REPORT TITLE:
Utility Lines


DESCRIPTION:
Improves evaluation process by valuing aesthetic benefits and
makes appropriation to quantify benefits of undergrounding;
establishes intervenors programs and appropriates funds for PUC
web page for consumers; requires use of ADR prior to hearing;
establishes a conversion program and establishes fund to pay for
program; establishes one-call system to locate underground
facilities. (HB2843 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2843
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO UTILITY LINES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that there is increasing
 
 2 community interest in the placement of existing and proposed
 
 3 overhead utility facilities underground for a variety of reasons
 
 4 including the desire to preserve, protect, and enhance the visual
 
 5 environment and scenic resources for residents and visitors
 
 6 alike.
 
 7      The legislative reference bureau was requested by senate
 
 8 concurrent resolution no. 30, regular session of 1999, to conduct
 
 9 a policy and issue study concerning the undergrounding of
 
10 overhead utility facilities.  In conducting the study, the bureau
 
11 consulted with the utilities, the public utilities commission,
 
12 the consumer advocate, environmental organizations, and community
 
13 members.  After specifically reviewing topics such as the type of
 
14 line, location, benefits of undergrounding, costs, public
 
15 sentiment, technological issues, and legal matters, and studying
 
16 how other jurisdictions have handled the issue of undergrounding
 
17 utility lines, the bureau proposed several suggestions for
 
18 legislation.
 

 
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 1      The purpose of this Act is to implement the legislative
 
 2 reference bureau's recommendations for evaluating whether utility
 
 3 lines should be underground and the conversion of existing
 
 4 overhead lines to underground lines.  This Act incorporates
 
 5 alternative approaches in the areas of valuation and conversion
 
 6 where the bureau recommended these subjects be addressed, but did
 
 7 not recommend one alternative over the other.  This Act:
 
 8      (1)  Improves the evaluation process by requiring the
 
 9           determination of the need for a project by the public
 
10           utilities commission prior to acceptance of a
 
11           conservation district use application;
 
12      (2)  Sets standards in regard to the value of benefits by
 
13           establishing in the law that aesthetic benefits of the
 
14           natural landscape are valued, and, alternately, makes
 
15           an appropriation to quantify the benefits of
 
16           underground utility lines;
 
17      (3)  Encourages consumer participation and open
 
18           communication by directing the public utilities
 
19           commission to establish an intervenor program and a
 
20           one-call system to identify the location of underground
 
21           utilities, and appropriating funds to establish a world
 
22           wide web page that educates and informs consumers about
 
23           the activities, processes, and procedures of the public
 
24           utilities commission; 
 

 
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 1      (4)  Encourages the settlement in areas of interests and
 
 2           concerns of separate parties by authorizing the public
 
 3           utilities commission to require the use of an
 
 4           alternative dispute resolution process prior to a
 
 5           hearing;
 
 6      (5)  Directs the public utilities commission to establish a
 
 7           program to convert overhead utility lines to
 
 8           underground lines and to establish and administer a
 
 9           fund to pay for the program; and
 
10      (6)  Addresses safety issues of existing and future
 
11           underground lines, including high-voltage utility
 
12           lines, by establishing a one-call system to identify
 
13           the location of underground facilities.
 
14                        PART I.  PROCESSES
 
15      SECTION 2.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
16 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
17 read as follows:
 
18      "§269-     Authorization of need; conservation district use
 
19 permits.  Whenever a regulated utility proposes a capital project
 
20 within the boundaries of the conservation district for which an
 
21 environmental impact statement is required under chapter 343, the
 
22 commission shall issue an order authorizing or denying the need
 

 
 
 
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 1 and scope of the project prior to the acceptance of a completed
 
 2 application for a conservation district use permit by the
 
 3 department of land and natural resources under section 183C-6."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  Section 183C-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 
 6      "(b)  The department shall render a decision on a completed
 
 7 application for a permit within [one-hundred-eighty] one hundred
 
 8 eighty days of its acceptance by the department.  In the case of
 
 9 a public utility proposing a capital project within the
 
10 boundaries of the conservation district for which an
 
11 environmental impact statement is required pursuant to chapter
 
12 343, no application shall be deemed to be complete until the
 
13 department has received an order from the public utilities
 
14 commission authorizing the need and scope of the proposed action
 
15 pursuant to section 269-   .  If within [one-hundred-eighty] one
 
16 hundred eighty days after acceptance of a completed application
 
17 for a permit, the department shall fail to give notice, hold a
 
18 hearing, and render a decision, the owner may automatically put
 
19 the owner's land to the use or uses requested in the owner's
 
20 application.  When an environmental impact statement is required
 
21 pursuant to chapter 343, or when a contested case hearing is
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1 requested pursuant to chapter 91, the [one-hundred-eighty] one
 
 2 hundred eighty days may be extended an additional ninety days at
 
 3 the request of the applicant.  Any request for additional
 
 4 extensions shall be subject to the approval of the board."
 
