BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 811 HEARING: 7/3/13
AUTHOR: Lowenthal FISCAL: No
VERSION: 6/3/13 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Weinberger
SUBSURFACE EXCAVATIONS
Requires regional notification centers to post on their
Internet Web sites information relating to violations of
specified state laws governing subsurface excavations.
Background and Existing Law
To protect people who live and work near buried pipes and
cables, and to save the costs associated with damage to
underground infrastructure, state law out-lines a
sequential system to aid excavators in locating subsurface
installations. Entities that own, operate, or maintain
subsurface installations must join a non-profit Regional
Notification Center (RNC) to provide advance warning of
under-ground installations close to proposed excavation
projects. Except in an emergency, anyone planning to dig
in an area with underground installations must notify the
appropriate RNC at least two days before breaking ground
and, if practical, must mark the area to be excavated in
white paint. The potentially affected underground
installation operators must locate and field mark the
approximate location of their installations. Excavators
must then determine the ex-act location of the subsurface
installations by using hand tools, with limited exceptions,
to excavate within the field markings.
The Common Ground Alliance, a national organization formed
to promote safe underground excavation practices and
prevent damages, has developed the Damage Information
Reporting Tool (DIRT), an online application that collects
reports of excavation incidents that involve damage,
downtime, and near-misses related to underground
infrastructure. Data collected through the DIRT
application is used to better understand the nature and
causes of underground excavation incidents and to improve
prevention efforts. Individual identities of parties
AB 811 -- 6/3/13 -- Page 2
involved in incidents reported through the DIRT application
are kept confidential and the data is not used for
enforcement purposes or to determine liability.
According to the Common Ground Alliance's annual report on
data collected through the DIRT system in 2011, at least
eleven states have enacted legislation governing data
collection on excavation incidents. The regional
notification centers that serve California want the
Legislature to authorize them to use the DIRT application
to collect, and make public, statewide data on excavation
incidents.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 811 requires regional notification centers to
compile information provided by operators and excavators
regarding facility events and make that information
available in annual reports and on their Internet Web
sites.
AB 811 defines "facility event" as the occurrence of
excavator downtime, damages, near misses, and violations.
The bill defines "statewide information" as information
submitted by operators and excavators using the California
Regional Common Ground Alliance's Virtual Private Damage
Information Reporting Tool. Supplied data must comply
with specified provisions in the Common Ground Alliance's
most recent Best Practices Handbook.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate
Comment
Purpose of the bill . Despite state laws governing
underground excavations, many excavators fail to contact
regional notification centers before they dig or improperly
excavate around marked underground facilities. Excavation
accidents can damage vital infrastructure, disrupt utility
services, harm the environment, impose substantial costs on
underground facility operators, and sometimes cause
injuries or deaths. Because of these threats, California
AB 811 -- 6/3/13 -- Page 3
needs to establish a statewide system for collecting and
reporting information about excavation incidents.
Information currently gathered by state and federal
entities is fragmented, inconsistent, and not completely
available to the public. Gathering statewide data about
excavation incidents will help the Legislature identify
deficiencies in current law and will inform future public
policy decisions about excavation safety rules and
enforcement. By establishing a voluntary, anonymous
reporting system for excavation incidents, AB 811 will
advance the goal of improving excavation safety.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Business, Professions, and Consumer Protection
Committee: 12-0
Assembly Floor: 75-0
Support and Opposition (6/27/13)
Support : Underground Service Alert of Northern California
and Nevada; Underground Service Alert of Southern
California; AT&T; California Legislative Conference of the
Plumbing, Heating and Piping Industry; National Electrical
Contractors Association; Western Line Constructors; Pacific
Gas and Electric Company; Southern California Edison.
Opposition : Unknown.