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Underground Safety Board advances SB 254 rulemaking, approves 2025 annual report to governor
Summary
The board approved its 2025 annual report and advanced outreach and regulatory steps to implement SB 254, scheduling additional workshops, a survey, and stakeholder outreach ahead of the July 1, 2027 regulatory deadline for planning & design and locator workflow threshold.
The California Underground Safety Board approved its 2025 annual report on Feb. 29, 2026, and outlined next steps to implement Senate Bill 254, which requires creation of a statewide planning and design information exchange and rules on locator workload thresholds by July 1, 2027.
Staff said the 2025 report documented the board’s policy, education, enforcement, and data‑analysis efforts, including draft potholing standards, GIS mapping regulation work, standardization recommendations for electronic positive response (EPR) codes, and stakeholder workshops on planning and design. The annual report notes an increase in notifications in 2025, an expanded enforcement audit capability, and the board’s coordination with federal agencies; staff told the board the US Department of Transportation’s Hazardous Materials Safety Administration found the enforcement program adequate for the calendar year.
After public comment urging additional stakeholder review time, the board voted to approve the 2025 annual report for transmittal to the governor and legislature. Staff said the report will move through the Natural Resources Agency for review and may return to the board if substantive changes are requested.
On SB 254 rulemaking, staff described outreach already underway (a Jan. 6 public workshop and a Feb. 24 follow‑up), and announced a survey to gather targeted input (timelines and operator workload considerations) and more workshops to solicit feedback on the planning/design ticket format, response timelines, data standards and practical use cases. Staff emphasized stakeholder feedback that planning‑stage submissions should require core, standardized data (work scope, location, contact) but avoid premature precision requirements (e.g., field‑grade depth) except for complex projects. Several stakeholders and board members urged early engagement of designers, excavators, and local governments and recommended targeted outreach to those groups.
What happens next: staff will draft regulatory language informed by workshops and survey results; additional stakeholder meetings and technical consultations are planned ahead of the July 1, 2027 statutory deadline for adopting implementing regulations under SB 254.
