Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 096-0714
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Public Act 096-0714


 

Public Act 0714 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 096-0714
 
SB1357 Enrolled LRB096 05751 MJR 15822 b

    AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Underground Utility Facilities
Damage Prevention Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 2.1,
2.2, 2.6, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 11 and by adding Sections 2.1.3,
2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.9, and 2.1.10 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 50/1)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1601)
    Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the
Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act,
and for the purposes of participating in the State of Illinois
Joint Purchasing Program, the State-Wide One-Call Notice
System, commonly referred to as "JULIE, Inc.", shall be
considered as created by this Act.
(Source: P.A. 86-674.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1602.1)
    Sec. 2.1. "Person" means an individual, firm, joint
venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality
or other governmental unit, department or agency, utility
cooperative, or joint stock association, and includes any
trustee, receiver, or assignee or employee or agent or personal
representative thereof.
(Source: P.A. 86-674.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.3 new)
    Sec. 2.1.3. No show request. "No show request" means a
notice initiated by an excavator through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System to the owners or operators of
underground utility facilities notified in the prior locate
request that either failed to mark their facilities or to
communicate their non-involvement with the excavation prior to
the requested dig start date and time.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.4 new)
    Sec. 2.1.4. Incomplete request. "Incomplete request"
means a notice initiated by an excavator through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System to the owners or operators of
underground utility facilities notified in a prior locate
request that such facility owners or operators, as identified
by the person excavating, did not completely mark the entire
extent or the entire segment of the proposed excavation, as
identified by the excavator in the prior notice.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.5 new)
    Sec. 2.1.5. Re-mark request. "Re-mark request" means a
notice initiated by an excavator through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System to the owners or operators of
underground utility facilities notified in the initial locate
request requesting facility owners or operators to re-mark all
or part of the work area identified in the initial locate
request, because facility markings are becoming or have become
indistinguishable due to factors, including, but not limited
to, weather, fading, construction activity, or vandalism.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.6 new)
    Sec. 2.1.6. Residential property owner. "Residential
property owner" means any individual or entity that owns or
leases real property that is used by such individual or entity
as its residence or dwelling. Residential property owner does
not include any persons who own or lease residential property
for the purpose of holding or developing such property or for
any other business or commercial purposes.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.9 new)
    Sec. 2.1.9. JULIE Excavator Handbook. "JULIE Excavator
Handbook" means the handbook periodically updated and
published by the State-Wide One-Call Notice System that
provides information for excavators and facility owners and
operators on the use and services of the State-Wide One-Call
Notice System.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.1.10 new)
    Sec. 2.1.10. Internal electric grid of a wind turbine
generation farm. "Internal electric grid of a wind turbine
generation farm" means those facilities located within a wind
generation farm from a tower to a substation.
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.2)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1602.2)
    Sec. 2.2. Underground utility facilities.
    (a) "Underground utility facilities" or "facilities" means
and includes wires, ducts, fiber optic cable, conduits, pipes,
sewers, and cables and their connected appurtenances installed
beneath the surface of the ground by:
        (1) a public utility as defined in the Public Utilities
    Act;
        (2) a municipally owned or mutually owned utility
    providing a similar utility service;
        (3) a pipeline entity transporting gases, crude oil,
    petroleum products, or other hydrocarbon materials within
    the State;
        (4) a telecommunications carrier as defined in the
    Universal Telephone Service Protection Law of 1985, or by a
    company described in Section 1 of the Telephone Company
    Act;
        (5) a community antenna television system, as defined
    in the Illinois Municipal Code or the Counties Code;
        (6) a holder, as that term is defined in the Cable and
    Video Competition Law of 2007;
        (7) any other entity owning or operating underground
    facilities that transport generated electrical power to
    other utility owners or operators or transport generated
    electrical power within the internal electric grid of a
    wind turbine generation farm; and
        (8) an electric cooperative as defined in the Public
    Utilities Act.
"Underground utility facilities" or "facilities" means and
includes wires, ducts, fiber optic cable, conduits, pipes,
sewers, and cables and their connected appurtenances installed
beneath the surface of the ground by a public utility (as is
defined in the Illinois Public Utilities Act, as amended), or
by a municipally owned or mutually owned utility providing a
similar utility service, except an electric cooperative as
defined in the Illinois Public Utilities Act, as amended, or by
a pipeline entity transporting gases, crude oil, petroleum
products, or other hydrocarbon materials within the State, or
by a telecommunications carrier as defined in the Universal
Telephone Service Protection Law of 1985, or by a company
described in Section 1 of "An Act relating to the powers,
duties and property of telephone companies", approved May 16,
1903, as amended, or by a community antenna television system,
hereinafter referred to as "CATS", as defined in the Illinois
Municipal Code, as amended.
(Source: P.A. 94-623, eff. 8-18-05.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/2.6)
    Sec. 2.6. Emergency locate request. "Emergency locate
request" means a locate request for any condition constituting
an imminent danger to life, health, or property, or a utility
service outage, and which requires immediate repair or action
before the expiration of 48 hours.
(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/4)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1604)
    Sec. 4. Required activities. Every person who engages in
nonemergency excavation or demolition shall:
        (a) take reasonable action to inform himself of the
    location of any underground utility facilities or CATS
    facilities in and near the area for which such operation is
    to be conducted;
        (b) plan the excavation or demolition to avoid or
    minimize interference with underground utility facilities
    or CATS facilities within the tolerance zone by utilizing
    such precautions that include, but are not limited to, hand
    excavation, vacuum excavation methods, and visually
    inspecting the excavation while in progress until clear of
    the existing marked facility;
        (c) if practical, use white paint, flags, stakes, or
    both, to outline the dig site;
        (d) provide notice not less than 48 hours but no more
    than 14 calendar days in advance of the start of the
    excavation or demolition to the owners or operators of the
    underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and
    near the excavation or demolition area through the
    State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in the case of
    nonemergency excavation or demolition within the
    boundaries of a municipality of at least one million
    persons which operates its own one-call notice system,
    through the one-call notice system which operates in that
    municipality.
        At a minimum, the notice required under this subsection
    (d) shall provide:
            (1) the person's name, address, phone number at
        which a person can be reached, and fax number, if
        available;
            (2) the start date and time of the planned
        excavation or demolition;
            (3) all counties, cities, or townships, or any
        combination thereof, where the proposed excavation
        shall take place;
            (4) the address at which the excavation or
        demolition shall take place;
            (5) the type and extent of the work involved; and
            (6) the section or quarter sections when the
        information in items (1) through (5) of this subsection
        (d) does not allow the State-Wide One-Call Notice
        System to determine the appropriate excavation or
        demolition site. This item (6) does not apply to
        residential property owners;
        (e) provide, during and following excavation or
    demolition, such support for existing underground utility
    facilities or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or
    demolition area as may be reasonably necessary for the
    protection of such facilities unless otherwise agreed to by
    the owner or operator of the underground facility or CATS
    facility;
        (f) backfill all excavations in such manner and with
    such materials as may be reasonably necessary for the
    protection of existing underground utility facilities or
    CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition
    area; and
        (g) after After February 29, 2004, when the excavation
    or demolition project will extend past 28 calendar days
    from the date of the original notice provided under clause
    (d), the excavator shall provide a subsequent notice to the
    owners or operators of the underground utility facilities
    or CATS facilities in and near the excavation or demolition
    area through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System or, in
    the case of excavation or demolition within the boundaries
    of a municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
    inhabitants that operates its own one-call notice system,
    through the one-call notice system that operates in that
    municipality informing utility owners and operators that
    additional time to complete the excavation or demolition
    project will be required. The notice will provide the
    excavator with an additional 28 calendar days from the date
    of the subsequent notification to continue or complete the
    excavation or demolition project; .
        (h) exercise due care at all times to protect
    underground utility facilities. If, after proper
    notification through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System
    and upon arrival at the site of the proposed excavation,
    the excavator observes clear evidence of the presence of an
    unmarked or incompletely marked utility in the area of the
    proposed excavation, the excavator shall not begin
    excavating until all affected facilities have been marked
    or 2 hours after an additional call is made to the
    State-Wide One-Call Notice System for the area. The owner
    or operator of the utility shall respond within 2 hours of
    the excavator's call to the State-Wide One-Call Notice
    System; and
        (i) when factors, including, but not limited to,
    weather, construction activity, or vandalism, at the
    excavation site have caused the utility markings to become
    faded or indistinguishable, the excavator shall provide an
    additional notice through the State-Wide One-Call Notice
    System requesting that only the affected areas where
    excavation or demolition is to continue be re-marked.
    Facility owners or operators must respond to the notice to
    re-mark according to the requirements of Section 10 of this
    Act.
    At a minimum, the notice required under clause (d) shall
provide:
        (1) the person's name, address, and (i) phone number at
    which a person can be reached and (ii) fax number, if
    available;
        (2) the start date of the planned excavation or
    demolition;
        (3) the address at which the excavation or demolition
    will take place;
        (4) the type and extent of the work involved; and
        (5) section/quarter sections when the above
    information does not allow the State-Wide One-Call Notice
    System to determine the appropriate geographic
    section/quarter sections. This item (5) does not apply to
    residential property owners.
    Nothing in this Section prohibits the use of any method of
excavation if conducted in a manner that would avoid
interference with underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities.
(Source: P.A. 93-430, eff. 8-5-03; 94-623, eff. 8-18-05.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/6)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1606)
    Sec. 6. Emergency excavation or demolition.
    (a) Every person who engages in emergency excavation or
demolition outside of the boundaries of a municipality of at
least one million persons which operates its own one-call
notice system shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid or
minimize interference between the emergency work and existing
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near
the excavation or demolition area, through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System, and shall notify, as far in advance as
possible, the owners or operators of such underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities in and near the emergency
excavation or demolition area, through the State-Wide One-Call
Notice System. At a minimum, the notice required under this
subsection (a) shall provide:
        (1) the person's name, address, and (i) phone number at
    which a person can be reached and (ii) fax number, if
    available;
        (2) the start date of the planned emergency excavation
    or demolition;
        (3) the address at which the excavation or demolition
    will take place; and
        (4) the type and extent of the work involved.
    There is a wait time of 2 hours or the date and time
requested on the notice, whichever is longer, after an
emergency locate notification request is made through the
State-Wide One-Call Notice System. If the conditions at the
site dictate an earlier start than the required wait time, it
is the responsibility of the excavator to demonstrate that site
conditions warranted this earlier start time.
    Upon notice by the person engaged in emergency excavation
or demolition, the owner or operator of an underground utility
facility or CATS facility in or near the excavation or
demolition area shall communicate with the person engaged in
emergency excavation or demolition within 2 hours or by the
date and time requested on the notice, whichever is longer by
(1) marking the approximate location of underground
facilities; (2) advising the person excavating that their
underground facilities are not in conflict with the emergency
excavation; or (3) notifying the person excavating that the
owner or operator shall be delayed in marking because of
conditions as referenced in subsection (g) of Section 11 of
this Act.
    The notice by the owner or operator to the person engaged
in emergency excavation or demolition may be provided by phone
or phone message or by marking the excavation or demolition
area. The owner or operator has discharged the owner's or
operator's obligation to provide notice under this Section if
the owner or operator attempts to provide notice by telephone
but is unable to do so because the person engaged in the
emergency excavation or demolition does not answer his or her
telephone or does not have an answering machine or answering
service to receive the telephone call. If the owner or operator
attempts to provide notice by telephone or by facsimile but
receives a busy signal, that attempt shall not discharge the
owner or operator from the obligation to provide notice under
this Section.
    (b) Every person who engages in emergency excavation or
demolition within the boundaries of a municipality of at least
one million persons which operates its own one-call notice
system shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid or
minimize interference between the emergency work and existing
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and near
the excavation or demolition area, through the municipality's
one-call notice system, and shall notify, as far in advance as
possible, the owners and operators of underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities in and near the emergency
excavation or demolition area, through the municipality's
one-call notice system.
    (c) The reinstallation of traffic control devices shall be
deemed an emergency for purposes of this Section.
    (d) An open cut utility locate shall be deemed an emergency
for purposes of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 94-623, eff. 8-18-05.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/7)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1607)
    Sec. 7. Damage or dislocation. In the event of any damage
to or dislocation of any underground utility facilities or CATS
facilities in connection with any excavation or demolition,
emergency or nonemergency, the person responsible for the
excavation or demolition operations shall immediately notify
the affected utility and the State-Wide One-Call Notice System
and cease excavation in the area of the damage when the damaged
facility is a threat to life or property or if otherwise
required by law or, in the case of damage or dislocation in
