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County adopts ordinance to require conduit for new underground communications work
Summary
The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission adopted Ordinance No. 282 to require additional conduit be installed when communications companies trench alleys for fiber, with the county purchasing and retaining ownership of the conduit; the ordinance becomes effective 30 days after passage.
The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission on July 7 approved Ordinance No. 282, amending Chapter 20 (Utilities) to require new communications companies installing underground fiber to place additional conduit so future providers will not need to re-excavate alleys. The ordinance, approved unanimously, specifies the county will purchase the conduit during installation and take ownership after project completion. "We are looking to minimize the disturbance from utility companies," Planning Director Carl Hamming said, describing a requirement that companies supply three-dimensional as-builts at project completion.
County CEO Bill Everett told the Commission the change was prompted by repeated trenching and accidental damage to other utilities, including gas lines and sprinkler systems. "They're going willy nilly under the Utility Acts where it gives them a lot of leeway," Everett said, urging the measure as an initial step to limit future street and alley disruptions. County Attorney Morgan Smith advised commissioners the second reading and public hearing satisfied the statutory 12-day requirement between readings and that the ordinance's effective date must be no sooner than 30 days after passage. The Commission voted 5-0 to adopt Ordinance No. 282 with an effective date 30 days after passage.
