Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
An excavator shall make an excavation locate request for all
projects involving excavation, including road maintenance, with the exception
of subsurface potholing or vacuum excavation activities conducted solely for
the purpose of physically exposing or locating underground facilities. However,
this exception does not preclude compliance with
18.60.5.18
NMAC. Although not required under the Excavation Damage to Pipelines and
Underground Utility Lines Law, Sections
62-14-1,
et seq. NMSA 1978, or this rule, locate requests are
encouraged for excavation projects involving purely non-mechanical
means.
A.
Submittal.
(1) An excavator shall submit an excavation
locate request to each one-call notification system:
(a) by telephone or in person during normal
business hours Monday to Friday, excluding holidays; or
(b) by facsimile or electronically via online
web portal with appropriate one-call notification center twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week.
(2) An excavator shall also submit an
excavation locate request to each non-member UFO.
B.
Size of locate requests.
(1) An excavator shall determine the maximum
area that the excavator can reasonably expect to excavate within a 15 working
day period and shall request an excavation locate for that area only. The
excavator shall pre-mark the actual intended excavation route or site(s) for
any incorporated city, town, or village including extra-territorial zone(s) in
accordance with American public works association (APWA) marking guidelines to
communicate to facility owners where the actual excavation will take place for
standard 15 working day ticket requests only. Outside these incorporated areas,
excavators shall provide clear and accurate driving and marking instructions,
and either GPS coordinates or pre-marks, as described above, which define the
parameters of the proposed excavation. The pre-marked excavation shall
encompass locations(s) where excavation equipment that may penetrate the
surface will be setup, such as directional boring equipment. If the location
markings have been removed, or are no longer visible, and there are no marking
offsets, the person engaging in the excavation activity shall suspend
excavation activities and reinitiate a locate request set forth in this
section. Such relocate request shall be limited to the area yet to be excavated
only.
(2) An excavator may request
relocates for the same area only if justified by the circumstances and nature
of the work; such justification shall be made part of the relocate
request.
C.
Minimum
information required. When requesting an excavation locate or a locate
conference, an excavator shall comply with the requirements of the one-call
notification system or non-member UFO operating in the intended excavation area
and shall provide accurate and truthful information. A locate request shall be
deemed incomplete if it does not contain, at a minimum:
(1) the name and contact information of the
excavator personnel directly involved with or conducting the excavation at the
actual excavation site;
(2) if
available, an alternate name and contact information of the
excavator;
(3) a description and
the purpose of the type of work to be done;
(4) the name of the person for whom the work
is being done;
(5) whether or not
the excavation site is pre-marked in white;
(6) an accurate physical description of the
location and size of the excavation site; reference to a plat of a subdivision
shall not by itself be sufficient description;
(7) driving instructions to a rural
excavation site;
(8) spotting
instructions;
(9) any appropriate
remarks regarding access to or hazards at the site;
(10) if available, GPS coordinates which
define the parameters or start and end points of the actual
excavation.