connection with any excavation or demolition within the
boundaries of a municipality having a population of at least
1,000,000 inhabitants that operates its own one-call notice
system, notify the affected utility and the one-call notice
system that operates in that municipality. The person
responsible for the excavation or demolition shall not attempt
to repair, clamp, or constrict the damaged utility facility
unless under the supervision or advisement of the utility
facility owner or operator. At no time shall a person under
this Act be required by a utility facility owner or operator to
attempt to repair, clamp, or constrict a damaged utility
facility. In the event of any damage to any underground utility
facility that results in the escape of any flammable, toxic, or
corrosive gas or liquid, the person responsible for the
excavation or demolition shall call 9-1-1 and notify
authorities of the damage. Owners and operators of underground
utility facilities that are damaged and the excavator involved
shall work in a cooperative and expeditious manner to repair
the affected utility.
(Source: P.A. 92-179, eff. 7-1-02; 93-430, eff. 8-5-03.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/10)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1610)
    Sec. 10. Record of notice; marking of facilities. Upon
notice by the person engaged in excavation or demolition, the
person owning or operating underground utility facilities or
CATS facilities in or near the excavation or demolition area
shall cause a written record to be made of the notice and shall
mark, within 48 hours of receipt of notice or by the requested
date and time indicated on the notice, whichever is later, the
approximate locations of such facilities so as to enable the
person excavating or demolishing to establish the location of
the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities. Owners
and operators of underground sewer facilities that are located
outside the boundaries of a municipality having a population of
at least 1,000,000 inhabitants shall be required to respond and
mark the approximate location of those sewer facilities when
the excavator indicates, in the notice required in Section 4,
that the excavation or demolition project will exceed a depth
of 7 feet. "Depth", in this case, is defined as the distance
measured vertically from the surface of the ground to the top
of the sewer facility. Owners and operators of underground
sewer facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a
municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
inhabitants shall be required at all times to locate the
approximate location of those sewer facilities when: (1)
directional boring is the indicated type of excavation work
being performed within the notice; (2) the underground sewer
facilities owned are non-gravity, pressurized force mains; or
(3) the excavation indicated will occur in the immediate
proximity of known underground sewer facilities that are less
than 7 feet deep. Owners or operators of underground sewer
facilities that are located outside the boundaries of a
municipality having a population of at least 1,000,000
inhabitants shall not hold an excavator liable for damages that
occur to sewer facilities that were not required to be marked
under this Section, provided that prompt notice of the damage
is made to the State-Wide One-Call Notice System and the
utility owner as required in Section 7.
    All persons subject to the requirements of this Act shall
plan and conduct their work consistent with reasonable business
practices. Conditions may exist making it unreasonable to
request that locations be marked within 48 hours or by the
requested date and time indicated on the notice, whichever is
later. It is unreasonable to request owners and operators of
underground utility facilities and CATS facilities to locate
all of their facilities in an affected area upon short notice
in advance of a large or extensive nonemergency project, or to
request extensive locates in excess of a reasonable excavation
or demolition work schedule, or to request locates under
conditions where a repeat request is likely to be made because
of the passage of time or adverse job conditions. Owners and
operators of underground utility facilities and CATS
facilities must reasonably anticipate seasonal fluctuations in
the number of locate requests and staff accordingly.
    If a person owning or operating underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities receives a notice under this
Section but does not own or operate any underground utility
facilities or CATS facilities within the proposed excavation or
demolition area described in the notice, that person, within 48
hours or by the requested date and time indicated on the
notice, whichever is later, after receipt of the notice, shall
so notify the person engaged in excavation or demolition who
initiated the notice, unless the person who initiated the
notice expressly waives the right to be notified that no
facilities are located within the excavation or demolition
area. The notification by the owner or operator of underground
utility facilities or CATS facilities to the person engaged in
excavation or demolition may be provided in any reasonable
manner including, but not limited to, notification in any one
of the following ways: by face-to-face communication; by phone
or phone message; by facsimile; by posting in the excavation or
demolition area; or by marking the excavation or demolition
area. The owner or operator of those facilities has discharged
the owner's or operator's obligation to provide notice under
this Section if the owner or operator attempts to provide
notice by telephone or by facsimile, if the person has supplied
a facsimile number, but is unable to do so because the person
engaged in the excavation or demolition does not answer his or
her telephone or does not have an answering machine or
answering service to receive the telephone call or does not
have a facsimile machine in operation to receive the facsimile
transmission. If the owner or operator attempts to provide

