Title UT, Utilities Code

Sec. 251.005. CONVERSION OF FACILITY OR OPERATOR. (a) An operator of an underground facility that is exempted under this subchapter may voluntarily convert that facility to a Class A underground facility by sending written communication from a competent authority of the operator …

Sec. 251.006. COMPLIANCE BY PERMIT HOLDERS. (a) The fact that a person has a legal permit, permission from the owner of the property or the owner's licensee, or an easement to conduct excavation operations does not affect the person's duty to comply with this chapter. (b) Complia…

Sec. 251.007. FACILITY ON COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL ROAD. This chapter does not affect a contractual or statutory right of a county or municipality to require an operator to relocate, replace, or repair its underground facility. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff…

Sec. 251.008. EFFECT ON CIVIL REMEDIES. Except as otherwise specifically provided by this chapter, this chapter, including Section 251.201, does not affect any civil remedy for personal injury or for property damage, including any damage to an underground facility. Added by Acts …

Sec. 251.009. PROVISION OF GENERAL INFORMATION. At least once each calendar year, at intervals not exceeding 15 months, each Class A underground facility operator who conveys, transmits, or distributes by means of its underground facilities service directly to more than one milli…

Sec. 251.051. PURPOSE. The Texas Underground Facility Notification Corporation provides statewide notification services under this chapter. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 251.052. NONPROFIT CORPORATION. The corporation is a public nonprofit corporation and has all the powers and duties incident to a nonprofit corporation under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), except that the corp…

Sec. 251.053. APPLICATION OF OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORDS LAWS. The corporation is subject to Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code, except that the corporation may not disseminate, make available, or otherwise distribute service area map data or information provided by an oper…

Sec. 251.054. EXPENSES AND LIABILITIES OF CORPORATION. (a) All expenses of the corporation shall be paid from income of the corporation. (b) A liability created by the corporation is not a debt of this state, and the corporation may not secure a liability with funds or assets of …

Sec. 251.055. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The board of directors of the corporation is composed of the following 12 members appointed by the governor: (1) six representatives of the general public; (2) one representative of the gas industry; (3) one representative of the telecommunic…

Sec. 251.056. TERMS. (a) Directors serve staggered three-year terms, with the terms of four directors expiring each August 31. (b) A director serves until the director's successor is appointed by the governor and assumes office. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a…

Sec. 251.057. DECLARATION OF BOARD VACANCY. (a) The board may declare a director's office vacant if the director ceases to be associated with the industry or an operator the director represents. (b) Not later than the 60th day after the date a vacancy on the board is declared, th…

Sec. 251.058. OFFICERS. (a) The board shall elect from among its directors a chair and vice chair. (b) The chair and vice chair serve for a term of one year and may be reelected. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 251.059. ENTITLEMENT TO VOTE. The corporation's bylaws must provide that each director is entitled to one vote. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 251.060. DUTIES OF CORPORATION. The corporation shall develop and implement processes to: (1) maintain a registration of: (A) notification centers as provided by Section 251.101(a)(3); (B) operators who elect to convert facilities to Class A facilities under Section 251.005(…

Sec. 251.061. CONTRACT FOR STATEWIDE TOLL-FREE NUMBER AND CALL ROUTER SYSTEM. (a) The corporation shall solicit proposals for the contract to establish and operate the statewide toll-free telephone number and the call router system by using a request for proposals process that in…

Sec. 251.062. FEES AND RATES. (a) Except as provided by this section, the corporation may not, for any reason, impose an assessment, fee, or other charge, including a charge for inputting data, against an operator. (b) Before January 15 of each year, a Class A facility operator s…

Sec. 251.101. NOTIFICATION CENTER. (a) A notification center is a legal entity that: (1) operates a notification system capable of serving excavators and operators statewide; (2) is created to: (A) receive notification of an intent to excavate and of damage to an underground faci…

Sec. 251.102. GENERAL DUTIES OF NOTIFICATION CENTER. A notification center shall: (1) operate 24 hours a day every day of the year; (2) have the capability to receive emergency information 24 hours a day from excavators and disseminate the information as soon as it is received to…

Sec. 251.103. RECORDS. (a) A notification center shall maintain for not less than four years a record to document: (1) the receipt of a notice of: (A) intent to excavate; (B) damage to an underground facility; (C) an emergency excavation; and (D) an extraordinary circumstance; (2…

