuum excavation methods, and visually
inspecting the excavation while in progress until clear of
the existing marked facility;
(c) if practical, use white paint, flags, stakes, or
both, to outline the dig site;
(d) provide notice not more than 14 days nor less than
48 hours (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) but
no more than 14 calendar days in advance of the start of the
excavation or demolition to the owners or operators of the
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near
the excavation or demolition area through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System or, in the case of nonemergency
excavation or demolition within the boundaries of a
municipality of at least one million persons which operates
its own one-call notice system, through the one-call notice
system which operates in that municipality;
(e) provide, during and following excavation or
demolition, such support for existing underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or
demolition area as may be reasonably necessary for the
protection of such facilities unless otherwise agreed to by
the owner or operator of the underground facility or CATS
facility; and
(f) backfill all excavations in such manner and with
such materials as may be reasonably necessary for the
protection of existing underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area;
and.
(g) After February 29, 2004, when the excavation or
demolition project will extend past 28 calendar days from the
date of the original notice provided under clause (d), the
excavator shall provide a subsequent notice to the owners or
operators of the underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area
through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in the case
of excavation or demolition within the boundaries of a
municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
inhabitants that operates its own one-call notice system,
through the one-call notice system that operates in that
municipality informing utility owners and operators that
additional time to complete the excavation or demolition
project will be required. The notice will provide the
excavator with an additional 28 calendar days from the date
of the subsequent notification to continue or complete the
excavation or demolition project.
At a minimum, the notice required under clause (d) shall
provide:
(1) the person's name, address, and (i) phone
number at which a person can be reached and (ii) fax
number;
(2) the start date of the planned excavation or
demolition;
(3) the address at which the excavation or
demolition will take place;
(4) the type and extent of the work involved; and
(5) section/quarter sections when the above
information does not allow the State-Wide One-Call Notice
System to determine the appropriate geographic
section/quarter sections. This item (5) does not apply
to residential property owners.
Nothing in this Section prohibits the use of any method
of excavation if conducted in a manner that would avoid
interference with underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities.
(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)
(220 ILCS 50/7) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1607)
Sec. 7. Damage or dislocation. In the event of any
damage to or dislocation of any underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities in connection with any
excavation or demolition, emergency or nonemergency, the
person responsible for the excavation or demolition
operations shall immediately notify the affected utility and
the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in the case of
damage or dislocation in connection with any excavation or
demolition within the boundaries of a municipality having a
population of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants that operates
its own one-call notice system, notify the affected utility
and the one-call notice system that operates in that
municipality. Owners and operators of underground utility
facilities that are damaged and the excavator involved shall
work in a cooperative and expeditious manner to repair the
affected utility.
(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)
(220 ILCS 50/10) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1610)
Sec. 10. Record of notice; marking of facilities. Upon
notice by the person engaged in excavation or demolition, the
person owning or operating underground utility facilities or
CATS facilities in or near the excavation or demolition area
shall cause a written record to be made of the notice and
shall mark, within 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays) of receipt of notice, the approximate locations of
such facilities so as to enable the person excavating or
demolishing to establish the location of the underground
utility facilities or CATS facilities. Owners and operators
of underground sewer facilities that are located outside the
boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least
1,000,000 inhabitants shall be required to respond and mark
the approximate location of those sewer facilities when the
excavator indicates, in the notice required in Section 4,
that the excavation or demolition project will exceed a depth
of 7 feet. "Depth", in this case, is defined as the distance
measured vertically from the surface of the ground to the top
of the sewer facility. Owners and operators of underground
sewer facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a
municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
inhabitants shall be required at all times to locate the
approximate location of those sewer facilities when: (1)
directional boring is the indicated type of excavation work
being performed within the notice; (2) the underground sewer
facilities owned are non-gravity, pressurized force mains; or
(3) the excavation indicated will occur in the immediate
proximity of known underground sewer facilities that are less
than 7 feet deep. Owners or operators of underground sewer
facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a
municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
inhabitants shall not hold an excavator liable for damages
that occur to sewer facilities that were not required to be
marked under this Section, provided that prompt notice of the
damage is made to the State-Wide One-Call Notice System and
the utility owner as required in Section 7.
All persons subject to the requirements of this Act shall
plan and conduct their work consistent with reasonable
business practices. Conditions may exist making it
unreasonable to request that locations be marked within 48
hours. It is unreasonable to request owners and operators of
underground utility facilities and CATS facilities to locate
all of their facilities in an affected area upon short notice
in advance of a large or extensive nonemergency project, or
to request extensive locates in excess of a reasonable
excavation or demolition work schedule, or to request locates
under conditions where a repeat request is likely to be made
because of the passage of time or adverse job conditions.
Owners and operators of underground utility facilities and
CATS facilities must reasonably anticipate seasonal
fluctuations in the number of locate requests and staff
accordingly.
If a person owning or operating underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities receives a notice under this
Section but does not own or operate any underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities within the proposed excavation
or demolition area described in the notice, that person,
within 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
after receipt of the notice, shall so notify the person
engaged in excavation or demolition who initiated the notice,
unless the person who initiated the notice expressly waives
the right to be notified that no facilities are located
within the excavation or demolition area. The notification
by the owner or operator of underground utility facilities or
CATS facilities to the person engaged in excavation or
demolition may be provided in any reasonable manner
including, but not limited to, notification in any one of the
following ways: by face-to-face communication; by phone or
phone message; by facsimile; by posting in the excavation or
demolition area; or by marking the excavation or demolition
area. The owner or operator of those facilities has
discharged the owner's or operator's obligation to provide
notice under this Section if the owner or operator attempts
to provide notice by telephone or by facsimile, if the person
has supplied a facsimile number, but is unable to do so
because the person engaged in the excavation or demolition
does not answer his or her telephone or does not have an
answering machine or answering service to receive the
telephone call or does not have a facsimile machine in
operation to receive the facsimile transmission. If the
owner or operator attempts to provide notice by telephone or
by facsimile but receives a busy signal, that attempt shall
not serve to discharge the owner or operator of the
obligation to provide notice under this Section.
A person engaged in excavation or demolition may
expressly waive the right to notification from the owner or
operator of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities
that the owner or operator has no facilities located in the
proposed excavation or demolition area. Waiver of notice is
only permissible in the case of regular or nonemergency
locate requests. The waiver must be made at the time of the
notice to the State-Wide One-Call Notice System. A waiver
made under this Section is not admissible as evidence in any
criminal or civil action that may arise out of, or is in any
way related to, the excavation or demolition that is the
subject of the waiver.
For the purposes of this Act, underground facility
operators may utilize a combination of flags, stakes, and
paint when possible on non-paved surfaces and when dig site
and seasonal conditions warrant. If the approximate location
of an underground utility facility or CATS facility is marked
with stakes or other physical means, the following color
coding shall be employed:
Utility or Community Antenna Identification Color
Television Systems and Type
of Product
Electric Power, Distribution and
Transmission...................... Safety Red
Municipal Electric Systems............ Safety Red
Gas Distribution and Transmission..... High Visibility
Safety Yellow
Oil Distribution and Transmission..... High Visibility
Safety Yellow
Telephone and Telegraph Systems....... Safety Alert Orange
Community Antenna Television Systems.. Safety Alert Orange
Water Systems......................... Safety
Precaution Blue
Sewer Systems......................... Safety Green
Non-potable Water and Slurry Lines.... Safety Purple
Temporary Survey...................... Safety Pink
Proposed Excavation................... Safety White (Black
when snow is
on the ground)
(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.