Illinois Code § 4

§ 4.

Required activities. Every excavator who engages in nonemergency excavation or demolition shall: (a) take reasonable action to inform the excavator of the location of any 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 facilities within the tolerance zone by utilizing such precautions that include, but are not limited to, hand or vacuum excavation methods to the depth of the proposed excavation or demolition, and visually inspecting the excavation while in progress until clear of the approximate location of the existing marked facility; (c) pre-mark the area of excavation; (d) provide notice not less than 2 days but no more than 10 days in advance of the start of the excavation or demolition to the owners or operators of the underground utility facilities at or near the excavation or demolition area through JULIE. At a minimum, the notice required under this subsection (d) shall provide: (1) the excavator's name, address, phone number at which the excavator can be reached, and, if available, a fax number and email address; (2) the start date and time of the planned excavation or demolition; (3) the county and place or places where the proposed excavation shall take place; (4) the address or location at which the excavation or demolition shall take place; (5) the type of work, extent, and description of the area where the excavation or demolition is to occur; (6) the section or quarter sections when the information in items (1) through (5) of this subsection (d) does not allow JULIE to determine the appropriate excavation or demolition site. This item (6) does not apply to residential property owners; (7) an indication of whether directional boring or horizontal directional drilling will be used; (8) an indication of whether the excavation will exceed 7 feet in depth; (9) an indication of how the proposed excavation or demolition has been pre-marked; (10) the identity of the project owner; and (11) the latitude and longitude of the relevant area, if available. The information specified in items (1) through (10) is still required when providing latitude and longitude; (e) provide, during and following excavation or demolition, such support for existing facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of such facilities and known service laterals unless otherwise agreed to by the owner or operator of the underground facility or owners of any known service laterals; (f) backfill all excavations in such manner and with such materials as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of existing facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area; (g) when the excavation or demolition project will extend past the 25-day expiration date of the original notice provided under clause (d) or a subsequent extension notice, if marks are requested, the excavator shall pre-mark prior to requesting any subsequent extension notice; (h) exercise due care at all times to protect facilities and known service laterals. If, after proper notification through JULIE and upon arrival at the site of the proposed excavation, the excavator observes clear evidence of the presence of an unmarked or incompletely marked facility in the area of the proposed excavation, the excavator shall provide subsequent notice through JULIE of the unmarked or incompletely marked area and shall not begin excavating until all affected facilities have been marked or 2 hours, whichever is shorter, unless a greater time is provided by the excavator through JULIE. The underground utility facility owner or operator of the facility shall respond within 2 hours unless a greater time is provided by the excavator through JULIE; (i) when factors, including, but not limited to, weather, construction activity, or vandalism, at the excavation site have caused the facility markings to become faded or indistinguishable, the excavator shall pre-mark again and provide a re-mark request through JULIE requesting that only the affected areas where excavation or demolition is to continue be re-marked. Underground utility facility owners or operators must respond to the notice to re-mark by the dig start date and time on the notice; and (j) for informational and planning purposes only, prior notice of large projects may be provided to underground utility facility owners or operators through JULIE greater than 10 days in advance of the large project commencing. Nothing in this Section prohibits the use of any method of excavation if conducted in a manner that would avoid interference with facilities. (Source: P.A. 103-614, eff. 1-1-25.)