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Low Impact Marking Update

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The Low Impact Marking Symposium extended an opportunity to Florida’s underground facility owners, excavators, locators, municipalities, vendors and industry constituencies to discuss the issue of urban graffiti, explore the reasons for its existence and to expose members to alternative marking products that could help alleviate the length of time marks remain on the ground following a project’s completion.

This issue arose after the City of Miami passed Legislative Resolution 07-00439, drafted in response to numerous complaints from residents and others about the unsightliness of excessive locate marks. See information underneath History below.

Attention SSOCOF Members
Participate in the Temporary Locate Mark Study

Sunshine State One Call's Low Impact Marking Committee is asking for member volunteers to test various temporary marking products. You have the option of testing marking products four weeks up to three months. To assure consistency with results, we have set up an online form to collect and analyze data. To access this survey and begin entering your data, click here.

Each industry constituency presented concerns over the impact of incorporating this legislative resolution into the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, Chapter 556, made recommendations on how to reduce the amount of locate marks. Discussion points were as follows:

EXCAVATOR INDUSTRY COMMENTS

Excavators include larger areas than necessary (such as right-of-way to right-of-way) on locate tickets because as-builts often contains erroneous information or the excavator encounters unmarked underground facilities after beginning digging.
Excavators voiced concern over the lack of support received from members such as not providing as-builts and as-builts that state “for informational purposes only.” Additionally, proprietary companies will not release as-builts.
While excavators are required in some instances to give GPS coordinates, utilities are not required to put GPS coordinates on as-builts.
White lining in Miami-Dade County fades within 48 hours and water-soluble marks wash away after a good rain. Job sites with locate marks that can be obliterated quickly will increase the amount of excavator down time as they wait for new locate marks.
Requiring marks to be removed by the excavator would require addressing several issues such as how to determine when a job is complete, how to verify that no other excavator is using those marks and how to address liability.

UTILITY INDUSTRY COMMENTS

Members expressed concern over excavators calling in an area that is larger than where actual digging will occur. This leads to the utility having to put down excessive marks.
It was clarified that a majority of complaints that spurred this issue were excessive locate marks on decorative sidewalks. Often these areas are marked because it is the only area within the construction zone that remains constant throughout the project.
It is estimated that removing locate marks will cost three times as much as it does to put the marks on the ground.
Some Excavators are renewing tickets for jobs that have been completed. This practice requires utilities to pay for unnecessary locate tickets and the locator’s time to mark the site – for no reason.
The City of Coral Gables’ local Resolution Ordinance 3534, Article 3, has virtually eliminated many issues mentioned during the symposium such as locate tickets produced for an entire job site rather than the area where work is performed, and restoring the job site to pre-construction aesthetics.

LOCATOR COMMENTS

Using more solvent marking products will require greater communication among the locator, excavator and utility. It will also mean an increase in the number of times a locator must re-mark.
Requiring marks to be removed by the locator would require addressing several issues such as how to determine when a job is complete, how to verify that no other excavator is using those marks and how to address liability.
While a single ticket is limited to one mile or less, there is no limit to the number of one mile tickets an excavator can request for a single job site. As a result, a locator spends a considerable amount of time marking and re-marking a single job site – whether digging is occurring in that area of the job site or will not occur for some time.
A locator marks the area described on the ticket. If an excavator states “right-of-way to right-of-way” when the sidewalk is made of pavers, then the pavers may get marked. White lining the actual excavation area would help prevent those marks on the pavers.

PATH FORWARD

For all parties involved, business as usual is not an option in the City of Miami. Rather, we have an opportunity to resolve this issue and avoid a statutory mandate by voluntarily changing how we do things. Several suggestions were made throughout the symposium and are as follows:

Excavators should request locate tickets for only those areas where actual digging will occur within 30 days. Having the job site marked if work will not start within 30 days creates the need for more frequent visits by locators to relocate underground lines.
Excavators could schedule meets with locators to discuss the best way to manage locate marks at large excavation sites.
Excavators should inform their office personnel on job completion status so locate tickets are not requested for jobs already completed.
Members and their locators should test fugitive paint, chalk-base paint and colored duct tape to mark the location of their underground facilities in the City of Miami.

Sunshine State One Call looks forward to working with members and excavators in a continuing effort to facilitate a satisfactory resolution to this issue without need for legislation to amend Chapter 556.

HISTORY

After receiving numerous complaints from Miami residents about utility locate marks, including the amount and length of time on the ground, the City of Miami drafted and passed Legislative Resolution 07-00439. The resolution seeks to amend the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, Chapter 556, Florida Statutes, to require excavators to remove locate marks at a project’s completion and establish a penalty for non-removal.

City of Miami Legislative Resolution 07-00439

ACTION

SSOCOF established a Low Impact Marking Ad Hoc Committee to address statewide concerns raised by the City of Miami's Resolution. SSOCOF also sent a letter to the Honorable Manuel Diaz, Mayor of the City of Miami, outlining SSOCOF’s actions in response to the concerns expressed by the City of Miami in its Legislation Resolution. For now, the City of Miami has indicated it will delay lobbying efforts, pending the outcome of the committee's study.

The Low Impact Marking Ad Hoc Committee is currently studying the impact this resolution could have on the financial, safety, liability and business practices of Florida's utility owners, locators and excavators. To date, several issues have been identified including how to determine whether marks are valid and associated liability issues that arise when marks are removed in error. The committee will also study physical locate marks to determine which marking methods are best for Florida and look into additional excavator training to narrow the scope of work included on a ticket. To date, three committee meetings have been held. Click on the following links to view documentation: