# 8002 Rules to Establish an Excavation Damage Prevention Program - 3.0 Duties of Operators

**Citation:** 26 Del. Admin. C. § 8002-3.0  
**Type / status:** regulation / current  
**Agency:** Delaware Public Service Commission  
**Effective:** 2025-12-11  
**Published:** 2025-12-01

Duties of Operators. 3.1 Operators shall comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §803. Operators of underground pipeline facilities shall also comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §804.

3.2 When providing notice of excavation damage to the Commission pursuant to 26 Del.C. §803(9) and (10), operators must complete the Commission's "Underground Facility Damage Report," whi

## Document text

3.1 Operators shall comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §803. Operators of underground pipeline facilities shall also comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §804.

3.2 When providing notice of excavation damage to the Commission pursuant to 26 Del.C. §803(9) and (10), operators must complete the Commission's "Underground Facility Damage Report," which can be accessed via the Commission's website at this address: https://depsc.delaware.gov/underground-facility-damage-report/. Operators may provide photographic evidence by email to DOSPSC_DAMAGES@delaware.gov.

3.3 Operators of utility lines shall comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §803(9) by providing notice to the Commission within 15 working days, or as soon as practicable thereafter if notification cannot be provided within 15 working days, of any excavation damage to utility lines which results in damage as defined in 26 Del.C. §802(2)c exceeding $3,000. An operator's uncertainty regarding whether the damage exceeds $3,000 will not justify a delay in notification beyond 15 working days. If, after reporting excavation damage an operator determines that the damage did not exceed $3,000, the operator may notify staff with an updated accounting of the actual damages. After receiving such notice, staff will not consider the damage to be reportable and will not consider such damage when evaluating whether multiple, similar violations by a respondent warrant the issuance of an NOPV.

3.4 Operators of underground pipeline facilities shall comply with the requirements of 26 Del.C. §803(10) by providing notice to the Commission as soon as practicable of any facilities damage caused by excavation which results in damage as defined in 26 Del.C. §802(2) to gas distribution and transmission lines; oil and petroleum products distribution and transmission lines; or dangerous materials, product lines or steam lines.

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title26/8002>
- Source ID: `de-admin-code`
- SHA-256: `ae8fc8b0b2e0f597830412c3a22e76304846ae1651e61f2f83a5684efd42660c`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T09:32:30.577Z
- Exported: 2026-08-25T07:04:11.692Z
- Document slug: `de-admin-code-8002-3-0`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "jurisdiction": "US-DE",
  "title": 26,
  "regulatoryGroup": "8000 Gas Regulations",
  "regulationNumber": "8002",
  "section": "3.0",
  "scopeKind": "pipeline-connected-damage-prevention",
  "legalScope": "Complete current Regulation 8002 excavation-damage-prevention program, retained because it imposes express underground-pipeline duties and is administered through the PSC pipeline-safety program.",
  "applicabilityCaveat": "Regulation 8002 is a generally applicable excavation-damage-prevention enforcement rule, not solely a gas-pipeline code. Pipeline-specific duties apply to underground facilities transporting gas, liquid petroleum products, and specified dangerous materials; other duties also reach operators, designers, excavators, and the approved notification center.",
  "incorporationCaveat": "Regulation 8002 relies on 26 Del. C. chapter 8 and, for the approved notification center and specified penalties, 49 CFR Part 198. Those external provisions are linked but not reproduced.",
  "rights": "Delaware provides authenticated Administrative Code PDFs under its Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act implementation, but the Regulations site does not state a general open-content license. Preserve attribution and provenance; review redistribution of site presentation, state marks, linked forms, and incorporated federal or third-party material separately.",
  "authenticatedPdfId": "3c7f1fe6-ef82-4897-a15b-0f84fbab7124",
  "references": [
    {
      "citation": "26 Del. C. § 803",
      "referenceType": "delaware-code",
      "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c008/sc01/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "26 Del. C. § 804",
      "referenceType": "delaware-code",
      "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c008/sc01/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "26 Del. C. § 803(9)",
      "referenceType": "delaware-code",
      "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c008/sc01/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "26 Del. C. § 802(2)",
      "referenceType": "delaware-code",
      "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c008/sc01/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "26 Del. C. § 803(10)",
      "referenceType": "delaware-code",
      "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c008/sc01/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "https://depsc.delaware.gov/underground-facility-damage-report/",
      "referenceType": "official-web-link",
      "url": "https://depsc.delaware.gov/underground-facility-damage-report/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "49 CFR 198",
      "referenceType": "cfr",
      "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-198"
    }
  ],
  "region": "DE"
}
```