The New 2025 Law is Now Effective

The new 2025 Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act is in effect to enhance public safety, minimize risks to excavators, prevent disruptions and aid in the expansion of vital public services.

What has changed and how it will impact your business.

These are a few of the key areas that are addressed in the new legislation. The new legislation contains other substantial changes to the existing law.

1. Notification Timelines

The definition of day/days has been changed. A locate request must be submitted at least 2 days, NOT including the day of the notice, but no more than 10 days prior to the proposed excavation. Notice expiration will be 25 days with extensions allowed between day 20 and 25. Day/days do NOT include weekends, JULIE recognized holidays and the day of the notice.

2. Pre-Marking

All locate requests will require pre-marking, by physically marking the proposed excavation or route, electronic white lining (when available) or with verbal pre-marking when the description provided is explicit enough to limit markings to the actual excavation area.

3. Positive Response

The use of an electronic Positive Response system, offered through JULIE, is now required for all excavators and facility owners or operators. Training on how to use the electronic Positive Response system, including applicable response codes, is available. For questions regarding Positive Response, please contact memberinfo@julie1call.com.

4. Reasonable Control Measures

Up to 2 additional days advance notice may be requested by a JULIE member to respond to locate and mark, or provide a no conflict response, when notice volume in a particular place exceeds the reasonable control measurement of the JULIE member. This additional advance notice ONLY applies to excavations where the project owner is a JULIE member or their contractors/sub-contractors. The JULIE Board of Directors passed this policy which creates responses for members and their contractors/sub-contractors to use in Positive Response for Beyond Reasonable Control Requests. Click the here below for a graphic that illustrates scenarios of the Beyond Reasonable Control.

5. Service Laterals

A new Illinois law requires any existing service lateral that is completely replaced or any newly installed lateral to be made locatable by electromagnetic or other equally effective means for marking the location of the service lateral.