N.J. Admin. Code § 14:2-3.3 - Excavators-onsite requirements

(a) An excavator or responsible contractor shall:

1. Not operate any mechanized equipment within two feet horizontally of the outside wall of any underground facility marked in accordance with this chapter, unless the underground facility has been first located by hand digging. Mechanized equipment shall be used with proper care and under adequate supervision to avoid damage to the underground facility;

2. Plan the excavation or demolition with reasonable care so as to avoid damage to, and minimize interference with, underground facilities;

3. Use reasonable care during excavation or demolition to avoid damage to, or interference with, underground facilities, including protecting each underground facility from freezing, traffic, and/or other loads or hazard in accordance with (b) below;

4. After commencement of excavation or demolition, protect and preserve the marking, staking, or other designation of an underground facility until the marking, staking, or other designation is no longer necessary for safe excavation or demolition;

5. Provide identification in the form of company credentials or a State-issued ID to Board staff upon request; and

6. Provide a paper or electronic copy of the One-Call notification to Board staff upon request.

(b) At all times throughout the course of an excavation or demolition, an excavator shall also provide adequate physical support of all underground facilities on the site, as follows:

1. An excavator shall comply with all reasonable support specifications that the operator provides pursuant to N.J.A.C. 14:2-4.2(e);

2. If the operator does not provide support specifications pursuant to (b)1 above, the excavator shall provide support in accordance with generally accepted engineering practice. The support shall be at least equivalent to the support to the underground facility prior to the excavation;

3. The excavator shall maintain the physical support during excavation, backfilling and, if necessary, after backfilling is completed; and

4. The operator may, by mutual agreement with the excavator, choose to provide the physical support.

(c) If a representative of an operator determines that an excavator is not adequately protecting or supporting the facility, resulting in an unsafe condition or situation relating to the excavation or demolition, the representative may require the excavator to suspend the excavation or demolition until the problem is corrected. The representative may impose this requirement verbally only if the representative believes that an emergency exists, and shall provide a written confirmation of the verbal directive to suspend work as soon as feasible thereafter. In all other situations, the representative shall provide the directive to suspend the excavation or demolition in writing.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 14:2-3.3

New Rule, R.2002 d.107, effective 4/1/2002.
See: 33 N.J.R. 2606(a), 34 N.J.R. 1458(a).
Former N.J.A.C. 14:2-4.2, Emergency excavations, recodified to N.J.A.C. 14:2-4.3.
Recodified from N.J.A.C. 14:2-4.2 and amended by R.2007 d.298, effective 10/15/2007.
See: 39 N.J.R. 1232(a), 39 N.J.R. 4422(b).
Section was "Duties of excavators". In introductory sentence of (a), inserted "or responsible contractor"; in (a)1, deleted "the provisions of" preceding and inserted a comma following "this chapter"; in (a)2, inserted "with reasonable care so as", inserted a comma following "damage to" and deleted "to" preceding "minimize"; in (a)3, inserted ", including protecting each underground facility from freezing, traffic, and/or other loads or hazard in accordance with (b) below"; in (a)4, deleted a comma following "staking"; and added (b) and (c). Amended by 54 N.J.R. 1417(a), effective 7/18/2022