P.R. Laws tit. 21, § 4631c
When an excavator or wrecker notifies the Excavation and Demolition Coordination Center of its plan to conduct a specific excavation or demolition, the Center shall give notice to all underground installations or structures operators, [no] later than four (4) working hours after receiving such notice, of the information furnished by the excavator or wrecker as established in § 4631e of this title or through regulations; Provided, That this term shall not be applicable in unforeseen cases or force majeure.
The Excavation and Demolition Coordination Center shall:
(a) Render services twenty-four (24) hours a day, every day of the year;
(b) have the capacity to receive emergency information twenty-four (24) hours a day, every day of the year, from excavators, wreckers, operators or others, and to immediately transmit the information received to the operators;
(c) provide, by request of the excavator or wrecker, the name and telephone number of the representative authorized by the operator to receive information regarding the excavations or demolitions;
(d) generate and maintain the data base needed to make the notifications;
(e) establish a uniform program for the identification and demarcation of the underground infrastructure;
(f) keep for two (2) years, through files or records, all excavation or demolition notices remitted to the Center;
(g) meet the requirements for this system as established in the Regulations for Pipeline Safety Programs (49 C.F.R. 198.11 et seq.), as amended;
(h) conduct periodic evaluations of its operations to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of its functions and to incorporate continuous improvement measures;
(i) notify the operator of any underground installation found by an excavator or wrecker during an excavation or demolition that was not marked or identified or is out of the passage identified by the operator;
(j) in case a project requires multiple or continuous excavations, the Excavation and Demolition Coordination Center shall notify the operators of such request. The excavators shall make a reasonable effort to coordinate a meeting with the operators who, after inspecting the work area, have found installations in the marked area. The purpose shall be to coordinate the excavation and/or demolition works to be conducted during said project or segment of the project. The working agreements to be established shall comply with the intention and purpose of this chapter, and the requirement of initial notification of the excavator must always be met. In these cases, the effectiveness of the initial notification by the excavator or wrecker shall be sixty (60) days, although the excavator or wrecker may notify the Center of the need for an extension of the term, should it be for the same project. It may also request, if necessary, new markings by the operators. In no case shall more than two (2) extensions of the term be authorized, being the excavator or wrecker under the obligation to comply with the provisions of § 4631e of this title, and
(k) it shall issue a certification notifying that the area worked on has been reverted to the same condition it was before the work. Provided, That in those cases in which a permit from the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works is required, the Center, prior to issuing said certification, shall require that the excavator or wrecker present the document issued by the Secretary or his/her representative, in which he/she indicates that he/she is satisfied with the rehabilitation of the affected area.
History —Sept. 11, 1998, No. 267, § 4; May 31, 2004, No. 122, § 1.