As used in this chapter, the term:

(1) "Abandoned utility facility" means a utility facility taken out of service by a facility owner or operator on or after January 1, 2001.

(2) "Blasting" means any operation by which the level or grade of land is changed or by which earth, rock, buildings, structures, or other masses or materials are rended, torn, demolished, moved, or removed by the detonation of dynamite or any other explosive agent.

(3) "Business days" means Monday through Friday, excluding the following holidays: New Year's Day, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Any such holiday that falls on a Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday. Any such holiday that falls on a Sunday shall be observed on the following Monday.

(4) "Business hours" means the time from 7:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. local time on business days.

(5) "Commission" means the Public Service Commission.

(6) "Corporation" means any corporation; municipal corporation; county; authority; joint-stock company; partnership; association; business trust; cooperative; organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not; or receiver or receivers or trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.

(7) "Damage" means any impact or exposure that results in the need to repair a utility facility due to the weakening or the partial or complete destruction of the facility including, but not limited to, the protective coating, lateral support, cathodic protection, or the housing for the line, device, or facility.

(8) "Design locate request" means a communication to the utilities protection center in which a request for locating existing utility facilities for bidding, predesign, or advance planning purposes is made. A design locate request may not be used for excavation purposes.

(9) "Emergency" means a sudden or unforeseen occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger to life, health, or property; the interruption of utility services; or repairs to transportation facilities that require immediate action.

(10) "Emergency notice" means a communication to the utilities protection center to alert the involved facility owners or operators of the need to excavate due to an emergency that requires immediate excavation.

(11) "Excavating" means any operation by which the level or grade of land is changed or earth, rock, or other material below existing grade is moved and includes, without limitation, grading, trenching, digging, ditching, augering, scraping, directional boring, and pile driving. Such term, however, does not include routine road surface scraping maintenance. "Excavating" shall not mean routine roadway maintenance activities carried out by employees of the Georgia Department of Transportation acting within the scope of their employment, provided such activities occur entirely within the right of way of a public road, street, or highway of the state; are carried out with reasonable care so as to protect any utility facilities placed in the right of way by permit; are carried out within the limits of any original excavation on the traveled way, shoulders, or drainage features of a public road, street, or highway, and do not exceed 18 inches in depth below the grade existing prior to such activities; and, if involving the replacement of existing structures, replace such structures in their previous locations and at their previous depth.

(12) "Excavator" means any person engaged in excavating or blasting as defined in this Code section.

(13) "Extraordinary circumstances" means circumstances other than normal operating conditions which exist and make it impractical or impossible for a facility owner or operator to comply with the provisions of this chapter. Such extraordinary circumstances may include, but shall not be limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, ice and snow, and acts of God.

(14) "Facility owner or operator" means any person or entity who owns, operates, or controls the operation of a utility facility, as defined in this Code section, for the purpose of commercial enterprise.

(15) "Locate request" means a communication between an excavator and the utilities protection center in which a request for locating utility facilities is processed.

(16) "Mechanized excavating equipment" means all equipment which is powered by any motor, engine, or hydraulic or pneumatic device and which is used for excavating.

(17) "Person" means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, association, municipality, state, or other governmental unit, authority, department, agency, or a corporation and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee, employee, agent, or personal representative thereof.

(18) "Service area" means a contiguous area or territory which encompasses the distribution system or network of utility facilities by means of which a facility owner or operator provides utility service.

(19) "Ticket Information Exchange System" means the automated information system to be installed and operated by the utilities protection center that will allow the excavator to determine locate ticket status from information provided by the facility owner or operator.

(20) "Tolerance zone" means the width of the utility facility plus 24 inches on either side of the outside edge of the utility facility on a horizontal plane.

(21) "Utilities protection center" or "center" means the corporation or other organization formed by facility owners or operators to provide a joint telephone number notification service for the purpose of receiving advance notification from persons planning to blast or excavate and distributing such notifications to its affected facility owner or operator members.

(22) "Utility facility" means an underground or submerged conductor, pipe, or structure used in providing electric or communications service, or an underground or submerged pipe used in carrying, providing, or gathering gas, oil or oil products, sewage, waste water, storm drainage, water or other liquids, and appurtenances thereto. This does not include utility facilities owned by a homeowner for service at the homeowner's residence.