UTILITIES PROTECTION COMMISSION

DIGGING INCIDENTS OR "OOPS, THAT LOOKS BAD"

Unfortunately after seventy years installing signs we have been around the edges of more utilities damages than would like to have been. Luckily for us and our clients we called in our UPC locate requests for every job since established where there was damage combined with some luck plus really good relationships with all code enforcement, inspectors, zoning officials and other agencies. In all cases fault fell on locators miss-marking or failure to mark the site at all. Bottom line is when the local utilities companies, municipalities representatives and utilities Protection Commission field managers, all in suits upset about being in the field instead of their office we had all our paperwork in order and no fines or expensive repair bills have been levied on our company or our clients. If you cannot wait for us to get a locate request completed we prefer someone else be responsible for a five to six figure court judgment. Every year rules get more complex, fines get higher and repair bills from utilities skyrocket as their systems become more complex. See supporting documents from Georgia UPC condensed down to covering what relates to sign installation.

I HAVE TO DRIVE BY THIS SITE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH FOR PAST DECADE

The two above splice boxes are the result of our company doing everything right from calling in our Utilities Protection Commission locate ticket, waiting for it to clear as "safe to proceeded in the UPC Eden System then sending two men to install a basic commercial real estate sign. This incident happened around 2005 when the market was at a peak and most locate tickets went to subcontract companies working for UPC. My men said there were no markings or flags on the property, were at correct address and as per rules say with a properly completed located drilled three holes, installed the sign and went on to their next location. Less than an hour later my phones began blowing up with calls from 911 centers, A,T&T, Utilities Protection Commission and more.

Pulled my original locate ticket request up and printed it, printed a copy from the Eden system saying sight was clear to dig and called my men to backtrack and meet me on the site not too far from the Tanager Outlet Malls on I-85 in commerce Georgia to find the local representatives from inspection, planning & zoning, Windstream, Ma Bell and others all hopping mad and ready to chop me up into pieces. Turns out my guys bored right through the main fiber truck that fed the outlet malls and most other retail centers around them in a place they were unable to rout all the required internet and phones to keep the outlet malls operating. Over 100 major brand outlet stores, fast food chains, fuel stations, hotels and more were off line and could not process any sales, make any calls and had to shut down till Windstream and Ma Bell figured out a work around about five hours later.

I showed them my locate request for address we did the job, the ticket showing it was checked and clear to dig and my guys explained they dug three 24" holes, installed their sign and left. Turns out the subcontractor who got our locate ticket was so overwhelmed they were not marking sign locations as only had time and manpower to mark big construction sites but were turning in tickets as complete betting us sign installers would not cut anything major. After the investigation, done by UPC, the companies employees deposed under oath the court levied fines and repair costs in excess of $50,000 then the Tanger Outlet malls and other vendors who missed over a half days business filed a class action lawsuit in which the court awarded over a half million dollars for lost sales to all companies which bankrupted the locate company but had we not called in our ticket, waited for it to clear that would have been us that bankrupted. Now if the installer can't pay all the fines, repair and judgments the court takes it from the person who hired the installer and the property owner if the real estate company does not have deep enough pockets to pay it all. Be sure your installer is calling in locates and be patient enough to let them clear as if you push them to install signs before locates are done you will pay the piper eventually.

MA BELL TRIED TO CHARGE BURIAL OF OVER A 1/4 MILE OF WIRE CONTRACTOR LEFT ON GROUND

The above right photo is from a site we worked and soon after leaving the box laying on ground serving the only U-Verse customer in the development connection shorted out. Reason for disruption of service was the wire from this box going to edge of customers yard was rolled across top of ground and never buried. (77 lot subdivision with only three homes built) When we pulled truck off road to work we drove across the non buried wire which U-Verse did not locate because of only one client served and chose to take the risk. We had a UPC locate ticket cleared to dig but Ma Bell tried to blame us for the customers outage and cost of repairs. Our sign was placed over thirty feet from this connection and while we were able to prove our work did not cause the issue it took up over a full days time meeting techs and supervisors on site and multiple emails and phone calls over the course of over a week. This is part of the service we provide when we take on your installation but cannot protect ourselves or your company if did not follow the rules and have the site located.

UPC DOES NOT LOCATE SPRINKLER AND IRRIGATION LINES

WE CARRY FULL KITS TO REPAIR SPRINKLERS, WATER, PHONE WIRE PAIRS, PARKING LOT LIGHTING WIRES, ETC

The above photos are a common occurrence for us unfortunately. On this jobsite we cut a Schedule 40 pipe that fed a home and was only buried about four inches. Homeowner was in his yard and showed us where to dig telling us water and phone line entered opposite side of property from where he wanted sign. We hit the pipe, water began spewing so grabbed our water turn off tool, shut the homes supply off and about the time we figured out we hit homes main supply line, not an irrigation line the owners wife arrived on site and told us their water line had been moved about two years earlier. She said husband had Alzheimer's and could not remember things that had changed since onset of the disease. She said they hired a contractor to replumb and rewire their home who never returned to fix continuing issues and main reason for moving was water leaks and electrical issues were worse, not better. We had no responsibility as line was not buried to code, homeowner showed us where to dig but had we not repaired it leaving them without water am reasonably sure our client who listed the house would have been called by upset clients and either had us back out or a plumber then forwarded the invoice to us.