 5                   PART II.  VALUING INTANGIBLES
 
 6      SECTION 4.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 7 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 8 read as follows:
 
 9      "§269-     Value of benefits.  It is the policy of the State
 
10 with regard to the placement of utility lines to value the
 
11 aesthetic benefit of the natural landscape in residential and
 
12 conservation zoned districts above all else."
 
13      SECTION 5.  Section 269-27.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 
14 requires the evaluation of whether a benefit of underground high-
 
15 voltage utility lines exists that outweighs the costs of placing
 
16 the system underground.  This Act appropriates funds to enable
 
17 the consumer advocate to quantify the benefits accurately and
 
18 include the measurement of externalities.
 
19      SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
20 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much
 
21 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 to develop
 
22 measures to quantify the benefits of underground high-voltage
 
23 utility lines including the measurement of externalities
 
24 associated with underground lines.
 

 
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 1      The sum appropriated shall be expended by the division of
 
 2 consumer advocacy of the department of commerce and consumer
 
 3 affairs for the purposes of this Act.
 
 4          PART III. PARTICIPATION AND OPEN COMMUNICATION
 
 5      SECTION 7.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 6 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 7 read as follows:
 
 8      "§269-     Intervenor program.  The commission shall
 
 9 establish an intervenor program that assists consumers who have
 
10 significant information to contribute to hearings and other
 
11 proceedings before the commission that is outside the scope of
 
12 the functions of the consumer advocate.  The intervenor program
 
13 shall include procedural assistance and financial compensation
 
14 for consumer costs including reasonable consultant and attorney's
 
15 fees only after it is found that such findings contributed
 
16 significantly to the final decision and order of the commission.
 
17 The commission shall adopt rules under chapter 91 for the
 
18 implementation of and to establish standards for the intervenor
 
19 program."
 
20      SECTION 8.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
21 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        or so much
 
22 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 for the
 
23 public utilities commission to create and maintain an information
 
24 and communication resource accessible through the world wide web.
 

 
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 1      The sum appropriated shall be expended by the public
 
 2 utilities commission for the purposes of this Act.
 
 3                       PART IV.  SETTLEMENT
 
 4      SECTION 9.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 5 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 6 read as follows:
 
 7      "§269-     Alternative dispute resolution.  The commission
 
 8 may require the parties in any matter before the commission to
 
 9 participate in arbitration, mediation, or other alternative
 
10 dispute resolution process prior to the hearing."
 
11                        PART V.  CONVERSION
 
12      SECTION 10.  The legislature finds that the conversion of
 
13 overhead electric and communication lines to underground lines
 
14 and the initial underground installation of such lines are
 
15 substantially beneficial to the public safety and welfare, is in
 
16 the public interest, and is a public purpose, notwithstanding any
 
17 resulting incidental private benefit to any electric or
 
18 communication utility affected by such conversion or
 
19 installation.
 
20      SECTION 11.  Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
22 and to read as follows:
 

 
 
 
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 1      "§235-     Voluntary contributions to the underground
 
 2 conversion fund.  The director shall allow for taxpayers to
 
 3 designate and pay a voluntary contribution to the underground
 
 4 conversion fund on their annual income tax return.  The voluntary
 
 5 contribution shall be added to the final income tax due or
 
 6 subtracted from any refund due the taxpayer and shall be
 
 7 allocated to the underground conversion fund in the amount
 
 8 designated by the taxpayer."
 
 9      SECTION 12.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately
 
11 designated and to read as follows:
 
12      "§269-A  Conversion program.  The commission shall establish
 
13 a conversion program that allows for the systematic conversion of
 
14 overhead utility lines to underground lines.  The conversion
 
15 program shall:
 
16      (1)  Authorize each county to determine underground zones by
 
17           ordinance;
 
18      (2)  Require any utility that transports or distributes
 
19           services across utility lines and cables to contribute
 
20           to the funding of the program; provided that annual
 
21           contributions from the utilities shall not exceed two
 
22           per cent of annual gross revenues; and
 

 
 
 
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 1      (3)  Establish criteria that allocates funding to each
 
 2           county for its underground conversion zones.
 
 3      The commission shall adopt rules according to chapter 91 for
 
 4 the implementation of and to establish standards for the
 
 5 conversion program.
 
 6      §269-B  Underground conversion fund.  (a)  There is
 
 7 established in the state treasury the underground conversion
 
 8 fund, which shall be administered by the commission.  The
 
 9 following revenues shall be deposited into the fund:
 
10      (1)  Legislative appropriations;
 
11      (2)  Voluntary contributions including any contributions
 
12           paid along with state income tax due or amounts paid in
 
13           excess of a utility bill that is part of a "round-up"
 
14           program; and
 
15      (3)  Contributions by a utility by order of the commission.
 
