Section 228 of Construction Regulation has been changed

In March 2010, the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association released a statement regarding changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to utility locates.  You can read the notice by clicking OSWCA_Locates_Bulletin.

Section 228 of the Construction Regulation within the Occupational Health and Safety Act has been amended as follows:

Old Wording

228. (1) Before an excavation is begun,

(a) gas, electrical and other services in and near the area to be excavated shall be accurately located and marked; and

(b) if a service may pose a hazard, the service shall be shut off and disconnected. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (1).

(2) The employer who is responsible for the excavation shall request the owner of the service to locate and mark the service. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (2).

(3) If a service may pose a hazard and cannot be shut off or disconnected, the owner of the service shall be requested to supervise the uncovering of the service during the excavation. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (3).

(4) Pipes, conduits and cables for gas, electrical and other services in an excavation shall be supported to prevent their failure or breakage. O. Reg. 213/91, s. 228 (4).

New Wording

28.  (1)  Before an excavation is begun,

(a) the employer excavating shall ensure that all gas, electrical and other services in and near the area to be excavated are located and marked;

(b) the employer and worker locating and marking the services described in clause (a) shall ensure that they are accurately located and marked; and

(c) if a service may pose a hazard, the service shall be shut off and disconnected. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6.
2
(2)  If a service may pose a hazard and it cannot be shut off or disconnected, the owner of the service shall be requested to supervise the uncovering of the service during the excavation. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6.

(3)  Pipes, conduits and cables for gas, electrical and other services in an excavation shall be supported to prevent their failure or breakage. O. Reg. 443/09, s. 6

Although the changes appear subtle, it is our understanding that the change was made such that the regulation now requires that locates be completed “accurately”.  Apparently this was a key problem identified during the investigation of the Bloor Street Explosion, as the contractor fulfilled their requirements by “requesting locates” and the utility fulfilled their obligation by “completing locates”.  The key problem was reportedly that the locates were not undertaken correctly or accurately.

We believe that this change in the regulation places more emphasis on the potential liability of environmental consultants and geotechnical engineers to ensure that they have completed the locates properly prior to requesting us to drill a borehole at their specified location.