In Georgia all water feeds to a structure are supposed to be buried below the frost line. Exact wording we pulled from Atlanta, Gwinnett County, City of Buford and at least five other municipalities we commonly work "The top of pipe shall be buried not less than 1' below the frost line which in GA. Is 6", so the minimum is 18", In areas where piping may be subject to mechanical damage, the depth of cover shall be not less than 2.5'." which if a previous contactor did not shortcut his work we would not be cutting water lines such as above on average of a half dozen times per year. that said, anything we cut we repair immediately to better than we found it or if a public utility we report the damage to Georgia 811, show the investigating parties our locate ticket, approval to dig ticket along with photos and to date have never been held responsible for the damage because all regulations were observed and policies followed.

UPC is not responsible to mark property owner installed systems and many sprinklers only use Schedule 20 pipe which will break easy as a tea cup. Some use Schedule 40 white pipe, black drain line pipe or any combination that can be found in a home improvement store and we have literally found rubber water hose used underground. If we leave your jobsite and when the property owners sprinkler system cycles spewing water damaging their lawn, especially a golf course green quality sod lawn they are calling you upset, not us. About every two to three years have a property we call for a locate, UPC representatives mark all underground utilities on right of way, sometimes the entire property if requested (they don't like those tickets so we ask for them seldom) then hit an unmarked utility or "retired from service utility". When this happens (about every two to three years so sign installers who don't use locates and claim they never cut utilities must have a "crystal ball") but to date we have never been held responsible for the damage because we cover ourselves and clients from liability by using Georgia 811.

For years Georgia Utilities Protection Commission did not require a utilities locate if digging with hand equipment. Up to the point a utility was damaged then the person/company causing the damage was subject to fines and repair costs. Now the rules state any excavation even if its a mailbox or planting a rose bush in your back yard for the wife a utility locate order is highly recommended. When a utility is cut there are repercussions, if its cut without a locate order being submitted then its a big deal. In the past many hired a "guy with a truck" to put up their signs or installed themselves without thought. Your installer must have a business license, liability insurance, workman's comp, E.P.A. Soil Erosion certification and recommended UPC locate requests for all jobs requiring excavation or digging a simple post hole. (before beginning any mechanized digging project on your property. (Even if the project does not require mechanized digging, it is recommended that you contact the Georgia 811 to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you.) Because many were hiring small vendors, teenage kids, a guy in a truck with no real resources when it came time to levy fines and cost of repairs the person who did the damage could not pay. Now they get their fine and repair money from someone and it is usually the person who hired the installer or even the property owners. So while we use hand diggers on majority of locations the fact that we dig up to 21 holes in a day and dig up to three or four days per week it would be very easy for a judge to have the opinion that this quote from Georgia 811 "However, for safety’s sake, we recommend you call for any project in which you plan to break ground" the sheer amount of excavation a professional sign installer digs, especially deeper than the 18" depth the DOT defines as excavation no matter the method used as sidestepping the goals of protecting our utilities.

To date there have been many cases dispensed where the court system now evaluates everyone's ability, in the chain of damage, to pay fines and repairs. We have seen companies with several hundred trucks and employees bankrupted over one cut utility after being served up to a five or six figure fine and repair bill. In some cases, civil suits are filed based on businesses loss of ability to operate. For example; over 100 businesses were taken offline for over half a day in a major outlet mall area. The total fines, repairs and civil court judgments were almost one million dollars. Now the court looks at the installer, person or company that hired them along with owner of property and everyone's ability to pay. If the damage is beyond the installers ability to pay or even if they are able, UPC and courts are trying to stop all people in the chain from taking such action again and split those costs among all they deem involved based on their assets.

We looked at five cases dispensed, just in one county of Georgia, where they took five and six figure fines then split them up among the company contracted to do the excavations, the company that hired them, the property owner and placed the brunt of the costs on who has the most assets. A careless subcontractor digs without a locate request then the person who hired them had to step up and pay five figures in fines and repairs along with the property owner. Its your responsibility to ensure people hired are reputable contractors with proper licenses, insurance and follow the laws of the state and municipality. Your required to ask for copies of Liability Insurance, Workman's Comp Insurance, Business License and make sure they follow UPC guidelines. If not, when they cut a utility your likely to be looking at an empty checkbook after the fines and repairs are paid even if you were sitting in an air conditioned office while your subcontractors employees made a mistake.

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