 
 
notice by telephone or by facsimile but receives a busy signal,
that attempt shall not serve to discharge the owner or operator
of the obligation to provide notice under this Section.
    A person engaged in excavation or demolition may expressly
waive the right to notification from the owner or operator of
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities that the
owner or operator has no facilities located in the proposed
excavation or demolition area. Waiver of notice is only
permissible in the case of regular or nonemergency locate
requests. The waiver must be made at the time of the notice to
the State-Wide One-Call Notice System. A waiver made under this
Section is not admissible as evidence in any criminal or civil
action that may arise out of, or is in any way related to, the
excavation or demolition that is the subject of the waiver.
    For the purposes of this Act, underground facility
operators may utilize a combination of flags, stakes, and paint
when possible on non-paved surfaces and when dig site and
seasonal conditions warrant. If the approximate location of an
underground utility facility or CATS facility is marked with
stakes or other physical means, the following color coding
shall be employed:
 
Underground Facility Identification Color
Facility Owner or Agent Use Only

 
 
Electric Power, Distribution and
    Transmission........................Safety Red
Municipal Electric Systems..............Safety Red
Gas Distribution and Transmission.......High Visibility Safety
Yellow
Oil Distribution and Transmission.......High Visibility Safety
Yellow
Telephone and Telegraph Systems.........Safety Alert Orange
Community Antenna Television Systems....Safety Alert Orange
Water Systems...........................Safety Precaution Blue
Sewer Systems...........................Safety Green
Non-potable Water and Slurry Lines......Safety Purple
Excavator Use Only
Temporary Survey........................Safety Pink
Proposed Excavation.....................Safety White (Black
when snow is on the
ground)
(Source: P.A. 93-430, eff. 8-5-03; 94-623, eff. 8-18-05.)
 
