Changes to Ontario One Call system come into effect May 1

TORONTO — There will be several new changes on Ontario’s One Call system effective May 1, the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario reported on its blog.
A key thing to note is that Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs) will only be issued against utility companies and locate service providers for late locates when a formal complaint is lodged, stated the blog.

It is therefore important to lodge these complaints at the following link i-Sight | Report Online.

As part of Bill 153, the Building Infrastructure Safety Act, it is now legislated that there is no cost for the delivery of locates and relocates in Ontario.

Other changes include:

TIMELINES

• Timelines for construction project locates have doubled to 10 business days under the definition of “large infrastructure projects” or as One Call refers to them “advanced requests”:

• • At least two properties or parts of properties, each having its own municipal address; or
  • One or more properties or parts of properties, at least one of which has no municipal address.

• Single civic address locates will remain at five business days.

• There are no changes to emergency locate requests which will stay at two hours.

• One Call can file a complaint against the excavator if they file a request as “single-civic” instead of the “advanced request.”

• An advanced request can still be renegotiated but beyond the 10th day rather than the previous five.

• The renegotiation must be agreed on by both sides in writing (e.g. if the excavator does not respond to the new date, it is not considered renegotiated). If the locate is not completed within 10 days, the excavator can file a complaint with One Call. If it’s not resolved within five calendar days, it can be referred to an investigation.

  
COMPLAINTS/PENALTIES

• The penalties are $300 for both single and advanced for a max of $10,000 per contravention (e.g. for each delayed locate). The $300 can be a daily penalty. 

• Underground infrastructure owners would be the ones paying the penalty, because they cannot contract out their responsibilities under the act. Funds collected through the penalties will go to improve One Call’s capacity.

• AMPs are not automatic because when One Call reviews the data, they do not know if an incomplete is due to 360 feedback not completed, if the locate has been renegotiated, or if the locate was not completed. This is why it’s within the discretion of the assessor.

• Contractors need to lodge formal complaints when locates are late. It is understandable that there may be reservations in filing complaints but doing this means something, particularly in this new complaint driven enforcement system. Complaints will drive results and ensure there is accountability and tension in the system.

 
DEDICATED LOCATOR

• The Dedicated Locator (DL) model can be applied to excavations or digs where a project owner decides to use a DL or a project that satisfies the criteria prescribed by the minister (this has not yet been created). Projects that meet both the definition of an “advanced request”, and DL project, must proceed as a DL project.