As used in this chapter, the term: (1) "Abandoned underground facility" means an underground facility taken out of service by a facility owner or operator on or after January 1, 2001. (2) "Appropriate notice" means a notice period that: (A) Is associated with an effective date; (B) Begins at 7:00 A.M. on the first business day following receipt by the UPC of a locate request submitted in compliance with Code Section 25-9-6 ; and (C) Ends at 7:00 A.M. on the business day immediately following a period of time that is not: (i) Less than two business days; or (ii) More than eight business days. (3) "Betterments" means any upgrading of the underground facility being repaired made solely for the benefit of and at the election of the facility owner or operator and not attributable to the damage. (4) "Blasting" means any operation by which the level or grade of land is changed or by which earth, rock, buildings, structures, or other masses or materials are rended, torn, demolished, moved, or removed by the detonation of dynamite or any other explosive agent. (5) "Business days" means Monday through Friday, excluding the following holidays: New Year's Day, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Any such holiday that falls on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. Any such holiday that falls on a Sunday shall be observed on the following Monday. If Christmas Eve falls on a Friday, it shall be observed on the preceding Thursday. If Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, it shall be observed on the following Tuesday. (6) "Business hours" means the time from 7:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. local time on business days. (7) "Commission" means the Public Service Commission. (8) "Corporation" means any corporation; municipal corporation; county; authority; joint-stock company; partnership; association; business trust; cooperative; organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not; or receiver or receivers or trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing. (9) "Damage" means any impact or exposure that results in the need to repair an underground facility or sewer lateral due to the weakening or the partial or complete destruction of the facility or sewer lateral including, but not limited to, the protective coating, lateral support, cathodic protection, or the housing for the line, device, sewer lateral, or facility. (10) "Design locate request" means a communication to the UPC in which a request for locating existing underground facilities for bidding, predesign, or advance planning purposes is made. (11) "Designate" means to stake or mark on the surface of the tract or parcel of land the location of an underground facility or sewer lateral. (12) "Effective date" means the calendar day on which blasting or excavating is anticipated to begin as indicated by the excavator in the locate request. (13) "Emergency" means a sudden or unforeseen occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger to life, health, or property; the interruption of underground services; or repairs to transportation facilities that require immediate action. (14) "Emergency 9-1-1 call" means using the digits, address, internet protocol address, or other information to access or initiate contact with a public safety answering point. (15) (A) "Excavating" means any operation using mechanized equipment or explosives to move earth, rock, or other material below existing grade. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, augering, blasting, boring, digging, ditching, dredging, drilling, driving-in, grading, plowing-in, ripping, scraping, trenching, and tunneling. (B) Such term shall not include: (i) Farming activities; (ii) Milling or pavement repair that does not exceed the depth of the existing pavement or 12 inches, whichever is less; or (iii) Routine road maintenance or railroad maintenance activities carried out by road maintenance or railroad employees or contractors, provided that such activities: (I) Occur entirely within the right of way of a public road, street, railroad, or highway of the state; (II) Are carried out with reasonable care so as to protect any underground facilities and sewer laterals placed in the right of way by permit; are carried out within the limits of any original excavation on the traveled way, shoulders, or drainage ditches of a public road, street, railroad, or highway, and do not exceed 18 inches in depth below the grade existing prior to such activities; and (III) If involving the replacement of existing guard rails and sign posts, replace such guard rails and sign posts in their previous locations and at their previous depth. (16) "Excavator" means any person engaged in blasting or excavating. (17) "Extraordinary circumstances" means circumstances other than normal operating conditions which exist making it impractical or impossible for a facility owner or operator to comply with the provisions of this chapter. Such extraordinary circumstances may include, but shall not be limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, ice and snow, and other acts of God. (18) "Facility owner or operator" means any person or entity with the sole exception of a homeowner that owns, operates, or controls the operation of an underground facility. (19) "Farming activities" means the tilling of the fields related to agricultural activities but shall not include other types of mechanized excavating on a farm. (20) "Horizontal directional drilling" or "HDD" means a type of trenchless excavation that uses guidable boring equipment to excavate in an essentially horizontal plane without disturbing or with minimal disturbance to the ground surface. (21) "Large project" means an excavation that involves more work to locate underground facilities than can reasonably be completed within the requirements of subsection (a) of Code Section 25-9-7 . (22) "Local governing authority" means: (A) A county, municipality, or local authority created by or pursuant to a