Sec. 251.104. INSURANCE. A notification center shall, at all times, maintain a minimum of $5 million professional liability and errors and omissions insurance to cover duties prescribed by this chapter. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 18.17(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 251.105. FEES AND CHARGES. (a) A notification center that notifies another notification center under Section 251.102(2) or (3) or Section 251.153(b) shall recover an amount not exceeding the actual cost of providing the notice from the notification center receiving the notic…

Sec. 251.106. PAYMENTS TO CORPORATION. Each time a notification center receives a call from an excavator under Section 251.151, the notification center shall pay the corporation five cents. The corporation shall waive this charge for the remainder of any year in which the corpora…

Sec. 251.107. DUTY TO PARTICIPATE IN NOTIFICATION CENTER. (a) Each operator of a Class A underground facility, including a political subdivision of this state, shall participate in a notification center as a condition of doing business in this state. (b) Each operator of a Class …

Sec. 251.151. DUTY OF AN EXCAVATOR. (a) Except as provided by Sections 251.155 and 251.156, a person who intends to excavate shall notify a notification center not earlier than the 14th day before the date the excavation is to begin or later than the 48th hour before the time the…

Sec. 251.152. INFORMATION INCLUDED IN NOTICE. The excavator shall include in the notice required under Section 251.151: (1) the name of the person serving the notice; (2) the location of the proposed area of excavation, including: (A) the street address, if available, and the loc…

Sec. 251.153. DUTY OF NOTIFICATION CENTER. (a) At the time an excavator provides a notification center with the excavator's intent to excavate, the notification center shall advise the excavator that water, slurry, and sewage underground facilities in the area of the proposed exc…

Sec. 251.154. NOTIFICATION BY AN EXCAVATOR. (a) A person required to provide notice under this chapter is considered to have provided the notice when the person delivers the required information and a notification center receives that information within the time limits prescribed…

Sec. 251.155. EXCEPTION IN CASE OF EMERGENCY; OFFENSE. (a) Section 251.151 does not apply to an emergency excavation that is necessary to respond to a situation that endangers life, health, or property or a situation in which the public need for uninterrupted service and immediat…

Sec. 251.156. OTHER EXCEPTIONS TO DUTY OF EXCAVATORS. (a) Section 251.151 does not apply to: (1) interment operations of a cemetery; (2) operations at a secured facility if: (A) the excavator operates each underground facility at the secured facility, other than those within a th…

Sec. 251.157. DUTY OF OPERATOR TO PERSON EXCAVATING. (a) Each Class A underground facility operator contacted by the notification system shall mark the approximate location of its underground facilities at or near the site of the proposed excavation if the operator believes that …

Sec. 251.158. DUTY OF OPERATOR IN EVENT OF AN EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE. (a) The deadline prescribed by Section 251.157(a) does not apply if the operator experiences an extraordinary circumstance due to an act of God, including a tornado, a hurricane, an ice storm, or a severe f…

Sec. 251.159. EXCAVATION DAMAGE. (a) If an excavation operation results in damage to an underground facility, the excavator shall immediately contact the underground facility operator to report the damage. (b) If the excavator is not certain of the operator's identity, the excava…

Sec. 251.201. CIVIL PENALTY OR WARNING LETTER. (a) An excavator that violates Section 251.151, 251.152, or 251.159 is liable for a civil penalty of not less than $500 or more than $1,000. If a county attorney or district attorney decides not to bring an action to recover the civi…

Sec. 251.2011. WARNING LETTER AND SAFETY TRAINING COURSE. (a) The board of directors of the corporation shall establish a procedure to ensure that the board verifies that an excavator has violated Section 251.151, 251.152, or 251.159 before giving the excavator a warning letter a…

Sec. 251.202. ALLOCATION OF CIVIL PENALTY. (a) Fifty percent of the civil penalty collected under Section 251.201 shall be transferred to the county treasurer of the county prosecuting the action and 50 percent of the civil penalty collected under Section 251.201 shall be transfe…

Sec. 251.203. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if: (1) the person without authorization from the owner or operator of the facility intentionally removes, damages, or conceals a marker or sign giving information about the location of a Class A underground facility…