(A) Prior to commencement of any major construction, a registrant shall, if required by the City Engineer, conduct a subsurface utility engineering study on the proposed route of construction. The City Engineer may waive all or part of this requirement in construction situated where it is not necessary. A subsurface utility engineering study consists of:
(1) Securing all available "as built" plans, plats and other location data indicating the existence and approximate location of all underground facilities along the proposed construction route.
(2) Visibly survey and record the location and dimensions of any above-ground features of all underground facilities along the proposed construction route, including but not limited to manholes, valve boxes, utility boxes, posts and visible street cut repairs.
(3) Determining and recording the presence and approximate horizontal location of all underground facilities in the rights-of-way along the proposed system construction route utilizing surface geophysical designating techniques such as electromagnetic and elastic wave locating methods.
(4) Utilizing non-destructive digging methods, such as vacuum excavation, to determine as precisely as possible the horizontal, vertical, and spatial position, composition, size, and other specifications of the conflicting underground facilities where system design and the location of underground facilities appear to conflict on the updated system route maps, plans, and computer aided drafting and design electronic format files. A registrant shall not excavate more than a 200 millimeter square hole in the rights-of-way to complete this task.
(5) Plotting, incorporating, and reconciling the data obtained by completion of the task described above on the registrant's proposed system with the updated route maps, system plan sheets, and electronic format files, in a format designated by the city. The registrant shall also provide the City Engineer with this information.
(6) Based on all of the data collected upon completion of the tasks described in this section, adjusting the proposed system design elevations, horizontal or vertical locations to avoid the need to relocate other existing underground facilities.
(B) Upon completion of a subsurface utility engineering study pursuant to this chapter, the registrant shall record all of the data collected into an electronic format file compatible with that used by the city and deliver a copy to the city.
(C) Qualified firm. All subsurface utility engineering studies conducted pursuant to this section shall be performed by a firm specializing in subsurface utility engineering or may be performed by the registrant if the registrant proves to the City Engineer that it possesses the requisite education and experience to complete the project itself.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in an existing franchise agreement with the city or under applicable state law, the registrant shall bear the cost of compliance with this section.
(Ord. O-2000-29, passed 7-19-00; Am. Ord. O-2020-14, passed 10-7-20)