§1749.15. Emergency excavation; notice required; penalty

            A. The notice required pursuant to R.S. 40:1749.13 shall not apply to any person conducting an emergency excavation. Oral or electronic notice of the emergency excavation shall be given as soon as practicable to the regional notification center or each operator having underground utilities and facilities located in the area and, if necessary, emergency assistance shall be requested from each operator in locating and providing immediate protection to its underground utilities and facilities.

            B. The excavator shall certify in the notice required in Subsection A of this Section that the situation poses an imminent threat or danger to life, health, or property or is the result of an unplanned utility outage and requires immediate action and that the excavator, owner, or operator has personnel on site.

            C. There is a rebuttable presumption that the excavator failed to give notice as required pursuant to this Section if the excavator failed to give any notice to the regional notification center within the following time periods:

            (1) Within two hours from the discovery of the need for an emergency excavation.

            (2) In the case of a gubernatorially declared state of emergency due to a weather or homeland security-related event, within twelve hours of the beginning of the emergency excavation within the parishes to which the emergency declaration applies.

            (3) In the case of a wildfire, within twenty-four hours after control of the emergency.

            D. The owner or operator of the underground utilities, facilities, or submerged infrastructure shall respond to an emergency notice as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

            E. Emergency excavation notices are valid for as long as the emergency situation exists. The type of work and location shall remain consistent with the work described in the emergency excavation notice. If the type of work and location become inconsistent with the emergency excavation notice, then a new excavation notice is required.

            Acts 1988, No. 923, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1050, §1, eff. July 11, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 506, §1, eff. June 29, 1999; Acts 2011, No. 38, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 103, §1; Acts 2022, No. 52, §1; Acts 2024, No. 75, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.