New Jersey § 48:2-80

§ 48:2-80.

a. Except as provided in sections 6 and 9 of this act, 1 the operator of an underground facility shall: (1) Participate in and comply with the requirements of the One-Call Damage Prevention

System established pursuant to section 4 of this act; 2 and (2) Mark, stake, locate or otherwise provide the position and number of its underground

facilities which may be affected by a planned excavation or demolition within three

business days after receipt of the information concerning a notice of intent to excavate

transmitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 10 of this act. 3 An underground facility shall be marked in accordance with standards approved by

the board, which shall be based upon approved industry standards, and shall be marked

at the site within 18 inches horizontally from the outside wall of the facility, in

a manner that will enable the excavator to employ prudent techniques, which may include

hand-dug test holes, to determine the precise position of the operator's underground

facility. An underground facility shall be marked from information available in the operator's

records or by use of standard locating techniques other than excavation. In temporarily marking the approximate position of an underground facility, an operator

shall utilize the following color coding: Utility and Type Product Identifying color 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 Dangerous Materials, Product Lines, Steam Lines High Visibility Safety Yellow Telephone and Telecommunications Safety Alert Orange Police and Fire Communications Safety Alert Orange Cable Television Safety Alert Orange Water Systems Safety Precaution Blue Slurry Systems Safety Precaution Blue Sewer Lines Safety Green b. If an operator does not own, operate or control any underground facilities at the

site concerning which he received information of a notice of intent to excavate transmitted

pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of this act, the operator shall make a reasonable

effort to so advise the person giving the notice of intent to excavate, providing

the notice is given within the time frame set forth in subsection a. of section 10

of this act. c. An operator shall maintain a record of all damage to its underground facilities,

including all damage reported by an excavator pursuant to subsection e. of section

10 of this act. An operator shall provide an updated copy of this record to the board on a quarterly

basis. d. Any underground facilities operator that fails to mark, locate, or otherwise provide

the position and number of its underground facilities which may be affected by a planned

excavation or demolition, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection

a. of this section, shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel

downtime, incurred by an excavator damaging a facility owned, operated or controlled

by the underground facility operator. An excavator that damages an underground facility in violation of the provisions

of the “Underground Facility Protection Act,” P.L.1994, c. 118 ( C.48:2-73 et seq. ) shall be liable for any costs, labor, parts, equipment and personnel downtime, incurred

by the underground facilities operator that owns or controls the damaged underground

facility. Any dispute arising from the provisions of this subsection, where the claim is less

than $25,000, shall be subject to an alternative dispute resolution process as established

within the Office of Dispute Settlement in the Office of the Public Defender. Nothing in this act shall be construed to discourage parties from pursuing alternative

dispute resolution processes for an amount greater than $25,000. The parties may by mutual agreement designate another alternative dispute resolution

association for all matters. 1

N.J.S.A. §§ 48:2-78 and 48:2-81. 2

N.J.S.A. § 48:2-76. 3

N.J.S.A. § 48:2-82.