§6104 — Title 49 Transportation | U.S. Code

Summary

States must apply to the Secretary to get a grant, and they have to send that application within 2 years after the law was passed. The Secretary will review each State’s one-call notification program, how it is run, and how the State enforces it. The Secretary will decide if the program meets the federal minimum standards. The Secretary can talk with a State about fixes or new plans, set the application form and what information is needed (for example, reasons for exceptions and types of enforcement), and make the application and the Secretary’s actions public. A State can still get a grant if it keeps an alternative one-call program that offers equal or better protection for public safety, workers, and the environment. The Secretary must report to the federal government on which States adopted the standards or have alternatives, how effective each State’s program is, how participation rules affect prevention of damage to underground facilities, and where improvements are needed.

Title 49, §6104

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In order to qualify for a grant under section 6106, each State shall submit to the Secretary a grant application under subsection (b). The State shall submit the application not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this chapter.

(b)(1)Upon application by a State, the Secretary shall review that State’s one-call notification program, including the provisions for the implementation of the program and the record of compliance and enforcement under the program.

(2)Based on the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether the State’s one-call notification program meets the minimum standards for such a program set forth in section 6103 in order to qualify for a grant under section 6106.

(3)In order to expedite compliance under this section, the Secretary may consult with the State as to whether an existing State one-call notification program, a specific modification thereof, or a proposed State program would result in a positive determination under paragraph (2).

(4)The Secretary shall prescribe the form and manner of filing an application under this section that shall provide sufficient information about a State’s one-call notification program for the Secretary to evaluate its overall effectiveness. Such information may include the nature and reasons for exceptions from required participation, the types of enforcement available, and such other information as the Secretary deems necessary.

(5)The application of a State under paragraph (1) and the record of actions of the Secretary under this section shall be available to the public.

(c)A State is eligible to receive a grant under section 6106 if the State maintains an alternative one-call notification program that provides protection for public safety, excavators, and the environment that is equivalent to, or greater than, protection provided under a program that meets the minimum standards set forth in section 6103.

(d)The Secretary shall include the following information in reports submitted under section 60124 of this title—

(1)a description of the extent to which each State has adopted and implemented the minimum Federal standards under section 6103 or maintains an alternative program under subsection (c);

(2)an analysis by the Secretary of the overall effectiveness of each State’s one-call notification program and the one-call notification systems operating under such program in achieving the purposes of this chapter;

(3)the impact of each State’s decisions on the extent of required participation in one-call notification systems on prevention of damage to underground facilities; and

(4)areas where improvements are needed in one-call notification systems in operation in each State.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 105–178, which was approved June 9, 1998.

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–355 substituted “The Secretary shall” for “Within 3 years after the date of the enactment of this chapter, the Secretary shall begin to” in introductory provisions.

§6104 Compliance with minimum standards