TITLE 20. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TITLE 20. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION
Final Regulation
REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The State Corporation Commission is claiming an exemption from the Administrative Process Act in accordance with § 2.2-4002 A 2 of the Code of Virginia, which exempts courts, any agency of the Supreme Court, and any agency that by the Constitution is expressly granted any of the powers of a court of record.
Title of Regulation: 20VAC5-309. Rules for Enforcement of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act (amending 20VAC5-309-190).
Statutory Authority: §§ 12.1-13 and 56-265.30 of the Code of Virginia.
Effective Date: July 22, 2025.
Agency Contact: William Henry Harrison IV, Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Public Utility Regulation, State Corporation Commission, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218, telephone (804) 371-9228, or email william.harrison@scc.virginia.gov.
Summary:
The amendments enable the implementation of new electronic white lining technology, which will assist in defining planned areas of excavation for the further prevention of damage to underground utility lines.
AT RICHMOND, OCTOBER 22, 2024
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, ex rel.
STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION
CASE NO. URS-2024-00068
Ex Parte: In the matter concerning a
rulemaking proceeding to revise the Commission's Rules
for Enforcement of the Virginia Underground Utility Damage
Prevention Act, 20VAC5-309-10 et seq.
ORDER ADOPTING RULES
Virginia Code ("Code") § 56-265.30 directs the State Corporation Commission ("Commission") to enforce the provisions of Chapter 10.3 of Title 56, the Virginia Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act ("Act") and provides for the Commission's promulgation of rules or regulations necessary to implement the Commission's authority. The Commission's Rules for Enforcement of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act ("Damage Prevention Rules") are set forth in Chapter 309 of Title 20 of the Virginia Administrative Code.1
The Commission's Division of Utility Railroad and Safety ("Division") has proposed revisions to the Damage Prevention Rules ("Proposed Rules") to facilitate use of electronic white lining that may not involve aerial imagery and provided the following information in support. Electronic white lining is a method by which excavators may indicate their intended excavation area visually through electronic data entry. The purpose of this Rulemaking is to modify 20VAC5-309-190 ("Rule 190") to supplement the text-based description currently employed by Virginia Utility Protection Services, Inc. ("Va811").2 Electronic white lining will allow excavators to provide detailed and specific visual renderings of excavation areas to Va811, and ultimately to utility operators or their locators. In this way, the Rulemaking is intended to advance safety by allowing excavators to provide a more precise excavation area which could result in more accurate and efficient utility line locates. Electronic white lining is currently contemplated in the Commission's Damage Prevention Rules;3 however, electronic white lining has not before been used in conjunction with the submission of locate requests to Va811.
On April 23, 2024, the Commission entered an Order for Notice and Comment ("Procedural Order") which, among other things, directed that notice of the Proposed Rules be given to interested persons and that such interested persons and the Commission Staff ("Staff") be provided an opportunity to file written comments on, propose modifications or supplements to, or request a hearing on the Proposed Rules. The Procedural Order directed the Staff to respond to any comments, proposals, or requests for hearing, and to provide a copy of the Procedural Order to the Registrar of Regulations for publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations.4
Washington Gas Light Company; S&N Communications; Virginia 811; Mastec North America; Appalachian Power Company; Danville Utilities; Chesterfield County, Utilities Department; Brightspeed; Shentel; and the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association - Broadband Association of Virginia; the Virginia Broadband Industry Association; and the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Cooperatives filed comments in support of the Proposed Rules. On September 4, 2024, Staff filed its response to comments filed in this proceeding.
NOW THE COMMISSION, having considered this matter, is of the opinion and finds that the proposed amendments to the Rules should be adopted.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The Commission's Rules for Enforcement of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act, 20VAC5-309-10 et seq., are amended as shown in Attachment A to this Order and shall become effective nine months from the date of this Order.
(2) A copy of these regulations as set out in Attachment A of this Order Adopting Regulations shall be forwarded to the Registrar of Regulations for publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations.
(3) This case is dismissed.
A COPY hereof shall be sent by the Clerk of the Commission to all persons on the official Service List in this matter. The Service List is available from the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, 1300 E. Main Street, First Floor, Tyler Building, Richmond, Virginia 23219. A copy shall also be sent to the Commission's Office of General Counsel and Division Utility and Railroad Safety.
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2 Va811 is the entity certificated to operate as the single one-call notification center provider for the Commonwealth pursuant to Va. Code § 56-265.16:1.
4 The Procedural Order and the proposed regulation amendments were published in the Virginia Register of Regulations, Vol. 40 Iss. 20 (May 24, 2024).
20VAC5-309-190. Delineating specific location of a proposed excavation or demolition.
A. Any person, as defined in § 56-265.15 of the Code of Virginia, submitting a locate request shall clearly describe the limits of the proposed excavation or demolition with sufficient detail to enable the operators to ascertain the location of the proposed excavation. The specific location of the proposed excavation or demolition may include:
1. GPS coordinates taken at a single point where work is planned or GPS coordinates taken to delineate a line, multi-segment line, or polygon. When providing a single point, line, or multi-segment line, the person providing notice shall include an area measured in feet from the coordinates that describe the work area. If a polygon is used, the proposed work area shall be inside the polygon. GPS nomenclatures used for providing coordinates to the notification center shall be as approved by the advisory committee.
2. White lining to delineate the area where excavation will take place. For single point excavation, the area shall be marked using dots, dashes, or white flags to show the operators the area of excavation. If utility markings are desired outside a white lined area, the excavator shall provide clear instructions, to include the distance in feet outside the white lined area, to the notification center. For continuous excavations, such as trenching and boring, the excavator shall mark the center line of excavation by the use of dots or dashes. The excavation width, in feet, shall be indicated on either side of the center line in legible figures or noted in the marking instructions given to the notification center.
3. White lining performed by electronic means using aerial imagery. White lining performed by electronic means shall follow the same requirements as listed in subdivision 2 of this subsection. When submitting information to the notification center pursuant to § 56-265.17 of the Code of Virginia, any conflict between text-based descriptions of the specific location of a proposed excavation and any images depicting the specific location of a proposed excavation submitted in compliance with the notification center's electronic white lining standards shall be resolved in favor of the electronically white lined image.
4. A reference to the two nearest intersecting streets, if available, or driving directions.
B. In the event that a proposed excavation or demolition is planned at a single address at which there is no more than one structure, the area of proposed excavation or demolition may, if geographically feasible, be described by dividing the parcel or property into four quadrants from the perspective of facing the front of the property using the center of the structure as the center point of the four quadrants. If no structure exists on the property, the center of the parcel or property will be used as the center point of the four quadrants. These four quadrants shall be referred to as Front Left, Front Right, Rear Left, and Rear Right. If the proposed area consists only of Front Left and Front Right quadrants, the term "Front" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Rear Left and Rear Right quadrants, the term "Rear" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Front Left and Rear Left quadrants, the term "Left Side" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Front Right and Rear Right quadrants, the term "Right Side" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation includes three out of the four quadrants, the entire property may be used for the proposed excavation or demolition.
C. If the locate request does not contain specific location information, the notification center shall suspend the issuance of the locate request until specific location information is obtained, except in the case of excavations or demolitions performed during an emergency, as defined in § 56-265.15 of the Code of Virginia. The notification center shall issue the emergency notices with as much information as is available to it.
D. The area covered under each locate request shall not exceed 1/3 of a mile. Locate requests with areas of proposed excavation located on parcels defined within the existing notification center mapping data and having one or more sides that is 1/3 of a mile or longer shall not automatically exceed the area covered by a single locate request.
VA.R. Doc. No. R24-7846; Filed October 22, 2024