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AN ACT
RELATING TO UNDERGROUND UTILITIES; REVISING A DEFINITION;
REVISING THE PIPELINE ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 62-14-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
Chapter 252, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-14-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in Chapter 62, Article
14 NMSA 1978:
A. "advance notice" means two working days;
B. "blasting" means the use of an explosive to
excavate;
C. "cable television lines and related facilities"
means the facilities of any cable television system or closed-
circuit coaxial cable communications system or other similar
transmission service used in connection with any cable
television system or other similar closed-circuit coaxial
cable communications system;
D. "commission" means the public regulation
commission;
E. "emergency excavation" means an excavation that
must be performed due to circumstances beyond the excavator's
control and that affects public safety, health or welfare;
F. "excavate" means the movement or removal of
earth using mechanical excavating equipment or blasting and
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includes augering, backfilling, digging, ditching, drilling,
grading, plowing in, pulling in, ripping, scraping, trenching,
tunneling and directional boring;
G. "excavator" means a person that excavates;
H. "means of location" means a mark such as a
stake, a flag, whiskers or paint that is conspicuous in nature
and that is designed to last at least ten working days if not
disturbed;
I. "mechanical excavating equipment" means all
equipment powered by any motor, engine or hydraulic or
pneumatic device used for excavating and includes trenchers,
bulldozers, backhoes, power shovels, scrapers, draglines, clam
shells, augers, drills, cable and pipe plows or other plowing-
in or pulling-in equipment;
J. "one-call notification system" means a
communication system in which an operation center provides
telephone services or other reliable means of communication
for the purpose of receiving excavation notice information and
distributing that information to owners and operators of
pipelines and other underground facilities;
K. "person" means the legal representative of or
an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, state,
subdivision or instrumentality of the state or an association;
L. "pipeline" means a pipeline or system of
pipelines and appurtenances for the transportation or movement
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of any oil or gas, or oil or gas products and their byproducts
subject to the jurisdiction of federal law or regulation;
M. "reasonable efforts" means notifying the
appropriate one-call notification center or underground
facility owner or operator of planned excavation;
N. "underground facility" means any tangible
property described in Subsections C, L and O of this section
that is underground, but does not include residential
sprinklers or low-voltage lighting; and
O. "underground utility line" means an underground
conduit or cable, including fiber optics, and related
facilities for transportation and delivery of electricity,
telephonic or telegraphic communications or water, sewer and
fire protection lines."
Section 2. Section 62-14-7.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
1997, Chapter 30, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-14-7.1. PIPELINE ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.--
A. If a one-call system is operating in the
region, an owner or operator of an underground facility
subject to Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978 shall be a member
of a one-call notification system by April 15, 2008, unless
earlier membership is required by federal law. A one-call
notification system may be for a region of the state or
statewide in scope, unless federal law provides otherwise.
B. Each one-call notification system shall be
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operated by:
(1) an owner or operator of pipeline
facilities;
(2) a private contractor;
(3) a state or local government agency; or
(4) a person who is otherwise eligible under
state law to operate a one-call notification system.
C. If the one-call notification system is operated
by owners or operators of pipeline facilities, it shall be
established as a nonprofit entity governed by a board of
directors that shall establish the operating processes,
procedures and technology needed for a one-call notification
system. The board shall further establish a procedure or
formula to determine the equitable share of each member for
the costs of the one-call notification system. The board may
include representatives of excavators or other persons deemed
eligible to participate in the system who are not owners or
operators.
D. Excavators shall give advance notice to the
one-call notification system operating in the intended
excavation area and provide information established by rule of
the commission, except when excavations are by or for a person
that:
(1) owns or leases or owns a mineral
leasehold interest in the real property on which the
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excavation occurs; and
(2) operates all underground facilities
located in the intended excavation area.
E. The one-call notification system shall promptly
transmit excavation notice information to owners or operators
of pipeline facilities in the intended excavation area.
F. After receiving advance notice, owners and
operators of pipeline facilities shall locate and mark their
pipeline facilities in the intended excavation area.
G. The one-call notification system shall provide
a toll-free telephone number or another comparable and
reliable means of communication to receive advance notice of
excavation. Means of communication to distribute excavation
notice to owners or operators of pipeline facilities shall be
reliable and capable of coordination with one-call
notification systems operating in other regions of the state.
H. Operators of one-call notification systems
shall notify the commission of its members and the name and
telephone number of the contact person for each member and
make available to the commission appropriate records in
investigations of alleged violations of Chapter 62, Article 14
NMSA 1978.
I. One-call notification systems and owners and
operators of pipeline facilities shall promote public
awareness of the availability and operation of one-call
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notification systems and work with state and local
governmental agencies charged with issuing excavation permits
to provide information concerning and promoting awareness by
excavators of one-call notification systems.
J. The commission may prescribe reasonable maximum
rates for the provision of one-call services in New Mexico,
provided that if the reasonableness of such rates is contested
in the manner provided by commission rule, the burden of proof
to show the unreasonableness of such rates shall be upon the
person contesting their reasonableness."
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