WashingtonSB 56272025-2026 Regular SessionSenate

Improving safe excavation practices and preventing damage to underground utilities.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

12 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 9 mixed.

Excavators and operators face pipeline penalties

Excavators who break damage-prevention rules and damage hazardous gas or liquid facilities face up to $25,000 per violation. That penalty may also apply to violations of the transmission-pipeline excavation offense. Hazardous gas or liquid pipeline operators face up to $25,000 per violation when required locating or marking failures cause damage. Excavators or operators face up to $5,000 per pipeline-related violation that causes no pipeline damage. All civil penalties recovered under this penalty section go to the state's damage prevention account.

Pipeline digging brings charges and defenses

Digging within 35 feet of a transmission pipeline is a misdemeanor when an applicable required safeguard has not been met. These safeguards include getting a confirmation code, waiting until the stated work start date, and receiving the operator's positive response. Charged equipment operators can establish a defense based on receiving a code, emergency work, or work exempt from notice. Receiving a false code from an identifiable third party is also a defense. The code-based defense no longer requires a valid code, but excavation safety duties remain.

Irrigation districts get limited digging exemptions

Irrigation districts are exempt from specified standard notice and locating requirements for construction, operation, or maintenance in federal reclamation projects. The work must be on rights-of-way, easements, or facilities owned by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Safe-work and damage-response duties still apply.

Excavators must protect lines and report hits

Excavators must support underground facilities when reasonably needed, including while refilling a dig, and use safe work methods. They must account for known and unknown facilities and conditions above and below ground. They must find the precise location of marked facilities and plan work to avoid damage or minimize interference. During directional boring, they must expose facilities as needed to avoid boring blindly. After contacting or damaging a facility, they must notify the known operator directly, notify the locator service, and file the required damage report.

Homeowners remain responsible for private lines

Beginning July 27, 2025, operators must identify service connections within the dig boundary and a public right-of-way or utility easement. They may mark them, meet with excavators, or provide records; a good-faith attempt satisfies this duty and generally limits damage or injury liability. Duties to arrange repairs or relocation remain. Property owners must locate underground lines they own on their property, and the locator service must list private locators available at owners' expense. Owners need not subscribe to the service or locate service connections in public rights-of-way or utility easements.

Pipeline-area development requires review and locating

Beginning July 27, 2025, any development permit application for property within 700 feet of a transmission pipeline requires design locating. Before changing ground levels, digging, or adding soil weight within that distance, applicants must contact the operator and provide plans. The operator has 30 days to confirm review and identify possible impacts; work may resume without violation if it does not respond. Utility operators must explain through the locator service how to obtain location information for design work. They may charge design-locating fees, but not to the Washington Department of Transportation.

Clearer utility marks need regular renewal

Beginning July 27, 2025, utility markings must identify the facility type, best known width, and operator, but not depth. Excavators must keep markings accurate for the shorter of the excavation phase or 45 calendar days after notice. Markings expire 45 calendar days after notice. Excavators must submit a new notice before continuing work after expiration.

Emergency digging gets limited rule relief

Beginning July 27, 2025, emergencies include a clear, present danger to life, health, or property. They also include unplanned customer utility outages needing immediate action, with an excavator or operator crew on-site or on the way. An outage alone is not enough. Emergency excavators may skip specified boundary-marking and notice steps only if they notify the locator service as soon as practicable. Operators must promptly dispatch locating staff without undue delay, and safe-work and damage-response duties still apply.

Online access and new digging notices

Beginning July 27, 2025, Washington's free locator service must offer the same services online as by toll-free phone. Excavators generally must mark dig boundaries with white lines or flags; when marking is infeasible, they must send electronic notice. Notice must state a work start date 2 to 10 full business days later, excluding weekends and holidays, unless operators agree otherwise in writing. One notice can generate several unique codes showing issuance dates and times; codes become valid on the stated work start date. Excavators remain responsible when others submit notice, must coordinate locating for multiple sites or projects over 700 linear feet, and retain existing excavation exemptions.

Safety reviews add protections and limits

The utility safety committee must include a labor representative from a group historically representing underground utility or excavation workers. It must receive enough evidence of a probable violation before appointing a review committee. At least 30 days before review, the accused party must receive all complaint materials and evidence the complainant will use. Both sides must receive notice and a chance to participate. The committee cannot review pipeline-damage complaints or specified pipeline penalty and criminal matters; the Utilities and Transportation Commission can enforce pipeline-related violations directly without committee referral.

Unknown utility lines trigger safety steps

Excavators who discover an unidentified underground facility must stop digging nearby and immediately notify the operator through the locator service. They must also notify the operator when a known facility cannot be located. Operators responding to a one-call notice may safely expose a facility that cannot be located without following the specified standard notice and locating requirements. These operators still must follow the law's safe-work and damage-response requirements.

Utility responses required before digging

Beginning July 27, 2025, operators must provide location information for locatable facilities by the stated work start date. Available information about facilities that cannot be located is due before that date; gas and hazardous-liquid pipelines follow specified federal rules. Extensions for events beyond the operator's control require written agreement. Operators must give extension notice as soon as reasonable, no later than the existing deadline. Beginning January 1, 2026, excavators cannot start until every operator with underground facilities in the notice area gives a positive response.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Bill Ramos
Democratic • Senate

Cosponsors

Bob Hasegawa
Democratic • Senate
Jeff Wilson
Republican • Senate
Lisa Wellman
Democratic • Senate
Paul Harris
Republican • Senate
Sharon Shewmake
Democratic • Senate
T'wina Nobles
Democratic • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 191 • No: 1

Senate vote • 4/22/2025

Final Passage as Amended by the House

Yes: 48 • No: 0

House vote • 4/11/2025