A person who prepares engineering plans for excavation or who engages in excavation shall:

1. A. determine the location of any underground facility in or near the area where the excavation is to be conducted, including a request to the owner or operator of the underground facility to locate the underground facility pursuant to Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978;
2. B. plan the excavation to avoid or minimize interference or damage to underground facilities in or near the excavation area;
3. C. provide telephonic advance notice of the commencement, extent and duration of the excavation work to the one-call notification system operating in the intended excavation area, and to the owners or operators of any existing underground facility in and near the excavation area that are not members of the local one-call notification center, in order to allow the owners to locate and mark the location of the underground facility as described in Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978 prior to the commencement of work in the excavation area, and shall request reaffirmation of line location every ten working days after the initial request to locate;
4. D. prior to initial exposure of the underground facility, maintain at least an estimated clearance of eighteen inches between existing underground facilities for which the owners or operators have previously identified the location and the cutting edge or point of any mechanical excavating equipment utilized in the excavation and continue excavation in a manner necessary to prevent damage;
5. E. provide such support for existing underground facilities in or near the excavation area necessary to prevent damage to them;
6. F. backfill all excavations in a manner and with materials as may be necessary to prevent damage to and provide reliable support during and following backfilling activities for preexisting underground facilities in or near the excavation area;
7. G. immediately notify the one-call notification system operating in the area in the form and format required by the commission and by telephone the owner of any underground facilities that may have been damaged or dislocated during the excavation work; and
8. H. not move or obliterate markings made pursuant to Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978 or fabricate markings in an unmarked location for the purpose of concealing or avoiding liability for a violation of or noncompliance with the provisions of Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978.

History: 1953 Comp., § 12-32-3, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 252, § 3; 1987, ch. 156, § 3; 2001, ch. 150, § 2; 2011, ch. 103, § 2.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2011 amendment, effective June 17, 2011, required persons planning or engaging in an excavation to report damages to or the relocation of underground facilities to the one-call notification system operating in the area of the excavation.

The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, substituted "determine" for "make reasonable efforts to inform himself of" in Subsection A; in Subsection C, substituted "telephonic advance notice" for "reasonable advance notice", inserted "the one-call notification system operating in the intended excavation area, and", "or operators" following "owners", "that are not members of the local one-call notification center", and "and shall request reaffirmation of line location every ten working days after the initial locate request"; in Subsection D, inserted "and continue excavation in a manner necessary to prevent damage"; substituted "immediately notify by telephone" for "notify as promptly as possible" in Subsection G; and added Subsection H; and made stylistic changes.

The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, in the opening clause substituted "prepares engineering plans for excavation or who engages" for "shall engage"; substituted "underground facility" for "pipeline or underground utility line" in Subsections A, B and E through G; in Subsection A inserted "including a request to the owner or operator of the underground facility to locate the underground facility pursuant to Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978" at the end; in Subsection C substituted "any existing underground facility" for "pipelines or underground utility lines" near the middle and "location of the underground facility as described in Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978 prior to the commencement of work" for "location of pipelines and underground utility lines" near the end; in Subsection D inserted at the beginning "prior to initial exposure of the underground facility" and substituted "existing underground facility for which the owners or operators have previously identified the location" for "any nonexposed pipeline or underground utility line"; and made minor changes in language and punctuation throughout the section.