The amendment clarified and reorganized the technical requirements for excavation notifications and underground facility marking by removing exclusions of weekends and holidays from the initial notice period (instead specifying that the 48-hour period begins at 12:01 a.m. the day after notice) and restructuring the operator response timeline into two alternative periods rather than a single standard, which CLARIFIES and STRENGTHENS the bill's enforcement mechanisms without changing its core purpose of protecting underground utilities during excavation.
26.399.9 26.399.10 101st Legislative Session 9 2026 South Dakota Legislature Senate Bill 9 Introduced by: The Chair of the Committee on Commerce and Energy at the request of the Department of Public Safety Underscores indicate new language. Overstrikes indicate deleted language. ENROLLED AN ACT ENTITLED An Act to revise provisions regarding notices to the one-call notification center. 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 2 Section 1. That § 49-7A-5 be AMENDED: 3 49-7A-5. No excavator may begin any excavation without first notifying the one-4 call one-call notification center of the proposed excavation. The excavator shall give notice by 5 telephone or by other methods approved by the board, pursuant to rules promulgated 6 pursuant to chapter 1-26, to the one-call notification center, at least forty-eight hours 7 prior to the commencement of the excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 8 holidays of the state. excavation. The forty-eight-hour period begins at 12:01 a.m. the day after notice 9 is submitted to the notification center, excluding any Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday 10 of the state. 11 The board may promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26, to reduce the forty-12 eight-hour interval forty-eight-hour period for emergency or subsequent inquiries to the original locate 13 request, and may lengthen the forty-eight-hour interval period for nonexcavation 14 requests. 15 Section 2. That § 49-7A-8 be AMENDED: 16 49-7A-8. An operator shall, upon receipt of the notice, advise the excavator of the 17 location of underground facilities in the proposed excavation area by marking the location 18 of the facilities with stakes, flags, paint, or other clearly identifiable marking markings 19 within eighteen inches horizontally from the exterior sides of the underground facilities. 20 The board shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26, to establish the response 21 time for operators to mark the underground facilities. The operator's response time shall 22 be no later than forty-eight hours after the receipt of the notice, excluding Saturdays, 23 Sundays, and legal holidays of the state or the excavation start time provided by the 24 26.399.9 2 9 Underscores indicate new language. Overstrikes indicate deleted language. excavator, whichever is later must be within one of the following periods, whichever is 1 later: 2 (1) The forty-eight-hour period beginning at 12:01 a.m. the day after notice is 3 received; or 4 26.399.10 2 9 SB9 ENROLLED (2) The period between notice being given and the excavation start time provided by 5 the excavator. 6 The forty-eight-hour period does not include Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays 7 of the state. The response time may be less than forty-eight hours the forty-eight-hour 8 period for emergency or subsequent inquiries to the original locate request, and may be 9 longer than forty-eight hours the forty-eight-hour period for nonexcavation requests. 10 Excavators shall maintain a minimum horizontal clearance of eighteen inches 11 between a marked underground facility and the cutting edge of any mechanical 12 equipment. If excavation is required within eighteen inches, horizontally, the excavator 13 shall must expose the facility with hand tools or noninvasive methods approved pursuant 14 to rule, and shall protect and support the facility prior to further excavation with 15 mechanical equipment. 16 26.399.10 3 9 SB9 ENROLLED An Act to revise provisions regarding notices to the one-call notification center. I certify that the attached Act originated in the: Senate as Bill No. 9 Secretary of the Senate President of the Senate Attest: Secretary of the Senate Speaker of the House Attest: Chief Clerk of the House Senate Bill No. 9 File No. ____ Chapter No. ______ Received at this Executive Office this _____ day of _____________, 2026 at ____________M. By for the Governor The attached Act is hereby approved this ________ day of ______________, A.D., 2026 Governor STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, ss. Office of the Secretary of State Filed ____________, 2026 at _________ o'clock __M. Secretary of State By Asst. Secretary of State