After August 28, 1969, extensions of telephone distribution lines on applicants' owned and leased properties, and in industrial parks, necessary to furnish permanent telephone service to new commercial and industrial buildings and to new multiple-occupancy buildings, shall be made underground. The application of these regulations is not mandatory for extensions of lines to provide telephone service to customers whose premises are so unesthetic that the construction of underground lines would serve no purpose. Customers of this nature might include gravel pits and other mining operations, junk yards, railroad yards, and steel mills. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Applicant” means the person, partnership, association, corporation, or government agency applying for telephone service, or developing an industrial park, shopping center, or other commercial or industrial building in which telephone service is to be provided. “Commission” means the Public Service Commission of Maryland. “Industrial park” means an area which has been zoned for industrial use and which is covered by a recorded subdivision plat. “Multiple-occupancy building” means a structure enclosed within walls or fire walls, built, erected, and framed of component structural parts and designed to contain 5 or more individual dwelling units. “Person” has the meaning stated in Public Utilities Article, §1-101, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Public service company” has the meaning stated in Public Utilities Article, §1-101, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Underground extension” means an underground extension of the telephone distribution system on an applicant's owned or leased property, primarily to serve the property, or the underground extension of the telephone distribution system to serve more than one customer in an area, such as in an industrial park. “Utility” means a “telephone company” as stated in Public Utilities Article, §1-101, Annotated Code of Maryland. Rights-of-way and easements suitable to the utility shall be furnished at no cost to the utility by the applicant in a reasonable time to meet service requirements, shall be cleared of trees, tree stumps, and other obstructions at no charge to the utility, and shall be graded to within 6 inches of final grade by the applicant before the utility will commence construction. The clearance and grading shall be maintained by the applicant during construction by the utility. If, subsequent to construction, the clearance or grade is changed in such a way as to require relocation of the underground facilities, the cost of the relocation shall be borne by the applicant or his successor. Upon receipt of a proper application, the utility shall install an underground extension with sufficient capacity and suitable materials which, in its judgment, will assure that the applicant, or customer, will receive safe, adequate, and reasonable telephone service to meet his requirements. The design and construction of the underground extension shall conform to accepted good engineering practice in the telephone industry to provide an installation at reasonable cost, consistent with the objectives of §A of this regulation. If the applicant demands an installation more costly than that normally furnished by the utility to meet the objectives of §B of this regulation, then the applicant shall pay the cost of his additional requirements. The applicant shall furnish or pay for, or both, as elected by the utility: Rights-of-way and easements in accordance with Regulation .03 of this chapter; Required suitable conduit systems; and Opening, resurfacing, and repaving of paved surfaces. The connection from the existing telephone distribution system to the underground extension shall be constructed by the utility in accordance with the extension rules of the utility on file with the Commission. A telephone company may not permit any person not a public service company to make attachment to any telephone company existing overhead facilities for the purpose or intended purpose of providing overhead service to a customer to whom the telephone company is required to provide underground service in accordance with the regulations of the Commission with respect to underground service. To the extent practicable, electric cables, communications cables, and gas pipes shall be installed in the same trench, care being taken to conform to any applicable code and utility specification. Upon timely application, a telephone company shall allow any person precluded from using overhead facilities, as set forth in Regulation .06B of this chapter, joint use of its open trenches wherever reasonable and technically feasible in accordance with mutually agreeable terms and conditions. When a utility has filed with the Commission tariff provisions which pertain to underground service and which are not in conflict with these regulations, then the tariff provisions shall be considered as supplements to these regulations for that utility. In unusual circumstances, when the application of these regulations appears impracticable or unjust to either party, or discriminatory to other customers, the utility or applicant shall refer the matter to the Commission for a special ruling or for the approval of special conditions which may be mutually agreed upon, before commencing construction. Public Utilities Article, §§2-121 and 5-101, and Title 12, Subtitle 1, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: August 28, 1969 (Order No. 57831) Chapter revised effective September 1, 1971 (Order No. 59432) Regulation .02A amended effective October 31, 1988 (15:22 Md. R. 2559) Regulations .02E, F, .06B, and .07B adopted effective October 1, 1973 (Order No. 60392) Regulation .05C amended effective October 31, 1988 (15:22 Md. R. 2559)