Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - December 2019 | Page 13

NUCA of Florida members have
always supported efforts to increase
awareness about damage prevention
safety for underground utilities. We
have been proponents of punishing
“bad actors” and unlicensed contractors
and encouraged our members to
be sure to “Call before you dig!”
This year, other stakeholders in the
industry, namely the Florida Natural
Gas Association and TECO Peoples
Gas have put forth legislation to
promote damage prevention and
avoid a gas explosion because some
operator failed to follow protocol. The
legislation is also intended to comply
with the Pipeline and Hazardous
Material Safety Administration (PHMSA)
requirement that each state must
have an enforcement arm to oversee
the program, which currently Florida
does not have a state agency or entity
charged with enforcement which
leaves our member companies at
risk for fines beginning at $200K and
going as high as $2M! Although we are
awaiting PHMSA’s take on this proposed
legislation, the bills continue to make
their way through the process.
Underground Facility Damage
Prevention—HB 1095 by Rep.
Fitzenhagen/SB 1464 by Flores
These bills amends Ch. 556, F.S., to:
■ Expand the list of entities that may
issue citations for violations of
Chapter 556, F.S., to include the State
Fire Marshal and local fire chiefs.
■ Increase the maximum civil penalty
(up to $2,500 plus 5 percent, in
addition to any other court costs) for
certain violations of Chapter 556, F.S.,
that involve an underground pipe
or facility transporting hazardous
materials regulated by the U.S. DOT
Pipeline and Hazardous Material
Safety Administration (PHMSA). One
hundred percent of the civil penalty
will be distributed to the entity that
issued the citation.
■ Specifically, the following
violations—which are already law--
are subject to this enhanced civil
penalty:
■ Failure by an excavator to comply
with s. 556.105(1), F.S., which
requires an excavator to provide
notice and certain information
to the Sunshine 811 system
within specified timeframes
prior to beginning excavation of
demolition work.
■ Failure by an excavator to comply
with s. 556.105(5)(c), F.S., which
requires an excavator to use
increased caution when working
within a tolerance zone, such as
hand digging, pot holing, soft
digging, vacuum methods, or
other similar procedures.
DECEMBER 2019 • DITCHMEN
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