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Board hears staff recommendation to require operator responses and triage for unmarked utility lines
Summary
Staff recommended the board direct drafting of safety-standard language that would require operators to respond to unmarked-line notifications, adopt a triage system prioritizing those notifications, and allow operators limited discretion on site visits when they have sufficient information.
Staff presented agenda item 17 on unmarked subsurface lines and described stakeholder feedback and proposed safety-standard directions. Ms. Winn summarized that excavators and operators agreed public safety would benefit if all operators acknowledge notifications about unmarked lines, even if only to say the line is not theirs. Staff recommended the board direct staff to draft standard language requiring operator responses, establishing a triage system that prioritizes unmarked-line notifications over routine tickets, and allowing operators to use discretion about whether to perform a site visit when they have sufficient information (for example, a photograph, location, directionality, depth, size, material, or color).
Board members and stakeholders raised operational concerns during discussion: several speakers noted difficulty getting timely field-level responses from call-center dispatches and urged mechanisms to ensure direct contact with personnel who know local lines. Members also discussed abandoned lines and ownership transfers, noting that records can be lost after transfers and that some historic lines have unclear ownership; several called for the board to consider how to account for abandoned or orphaned facilities in the standards. Operators emphasized that, when information is adequate, they frequently can determine ownership without dispatching a crew and that triage and clearer initial reporting by excavators could reduce unnecessary site visits and costs.
Staff stressed the standards should align with the Common Ground Alliance best practices and the Dig Safe Act and focus on operator responses rather than attempting to reassign ownership. The presentation emphasized stakeholder support for guidance rather than prescriptive requirements that would force unnecessary dispatches. The board did not take final action on the standards at this meeting; staff recommended drafting language for future consideration and rulemaking.
