In April 2022, the Ontario Government introduced amendments to the OUINS Act that changed the landscape of how locates are managed by Ontario One Call, Locate Service Providers, and the Excavation community in Ontario.
The regulator for the OUINS Act has always been Ontario One Call, however, now the Act has a new regulation that allows Ontario One Call to levy administrative penalties for non-compliance for the following (our interpretation):
$300 – Utility Owner or Locate Service Provider (LSP) provides a late locate for a standard locate request.
$1,000 – Utility Owner or LSP provides a late locate for an emergency locate request
$200 - Dedicated Locate Project Owner’s failure to notify Ontario One Call of a Dig Project within 90 days of breaking ground.
$250 – Failure by the Project Owner or Utility Owner to agree in writing on an LSP and/or mapping is not provided to the LSP.
$250 - Failure by the Utility Owner to notify Ontario One Call or the Excavator of any change in information affecting the locate before the end of the locate validity period.
$10,000 – (i) Breaking ground without locates. (ii) The LSP or Dedicated Locate Service Provider (DLSP) did not provide a locate. (iii) Excavator has ensured that the locate markings on the ground do not conflict with the locate report.
$8,000 - Continuation of dig work past the validity period of a locate.
$200 – The Excavator shared locate information with another Excavator without including their contact information in the locate request and/or did not notify Ontario One Call.
$250 - The Excavator submits a standard locate request greater than 30 days before the dig date.
$250 - The DLSP or Utility Owner did not notify Ontario One Call that the locate was completed.
This new regulation is a great step in the right direction for helping the industry reduce late locates. HOWEVER, it is also directed to help reduce damages to buried utility infrastructure. Those relying on locates or directing field staff (Our Clients!) must be aware that the penalty for digging without locates or with incorrect locates is $10,000. Furthermore, working with expired locates carries a hefty $8,000 penalty. We hope our Client Management Teams have prepared their project supervisors and field staff to understand these new monetary consequences, at the same time, stressing the importance of safety when breaking ground.
If this is the first time you are hearing about it, need help, or just want to chat about this new regulation, call us and ask for Grant at 1-800-868-2196, or email info@premierlocates.ca.