16      (b)  All moneys from the fund shall be used for the
 
17 conversion of overhead utility lines to underground facilities.
 
18 The conversion of overhead utility lines includes the planning,
 
19 design, and construction of the new facilities and the removal of
 
20 the old overhead facilities.
 
21      (c)  The commission shall establish criteria allocating
 
22 funds to counties that determine undergrounding zones through
 
23 special improvement districts by ordinance.
 

 
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 1      (d)  The commission shall adopt rules according to
 
 2 chapter 91 to carry out the administration of the fund.
 
 3      §269-C  Allocation of revenues to underground conversion
 
 4 fund.  The commission shall establish an annual allocation of
 
 5 revenues from each utility having above ground facilities.  The
 
 6 allocation shall be deposited into the underground conversion
 
 7 fund established in section 269-B.  Revenues allocated annually
 
 8 to the fund by each utility shall not exceed two per cent of the
 
 9 annual gross revenues of the utility."
 
10                         PART VI.  SAFETY
 
11      SECTION 13.  Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
13 and to read as follows:
 
14      "§269-     One-call system.  (a)  The commission shall
 
15 establish or authorize an independent entity to establish and
 
16 maintain a one-call system to identify the location of
 
17 underground facilities before January 1, 2001.  All owners of
 
18 underground facilities shall subscribe to the service.
 
19      (b)  Before commencing any excavation, an excavator shall
 
20 provide notice of the scheduled commencement of excavation to the
 
21 one-call system.  All underground facilities shall be identified
 
22 through the one-number locator service.  The notice shall be
 
23 communicated to the one-call system not less than two business
 

 
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 1 days or more than ten business days before the scheduled date for
 
 2 commencement of excavation, unless otherwise agreed by the
 
 3 parties.
 
 4      Upon receipt of the notice provided for in this section, the
 
 5 excavator shall obtain reasonably accurate information as to
 
 6 locatable underground facilities by surface-marking the location
 
 7 of the facilities.  Excavators shall have the right to receive
 
 8 compensation from the owner of the underground facility for costs
 
 9 incurred if the owner of the underground facility does not locate
 
10 its facilities in accordance with this section.  The owner of the
 
11 underground facility shall have the right to receive compensation
 
12 for costs incurred in responding to excavation notices given less
 
13 than two business days prior to the excavation from the
 
14 excavator.
 
15      Emergency excavations shall be exempt from the time
 
16 requirements for notification provided in this section.
 
17      If the excavator, while performing the contract, discovers
 
18 underground facilities that are not identified, the excavator
 
19 shall cease excavating in the vicinity of the facility and
 
20 immediately notify the one-number locator service.
 
21      (c)  Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, as used
 
22 in this section:
 

 
 
 
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 1      "Business day" means any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or
 
 2 a legal state or federal holiday.
 
 3      "Emergency" means any condition constituting a clear and
 
 4 present danger to life or property, or a customer service outage.
 
 5      "Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock, or
 
 6 other material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise
 
 7 displaced by any means, except the tilling of soil less than
 
 8 twelve inches in depth for agricultural purposes, or road and
 
 9 ditch maintenance that does not change the original road grade or
 
10 ditch flowline.
 
11      "Excavator" means any person who engages directly in
 
12 excavation.
 
13      "Marking" means the use of stakes, paint, or other clearly
 
14 identifiable materials to show the field location of underground
 
15 facilities, in accordance with the current color code standard of
 
16 the American public works association.  Markings shall include
 
17 identification letters indicating the specific type of the
 
18 underground facility.
 
19      "Reasonably accurate" means location within twenty-four
 
20 inches of the outside dimensions of both sides of an underground
 
21 facility.
 
22      "Underground facility" means any item buried or placed below
 
23 ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of
 

 
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 1 water, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic
 
 2 communications, cablevision, electric energy, petroleum products,
 
 3 gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids, or other substances and
 
 4 including pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires,
 
 5 manholes, attachments, and those parts of poles or anchors below
 
 6 ground.
 
 7      "One-number locator service" means a service through which a
 
 8 person can notify utilities and request field-markings of
 
 9 underground facilities.
 
10      (d)  The commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91
 
11 to implement this section.
 
12      (e)  An excavator who does not use the one-call system
 
13 established by this section before excavation and who by such
 
14 excavation hits or damages an underground facility thereby
 
15 causing an outage or interruption in the provision of utility
 
16 service delivered by the underground facility shall be liable to
 
17 the affected utility for treble the cost of restoring the outage
 
18 or resuming the interrupted service."
 
19      SECTION 14.  In codifying the new sections added by part V
 
20 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate
 
21 section numbers for the letters used in the new sections
 
22 designated in this Act.
 

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 15.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 2 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 3      SECTION 16.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval,
 
 4 except that sections 6 and 8 shall take effect on July 1, 2000.