    (220 ILCS 50/11)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1611)
    Sec. 11. Penalties; liability; fund.
    (a) Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
demolition, wilfully fails to comply with the Act by failing to
provide the notice to the owners or operators of the
underground facilities or CATS facility near the excavation or
demolition area through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System
as required by Section 4 or 6 of this Act shall be subject to a
penalty of up to $5,000 for each separate offense and shall be
liable for the damage caused to the owners or operators of the
facility. Every person who fails to provide notice and
willfully fails to comply with other provisions of this Act
shall be subject to additional penalties of up to $2,500 for
each separate offense and shall be liable for the damage caused
to the owners or operators of the facility.
    (b) Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
demolition, has provided the notice to the owners or operators
of the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and
near the excavation or demolition area through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System as required by Section 4 or 6 of this
Act, but otherwise wilfully fails to comply with this Act,
shall be subject to a penalty of up to $2,500 for each separate
offense and shall be liable for the damage caused to the owners
or operators of the facility.
    (c) Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
demolition, has provided the notice to the owners or operators
of the underground utility facilities or CATS facilities in and
near the excavation or demolition area through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System as required by Section 4 or 6 of this
Act, but otherwise, while acting reasonably, damages any
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities, shall not be
subject to a penalty, but shall be liable for the damage caused
to the owners or operators of the facility provided the
underground utility facility or CATS facility is properly
marked as provided in Section 10 of this Act.
    (d) Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
demolition, provides notice to the owners or operators of the
underground utility facilities or CATS facilities through the
State-Wide One-Call Notice System as an emergency locate
request and the locate request is not an emergency locate
request as defined in Section 2.6 of this Act shall be subject
to a penalty of up to $2,500 for each separate offense.
    (e) Owners and operators of underground utility facilities
who willfully fail to comply with this Act by a failure to
respond or mark the approximate location of an underground
utility as required by subsection (h) of Section 4, subsection
(a) of Section 6, or Section 10 of this Act after being
notified of planned excavation or demolition through the
State-Wide One-Call Notice System, shall be subject to a
penalty of up to $5,000 for each separate offense. Owners and
operators of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities
(i) who wilfully fail to comply with this Act by a failure to
mark the location of an underground utility or CATS facility or
a failure to provide notice that facilities are not within the
proposed excavation or demolition area as required in Section
10, or (ii) who willfully fail to respond as required in
Section 6 to an emergency request, after being notified of
planned excavation or demolition through the State-Wide
One-Call Notice System, shall be subject to a penalty of up to
$5,000 for each separate offense resulting from the failure to
mark an underground utility facility or CATS facility.
    (f) As provided in Section 3 of this Act, all owners or
operators of underground utility facilities or CATS facilities
who fail to join the State-Wide One-Call Notice System by
January 1, 2003 shall be subject to a penalty of $100 per day
for each separate offense. Every day an owner or operator fails
to join the State-Wide One-Call Notice System is a separate
offense. This subsection (f) does not apply to utilities
operating facilities or CATS facilities exclusively within the
boundaries of a municipality with a population of at least
1,000,000 persons.
    (g) No owner or operator of underground utility facilities
or CATS facilities shall be subject to a penalty where a delay
in marking or a failure to mark or properly mark the location
of an underground utility or CATS facility is caused by
conditions beyond the reasonable control of such owner or
operator.
    (h) Any person who is neither an agent, employee, or
authorized locating contractor of the owner or operator of the
underground utility facility or CATS facility nor an excavator
involved in the excavation activity who removes, alters, or
otherwise damages markings, flags, or stakes used to mark the
location of an underground utility or CATS facility other than
during the course of the excavation for which the markings were
made or before completion of the project shall be subject to a
penalty up to $1,000 for each separate offense.
    (i) (Blank). The excavator shall exercise due care at all
times to protect underground utility facilities and CATS
facilities. If, after proper notification through the
State-Wide One-Call Notice System and upon arrival at the site
of a proposed excavation, the excavator observes clear evidence
of the presence of an unmarked utility or CATS facility in the
area of the proposed excavation, the excavator shall not begin
excavating until 2 hours after an additional call is made to
the State-Wide One-Call Notice System for the area. The
operator of the utility or CATS facility shall respond within 2
hours of the excavator's call to the State-Wide One-Call Notice
System.
    (j) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall have the power
and jurisdiction to, and shall, enforce the provisions of this
Act. The Illinois Commerce Commission may impose
administrative penalties as provided in this Section. The
Illinois Commerce Commission may promulgate rules and develop
enforcement policies in the manner provided by the Public
Utilities Act in order to implement compliance with this Act.
When a penalty is warranted, the following criteria shall be
used in determining the magnitude of the penalty:
        (1) gravity of noncompliance;
        (2) culpability of offender;
        (3) history of noncompliance for the 18 months prior to
    the date of the incident; however, when determining
    non-compliance the alleged violator's roles as operator or
    owner and the person engaged in excavating shall be treated
    separately;
        (4) ability to pay penalty;
        (5) show of good faith of offender;
        (6) ability to continue business; and
        (7) other special circumstances.
    (k) There is hereby created in the State treasury a special
fund to be known as the Illinois Underground Utility Facilities
Damage Prevention Fund. All penalties recovered in any action
under this Section shall be paid into the Fund and shall be
distributed annually as a grant to the State-Wide One-Call
Notice System to be used in safety and informational programs
to reduce the number of incidents of damage to underground
utility facilities and CATS facilities in Illinois. The
distribution shall be made during January of each calendar year
based on the balance in the Illinois Underground Utility
Facilities Damage Prevention Fund as of December 31 of the
previous calendar year. In all such actions under this Section,
the procedure and rules of evidence shall conform with the Code
of Civil Procedure, and with rules of courts governing civil
trials.
    (l) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish an
Advisory Committee consisting of a representative from each of
the following: utility operator, JULIE, excavator,
municipality, and the general public. The Advisory Committee
shall serve as a peer review panel for any contested penalties
resulting from the enforcement of this Act.
    The members of the Advisory Committee shall be immune,
individually and jointly, from civil liability for any act or
omission done or made in performance of their duties while
serving as members of such Advisory Committee, unless the act
or omission was the result of willful and wanton misconduct.
    (m) If, after the Advisory Committee has considered a
particular contested penalty and performed its review
functions under this Act and the Commission's rules, there
remains a dispute as to whether the Commission should impose a
penalty under this Act, the matter shall proceed in the manner
set forth in Article X of the Public Utilities Act, including
the provisions governing judicial review.
(Source: P.A. 94-623, eff. 8-18-05.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2010.

Effective Date: 1/1/2010