PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

States must send an application to the Secretary to get a grant under section 6106. The application must be filed no later than 2 years after the date this chapter was enacted. The Secretary will review each State’s one-call notification program and decide if it meets the minimum standards in section 6103. The Secretary can talk with the State to speed things up, require a standard application form that asks for details (like why some people are exempt and what enforcement tools exist), and will make the application and the Secretary’s records public. A State can still get a grant if it has an alternative program that offers equal or better protection for public safety, excavators, and the environment. The Secretary must report (under section 60124) on which States adopted the federal standards or use alternatives, how well each program and system works, how State choices about who must participate affect prevention of damage to underground facilities, and what needs improvement. The report may include recommendations, and reporting can stop if the Secretary finds the chapter’s goals have been met.

Title 49, §6104

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(a)Requirement.—

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)Application.—

(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)Alternative Program.—

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)Report.—

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.

The report shall also include any recommendations the Secretary determines appropriate. If the Secretary determines that the purposes of this chapter have been substantially achieved, no further report under this section shall be required.

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