Emergency Excavation And Damage Reporting Procedure

This section applies whenever failure of or damage to underground facilities or public infrastructure requires emergency excavation as defined in Subsection E of Section 62-14-2 NMSA 1978 and excavation shall be promptly commenced, ideally within 24 hours. A. Excavators: An excavator who damages an underground facility while excavating with mechanical or non-mechanical equipment shall exercise prudence and shall: (1) stop excavating immediately; (2) call 911 if appropriate and the operator of the damaged underground facility and 811 to report the damaged facility; (3) secure the site and direct people and traffic a safe distance away from the site of the damage; (4) not leave the scene until authorized by an emergency responder or the operator of the damaged underground facility; an excavator may leave the scene without such authorization only if the excavator has made reasonable, if unsuccessful, efforts to contact the affected UFOs and has safely secured the site; (5) not resume work within an unsafe distance of the damage until authorized by the operator of the damaged underground facility. B. Operators of failed or damaged underground facilities: The operator of a failed or damaged underground facility shall exercise prudence and shall: (1) immediately respond to a report of damage or failure to its underground facilities and travel to the site; (2) prior to traveling to the site or upon arrival, call the one-call notification system for the excavation area to request an emergency locate; (3) make the site safe and get the emergency situation under control; (4) locate its own underground facilities as soon as practical, ideally within two hours; (5) begin remedial action to restore service as soon as practical, ideally within 24 hours; and (6) obtain a standard excavation locate ticket for repair work beyond resolution of the emergency situation. C. Operators of failed or damaged public infrastructure: The entity responsible for the failed or damaged public infrastructure shall: (1) call the one-call notification system for the excavation area to request an emergency locate; (2) obtain an excavation locate ticket for repair work beyond resolution of the emergency situation. D. One-call notification system: A one-call notification system shall upon request: (1) issue an emergency excavation notice which shall be valid until the emergency is resolved, or for 48 hours, whichever is longer; (2) issue a notice of a reported damage to each affected UFO.