Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-142.2

As used in the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Prevention

Act:

1. "Certified project" means a project where the public agency

responsible for the public project, in consultation with the

statewide one-call notification center, as part of its procedure,

certifies that the project right-of-way is free and clear of

underground facilities or wherein the public agency responsible for

such project, as part of its procedure, notifies all persons

determined by the public agency to have underground facilities

located within the construction right-of-way and certifies that all

known underground facilities are duly located or noted on the

engineering drawings for the project;

2. "Damage" means any impact upon or removal of support from an

underground facility as a result of explosion, excavation or

demolition which according to the operating practices of the

operator of the underground facilities would necessitate the repair

thereof;

3. "Demolish" means to wreck, raze, render, move or remove a

structure by means of any equipment or explosive;

4. "Demolition" means the act or operation of demolishing a

structure;

5. "Excavate" means to dig, compress or remove earth, rock or

other materials in or on the ground by use of mechanized equipment

or blasting, including, but not necessarily limited to, augering,

boring, backfilling, drilling, grading, pile driving, plowing in,

pulling in, trenching, tunneling and plowing; provided, however,

that neither:

a. the moving of earth by tools manipulated only by human

or animal power, except in a private or public

easement or right-of-way,

b. the moving of earth by tools manipulated only by human

power for burying communication lines of a

communications provider in a private or public

easement or right-of-way when depth is not greater

than twelve (12) inches and within twelve (12) inches

of a communications provider terminal,

c. any form of cultivation for agricultural purposes, nor

any augering, dozing by noncommercial dozer operators

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety Page 1081

or digging for postholes, farm ponds, land clearing or

other normal agricultural purposes,

d. routine maintenance,

e. work by a public agency or its contractors on a

preengineered project,

f. work on a certified project,

g. work on a permitted project,

h. the opening of a grave in a cemetery,

i. a solid waste disposal site which is a preengineered

project,

j. any individual excavating on his or her own property

and who is not in the excavating business for hire,

except in a private or public easement or right-of-

way, nor

k. any grading or maintenance of county roads that does

not change either the existing road grade or ditch

flow line,

shall be deemed excavation;

6. "Excavation" means the act or operation of excavating;

7. "Excavator" means a person or public agency that intends to

excavate or demolish within this state;

8. "Notification center" means the statewide center currently

known as the Oklahoma One-Call System, Inc., which has as one of its

purposes to receive notification of planned excavation and

demolition in a specified area from excavators, and to disseminate

such notification of planned excavation or demolition to operators

who are members and participants;

9. "Operator" shall mean and include any person or public

agency owning or operating underground facilities;

10. "Permitted project" means a project where a permit for the

work to be performed must be issued by a state or federal agency

and, as a prerequisite to receiving such permit, the applicant must

locate all underground facilities in the area of the work and in the

vicinity of any blasting and notify each owner of such underground

facilities;

11. "Person" includes any individual, partnership, corporation,

association, cooperative, trust or other entity, including a person

engaged as a contractor by a public agency, but not including a
isite to receiving such permit, the applicant must

locate all underground facilities in the area of the work and in the

vicinity of any blasting and notify each owner of such underground

facilities;

11. "Person" includes any individual, partnership, corporation,

association, cooperative, trust or other entity, including a person

engaged as a contractor by a public agency, but not including a

public agency;

12. "Preengineered project" means a public project wherein the

public agency responsible for such project, as part of its

engineering and contract procedures, holds a meeting prior to the

commencement of any construction work on such project in which all

persons, determined by the public agency, in consultation with the

statewide one-call notification center, to have underground

facilities located within the construction area of the project are

invited to attend and given an opportunity to verify or inform the

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety Page 1082

public agency of the location of their underground facilities, if

any, within the construction area and where the location of all

known underground facilities are duly located or noted on the

engineering drawing and specifications for the project;

13. "Public agency" means the state, or any board, commission,

or agency of the state;

14. "Routine maintenance" means the grading of roads and barrow

or drainage ditches, the removal and replacement of pavement,

including excavation relating thereto and the installation and

maintenance of drainage and bridge facilities, signs, guardrails,

and electrical and communications facilities in or on the public

rights-of-way by a public agency;

15. "Underground facility" means any underground line, cable,

facility, system and appurtenances thereto, for producing, storing,

conveying, transmitting or distributing communication (including

voice, video, or data information), electricity, power, light, heat,

intrastate and interstate gas pipelines, as described in 49 CFR Part

192.1, intrastate and interstate hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide

pipelines, as described in 49 CFR Part 195.1, water (including storm

water), steam, sewage and other commodities and any oil and gas

pipeline located in a private or public easement or right-of-way;

16. "Design" or "survey" means a notice to facility operators

to provide underground facility information during the design or

engineering phase of a project to mitigate potential impact to

existing underground facilities;

17. "Watch and protect" means an operator or its designated

representative is present to observe an excavation within ten (10)

feet of the operator's marking of its existing underground facility;

18. "Pre-excavation meeting request" means a notice to

underground facility operators to participate in scheduled meetings

for the purpose of planning large projects and coordinate resources

accordingly; and

19. "Large projects" are those excavation projects that involve

one of the following:

a. exceeds distances defined in paragraph 5 of subsection

D of Section 142.6 of this title, or

b. estimated duration is more than ninety (90) days.