§1749.13. Excavation and demolition; prohibitions

            A. Except as provided in this Section, no person shall excavate or demolish in any street, highway, public place, or servitude of any operator, or near the location of an underground facility or utility, or on the premises of a customer served by an underground facility or utility without having first ascertained, in the manner prescribed in Subsection B of this Section, the specific location as provided in R.S. 40:1749.14(D) of all underground facilities or utilities in the area which would be affected by the proposed excavation or demolition. The marking of an operator's facility or utility shall be provided for excavation or demolition purposes only.

            B.(1) Except as provided in R.S. 40:1749.15, prior to any excavation or demolition, each excavator or demolisher shall serve telephonic or electronic notice of the intent to excavate or demolish to the regional notification center or centers serving the area in which the proposed excavation or demolition is to take place. Such notice shall be given to the notification center at least forty-eight hours, but not more than one hundred twenty hours, excluding weekends and holidays, in advance of the commencement of any excavation or demolition activity. If an excavation or demolition does not commence within one hundred twenty hours of the mark-by-time, not counting weekends and holidays, the excavator or demolisher shall be found in violation of this Section, except in the case of mutual agreement with the facility owner or operator to extend the time or extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances are circumstances which make it impractical or impossible for the excavator or demolisher to comply with the provisions of this Part due to weather-related events, equipment malfunction or failure, or unavailability of vital supplies and equipment. Holidays shall consist of the following: New Year's Day; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Good Friday; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Eve; and Christmas Day.

            (2) This notice shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person filing the notice of intent, and, if different, the person responsible for the excavation or demolition; the starting date, anticipated duration, and description of the specific type of excavation or demolition operation to be conducted; the specific location of the proposed excavation or demolition; and a statement as to whether directional boring or explosives are to be used. The notice shall be confined to the actual area of proposed excavation or demolition that will occur during the twenty-day time period pursuant to R.S. 40:1749.14(C).

            (3) Telephonic notice shall be recorded on tape or stored into an electronic data bank by the regional notification center and a record of the notice shall be retained for a three-year period from the date of notification. A record of an electronic notice shall also be retained by the regional notification center for a three-year period from the date of notification.

            (4) The excavator or demolisher shall provide the specific location for excavation or demolition with either telephonic or electronic notice. Telephonic notice shall require the excavator or demolisher to physically mark the proposed route or area of excavation or demolition using white paint, flags, stakes, or similar means under American Public Works Association guidelines prior to submitting notice.

            (5) The excavator or demolisher shall wait at least forty-eight hours, beginning at 7:00 a.m. on the next working day, following notification, unless mutually agreed upon and documented by the excavator and operator to extend such time, before commencing any excavation or demolition activity, except in the case of an emergency as defined in the provisions of this Part or if informed by the regional notification center that no operators are to be notified. However, if no agreement for an extension of time can be reached between the excavator and the operator and the excavation or demolition activity could impact a pipeline located on or in water, upon request by the operator, the commissioner may delay the mark-by time prior to the commencement of any excavation or demolition activity in order to allow for the accurate marking of such pipeline.

            (6) At least one person on any underground or submerged excavation or demolition site shall have proof of completion of the training and education provided by the Regional Notification Center. Training is required on an annual basis through the Regional Notification Center and shall be available through its website free of charge. Excavators or demolishers certified by an operator qualification program subject to 49 CFR Part 192 or 195 shall be exempt from this requirement.

            C. This Part shall not apply to activities by operators or land owners excavating their own underground utilities or facilities on their own property or operators' exclusive right-of-way provided there is no encroachment on the rights-of-way of any operator.

            D. For purposes of this Section, any physical markings or electronic drawings identifying a specific location as provided for in Subsection B of this Section shall not exceed the actual area of excavation or demolition.

            E.(1) The purpose of this Subsection is to allow for voluntary agreements in writing between operators of underground utilities or facilities and excavators and demolishers in conflict to determine the mark-by time, as well as the duration of excavation and demolition projects that cannot be reasonably completed within the time frame required for routine excavation or demolition.

            (2) Unless hereinafter specifically excepted, all other provisions of this Subsection shall apply to large project excavations or demolitions.

            (3) Upon an excavator or demolisher contacting the regional notification center to provide notice of excavation or demolition, the excavator or demolisher may request that the excavation or demolition be recognized as a large project excavation or demolition, at which time the regional notification center shall notify all affected underground utility and facility operators that a large project excavation or demolition request has been submitted.

            (4) A large project excavation or demolition request shall only be submitted electronically to the regional notification center at least ten business days prior to the commencement of the excavation or demolition.

            (5) The submission of a large project excavation or demolition request shall also include the names and contact information of any and all subcontractors of the excavator or demolisher who will be working on the project.

            (6) Upon receipt of the large project excavation or demolition notification request, operators of underground utilities or facilities and the requesting excavator or demolisher may attempt to reach a mutual agreement in writing to determine the scope of work, the mark-by-times, and any other details of the project that the operator and excavator or demolisher mutually agree need to be included in the written agreement, such as the marking schedule and additional parties to be included in the notification request. In no event shall an agreement be entered into pursuant to this Subsection for a duration of more than ninety calendar days.

            (7) If a mutual agreement between all parties in conflict in an area cannot be reached within thirty calendar days from the date submitted to the Regional Notification Center, the large project excavation or demolition notification request shall be deemed null and void, and the requesting excavator or demolisher shall cancel the large project excavation or demolition notice and request a routine excavation or demolition notice in accordance with this Section.

            Acts 1988, No. 923, §1; Acts 1992, No. 883, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1050, §1, eff. July 11, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 506, §1, eff. June 29, 1999; Acts 2006, No. 428, §1, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 249, §§1, 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2010; Acts 2011, No. 38, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 203, §1; Acts 2016, No. 245, §1, eff. May 26, 2016; Acts 2019, No. 344, §1; Acts 2021, No. 9, §1, eff. Jan. 2, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 52, §1; Acts 2023, No. 344, §1; Acts 2024, No. 75, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 192, §1.