ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Forty-seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2708
underground facilities; marking procedures.
Purpose
Prohibits a city or county from requiring the installation of additional clean-outs above that required by city or county building code for the purpose of locating an underground facility and makes other changes to the underground facilities statutes.
Background
Statute prohibits a person from beginning any excavation in any public street, alley, right-of-way dedicated to the public use or utility easement or on any express or implied private property utility easement unless the person has determined whether underground facilities will be encountered and, if so, where they are located from each and every public utility, municipal corporation or other person having the right to bury the underground facilities. The person is required to take measures for control of those facilities in a careful and prudent manner.
Underground facilities include pipes, sewers, conduits, cables and wires used to connect to the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, telephonic or electronic communications, oil and gas. Prior to 2005, an underground facility also included landscape irrigation systems of one inch in diameter or less located in dedicated public rights-of-way or a state highway. The definition of underground facility was amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 222, to state that landscape irrigation systems of two inches in diameter or less are underground facilities and removed the requirement that the irrigation system be in specified areas, expanding the types of facilities that are subject to the underground facilities requirements and requiring the underground facilities operators to then locate and mark these facilities. According to the Homebuilders’ Association of Central Arizona, this expansion of the definition of underground facility subjects homeowners’ associations of condominium and planned communities to the underground facilities statutes. H.B. 2708 states that homeowners’ associations are not underground facilities operators and not subject to operator requirements.
Public utilities, municipal corporations and underground facility owners are required to be members of a one-call notification center, either statewide or serving each county in which the entity had underground facilities. Arizona Blue Stake, Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation formed by member utility owners to comply with the statutory requirement. After a person identifies the excavation site, the excavator calls Arizona Blue Stake to request that the underground facilities of the site be located and marked. Arizona Blue Stake sends a notice to all of the utility companies with the information about the request. The owners of the underground facilities have two working days to respond. The companies will either mark their underground facilities by the proper means or let the person know that there is no conflict for their utility.
Statute requires that in order for an underground facility to be marked, the facility must be located utilizing one of eleven different methods, including the use of vertical line or facility markers, locator wire, signs, or surface extensions of underground facilities. According to the Home Builders’ Association of Central Arizona, some cities have begun requiring builders to install additional clean-outs on underground sewer facilities above that required by building code as surface extensions to allow municipalities to locate the underground facilities. H.B. 2708 prohibits a city or county from requiring the installation of additional clean-outs above that required by city or county building code for the purpose of locating an underground facility.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this measure.
Provisions
1. Prohibits, except as required by city or county building code, a building official or political subdivision from compelling the installation of one or more clean-outs on any underground sewer facility that is owned by another person and that serves one customer for the purpose of locating an underground facility.
2. Allows, for an underground facility installed before January 1, 2006, an underground facilities operator of a sewer system to refer to installation records to assist in locating the facility.
3. Requires a homeowners’ association to determine where underground facilities are located from each underground facilities operator and take measures to control the facilities prior to excavation.
4. States a homeowners’ association that owns a sewer facility in a public street, alley, right-of-way dedicated to public use or utility easement is not an underground facilities operator and therefore not subject to of underground facility operator requirements.
5. Requires an underground facilities operator to carefully mark underground facilities.
6. Removes the stipulation that nothing in the underground facilities statutes prevents an excavator and an underground facilities operator from holding a preconstruction conference regarding location of underground facilities.
7. Defines “homeowners’ association.”
8. Makes technical and conforming changes.
9. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
FMPR 2/15/06 W/D
COM 2/15/06 W/D
TRANS 2/16/06 DPA 5-3-0-1
3rd Read 3/9/06 55-2-3-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 20, 2006
BP/ac