general, local, or special Act of the General Assembly, or by the Constitution of the State of Georgia; and (B) Any local authority that is created or activated by an appropriate ordinance or resolution of the governing body of a county or municipality individually or jointly with other political subdivisions of this state. (23) "Locate request" means a communication between an excavator and the UPC in which a request for designating underground facilities, sewer laterals, or both is processed. (24) "Locator" means a person that is acting on behalf of facility owners and operators in designating the location of the underground facilities and sewer laterals of such owners and operators. (25) "Mechanized excavating equipment" means all equipment powered by any motor, engine, or hydraulic or pneumatic device which is used for excavating. (26) "Milling" means the process of grinding asphaltic concrete. (27) "Minimally intrusive excavation methods" means methods of excavation that minimize the potential for damage to underground facilities and sewer laterals. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, air entrainment/vacuum extraction systems and water jet/vacuum excavation systems operated by qualified personnel and careful hand tool usage and other methods as determined by the commission. Such term shall not include the use of trenchless excavation. (28) "Notice period" means the period of time during which the designation of underground facilities or sewer laterals, or both, is supposed to occur in accordance with this chapter. (29) "Permanent marker" means a visible indication of the approximate location of an underground facility or sewer lateral that can reasonably be expected to remain in position for the life of the facility. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, sewer cleanouts; water meter boxes; and etching, cutting, or attaching medallions or other industry accepted surface markers to curbing, pavement, or other similar visible fixed surfaces. (30) "Person" means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, association, local governing authority, state, or other governmental unit, authority, department, agency, or a corporation and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, employee, agent, or personal representative thereof. (31) "Positive response information system" or "PRIS" means the automated information system operated and maintained by the UPC at its location that allows excavators, locators, facility owners or operators, and other affected parties to determine the status of a locate request or a design locate request. (32) "Public safety answering point" shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 46-5-122 . (33) "Routine road maintenance" means work that is planned and performed on a routine basis to maintain and preserve the condition of the public road system and includes routine road surface scraping, mowing grass, animal removal, cleaning of inlets and culverts, trash removal, striping and striping removal, and cutting of trees; however, stump removal shall be considered excavation. (34) "Sewer lateral" means an individual customer service line which transports waste water from one or more building units to an underground sewer facility. (35) "Sewer system owner or operator" means the owner or operator of a sewer system. Sewer systems shall be considered to extend to the connection to the customer's facilities. (36) "Tolerance zone" means the width of the underground facility or sewer lateral plus 18 inches on either side of the outside edge of the underground facility or sewer lateral on a horizontal plane. (37) "Traffic control devices" means all electronic or electrically powered roadway signs, sign structures, or signals of a local governing authority or the Department of Transportation and all associated underground infrastructure on which the public relies for informational, regulatory, or warning messages concerning the public rights of way. (38) "Traffic management system" means a network of traffic control devices, monitoring sensors, and personnel of a local governing authority or the Department of Transportation, with all associated communications and power services, including all system control and management centers. (39) "Trenchless excavation" means a method of excavation that uses boring equipment to excavate with minimal or no disturbance to the ground surface. Such term shall include HDD. (40) "Underground facility" means an underground or submerged fiber, conductor, pipe, or structure used or installed for use in providing traffic control, traffic management, electric service, or communications service, or in carrying, providing, or gathering gas, oil or oil products, sewage, waste water, storm drainage, or water or other liquids. All underground facilities shall be considered to extend up to the connection to the customer's facilities. Such term shall not include sewer laterals or publicly or privately owned railroad facilities. (41) "Unlocatable facility" means an underground facility that cannot be marked with reasonable accuracy using generally accepted techniques or equipment commonly used to designate underground facilities and sewer laterals. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, nonconductive underground facilities and sewer laterals and nonmetallic underground facilities that have no trace wires or records that indicate a specific location. (42) "Utilities Protection Center" or "UPC" means the corporation or other organization formed by facility owners or operators to provide a joint notification service for the purpose of receiving advance notification from persons planning to blast or excavate and distributing such notifications to its affected facility owner or operator members. (43) "White lining" means marking the route of the excavation either electronically or with white paint, flags, stakes, or a combination of such methods to outline the dig site prior to notifying the UPC and before the locator arrives on the job.