Chapter 36A. Public Service Company Underground Facilities.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-1 (2026)
Sec. 36A-1. Legislative intent.LinkCopy Citation
It is the intent of this chapter to protect underground facilities of public service companies from destruction, damage or dislocation in order to prevent:
(a)
Death or injury to persons.
(b)
Property damage to private and public property.
(c)
Loss of services of public service companies to the general public.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-2 (2026)
Sec. 36A-2. Definitions.LinkCopy Citation
In this Chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise:
(a)
Clearance requirements means the minimum safe distance between one underground facility and another unassociated underground facility, as defined by the owners of the respective underground facilities.
(b)
Contractor means any person who routinely engages in excavation in the course of its profession.
(c)
Excavation means the removal or displacement of earth, rock or other material in or on the ground by means of any tools, equipment or explosives. "Excavation" includes grading, trenching, digging, ditching, drilling, augering, tunneling, scraping, pile driving, cable or pipe plowing and driving, wrecking, razing, rending, moving or removing any structure or mass of material.
(d)
Excavator means any person who performs or proposes to perform any excavation.
(e)
One-telephone-number utility notification system means a plan established by two (2) or more public service companies, government agencies or other operators of underground facilities by which an excavator notifies the participants by telephone of an intent to excavate.
(f)
Person means any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, government contractor, or association. "Person" includes any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative.
(g)
Public service company means:
(1)
any company as defined in Section 1-101 of the Public Utility Companies Article of the Maryland Code and any successor provision;
(2)
the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; or
(3)
any organization which is a member of the one-telephone-number utility notification system.
(h)
Surface replacement work means the routine maintenance or limited replacement of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and similar structures, including patch-type road paving and street repairs. The excavation required for surface replacement must not exceed in depth the structure which is replaced or repaired.
(i)
Underground facility means any item of personal property owned by a public service company, which is buried or placed below ground or submerged for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic, telephone or telegraph communications, electric energy, oil, gas or other substances. “Underground facility” includes pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments and those portions of poles below ground.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-3 (2026)
Sec. 36A-3. Notification and marking procedures.LinkCopy Citation
(a)
An excavator must not make or begin any excavation until the excavator:
(1)
Notifies every public service company with underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation of the excavator's intent to excavate; and
(2)
Obtains permission to excavate under this section.
(b)
An excavator must notify each applicable public service company not more than ten (10) days before starting to excavate, but at least forty-eight (48) hours before starting to excavate. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are excluded from these times. The excavator may notify a company by telephone.
(c)
Where a one-telephone-number utility notification system operates, an excavator may notify the one-telephone-number utility notification system within the time limits in subsection (b). An excavator must find out which public service companies participate in such a system, and in which geographic areas.
(d)
If a one-telephone-number utility notification system issues an identification number for a proposed excavation after it is notified, the excavator must make this identification number available at the proposed excavation site to any public official and any public service company representative who requests the number.
(e)
An excavator must, in notifying a public service company, provide the following information:
(1)
The name and telephone number of the excavator.
(2)
The name of the person for whom the proposed work is being done.
(3)
The date and approximate time the work is to start.
(4)
The location of proposed work.
(5)
The type of work to be done.
(6)
Any other special remarks or instructions.
(f)
Before an excavator can start any excavation, each public service company that is notified of the proposed excavation under this section must:
(1)
a. Horizontally locate and mark all of its underground facilities at the site to within three (3) feet on either side of the underground facility; and
b. Notify the excavator at least one (1) hour before the proposed excavation is scheduled to start that all of its facilities have been marked; or
(2)
Notify the excavator that the proposed excavation will not affect its underground facilities.
(g)
If the public service company cannot mark the location of its underground facilities at least one (1) hour before the proposed excavation is scheduled to start, the public service company must notify the excavator of the date and time when the underground facilities will be marked. This date must not be more than three (3) working days after the original date scheduled for the excavation; unless the excavator and the public service company agree to a longer time.
(h)
Any marking system indicating the horizontal location of a public service company's facilities must be consistent with the American Public Works Association Uniform Color Code.
(i)
To expedite the horizontal location of utility lines, each public service company must:
(1)
Provide locating services to mark all facilities, including house service laterals, affected by the excavation;
(2)
Give requesting design engineers or excavators approximate horizontal location data, excluding house service laterals, of its principal underground facilities. A design engineer or excavator must submit a request for location data not more than thirty (30) nor less than ten (10) days before an excavation is scheduled to start. Each request must be accompanied by two (2) copies of each site drawing or site plan that shows where excavation is proposed, if the site plan or drawing is usually required by any agency of the county or the municipality in which the site is located. The public service company must retain one (1) copy of each site drawing or plan and return the other copy to the requester; and
(3)
Allow another public service company or person to horizontally locate its facilities if the public service company has authorized it in writing.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-4 (2026)
Sec. 36A-4. Excavating procedures.LinkCopy Citation
(a)
When excavating or after piercing any surface concrete or hard-surface covering, and if the excavation approaches within three (3) feet of the estimated horizontal location of any located underground facility, an excavator must expose each of the located underground facilities by hand digging within the limits of the proposed excavation. After each of the located underground facilities has been exposed by hand digging, the excavator may resume appropriate excavation techniques with reasonable care.
(b)
Any operator of mechanized equipment must not perform an excavation until the operator is familiar with the location of underground facilities in the area to be excavated.
(c)
An excavator must take all steps reasonably necessary to protect all underground facilities from damage during or as a result of excavation. An excavator must know and conform to the clearance requirements of each existing underground facility.
(d)
Any excavation must be carried out with reasonable care.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-5 (2026)
Sec. 36A-5. Excavator's duties.LinkCopy Citation
(a)
If any person damages, dislocates, or disturbs an underground facility or exposes an unmarked underground facility during excavation, the person must immediately notify the owner or operator of the underground facility. An excavator must take reasonable steps to find who owns or operates any unmarked line, including notifying the one-telephone-number utility notification system.
(b)
If any gas or flammable liquid underground facility is severed, or damaged to the extent that its contents escape or may imminently escape, the excavator must immediately notify the public service company that operates the underground facility and the county emergency operations center.
(c)
A person must not bury a damaged underground facility until:
(1)
The public service company has been notified; and
(2)
The public service company has repaired the damage or has given the excavator permission to bury the facility.
(d)
During an emergency an excavator may excavate, without notifying a public service company as required in this chapter, to relieve any immediate danger to life, health or property, if:
(1)
The excavator notifies the public service company as soon as possible;
(2)
The excavator does not use any blasting; and
(3)
The excavator takes all reasonable precautions to protect the underground facilities.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-6 (2026)
Sec. 36A-6. Violations and penalties.LinkCopy Citation
(a)
Any violation of this chapter is a class A violation.
(b)
If, during excavation, any person who has failed to comply with this Chapter damages an underground facility;
(1)
The Director of Permitting Services may issue a stop-work order under Section 8-20; and
(2)
Any permits issued by an agency of the County to perform work related to the excavation may be revoked under the procedures that apply to each permit.
(c)
Any excavator who violates Section 36A-5(c) may be subject to suspension or revocation of a building contractor's license, an electrician's license, or a plumber's license under Chapter 8, Chapter 17, or Chapter 34.
(d)
This Chapter does not limit any rights or remedies under any other federal, state or local law. Compliance with this Chapter does not negate or restrict any liability that arises from any excavation.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-7 (2026)
Sec. 36A-7. Administration.LinkCopy Citation
The Department of Permitting Services administers this Chapter. The County Executive may adopt regulations under method (2) to implement this Chapter.
Montgomery County, Md., Code § 36A-8 (2026)
Sec. 36A-8. Exemption.LinkCopy Citation
This chapter does not apply to:
(a)
Any excavation within the boundaries of a one-family residential property which is not performed by a contractor and does not require any permit issued by any agency of the county or a municipality; or
(b)
Any surface replacement work within the boundaries of a public street or alley.