By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A moratorium on digging permits along county
rights-of-way, put into place in January, was lifted by Juab
County Commissioners four months shy of the six month
deadline first set.
The moratorium was lifted, even though commissioners had
not finished revising the ordinance covering digging
permits, after Chris A. Crawford, Right of Way Manager/State
of Utah, and Steve Stark, both of MasTec, North Salt Lake,
met with commissioners.
"Lifting the moratorium will not give anyone carte
blanche to do what ever they want in Juab County, as far as
digging along county rights-of-way are concerned," said
David Leavitt, Juab County attorney.
The permitting process directed that all those desiring
such permits would need to meet with the county planning
commission and the county commission before being allowed a
permit.
"We have followed a route other than the Airport Road
route, west of Nephi, which we had originally proposed
using," said Crawford. He had met with members of the county
planning commission and had shown them the new proposal, he
said.
"The planning commission felt good about this route,"
said Robert Steele, commissioner who sits on the planning
commission. "This route completely eliminates our concern
about having too many utilities placed in one area."
The new route would come from the area by Nephi's sewer
lagoons to Meadow Lane.
"Our only concern now is the large irrigation pipe laid
along parts of the new route," said Steele.
Sierra Pacific Communications is planning a project which
would require laying fiber optic cable along several county
roads in Juab County. From Meadow Lane, the cable would be
placed in the ground along old U.S. Highway 91 between Mona
and Nephi.
"We will be members of Blue Stakes," said Crawford. "We
will have a locator on site whenever a digging project is in
the process to make certain our lines are not dug into."
"Who pays for the repair if a fiber optic cable is
damaged?' asked Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chairman. It
seemed, to his way of thinking, that the cost of repairing
such a cable could be too expensive for the ordinary person
to pay.
"If there is negligence on the part of the digger, they
should bear some of the expense," said Stark. Nevertheless,
with a company locator on site, such accidents should be
kept from happening. Most accidents, he said, came when
someone dug at a site without first notifying Blue
Stakes.
"We don't want a digging accident anymore than you do,"
he said.
The county commissioners ability to protect a resident,
such as a farmer digging post holes, from paying for the
cost of repairing a line could only be accomplished to some
degree.
"In all fairness, to Sierra Pacific, those who dig into
the cable because they have not contacted Blue Stakes should
be held somewhat responsible for repairs."
The county could require and obligate Sierra Pacific to
move the line if that was ever needed, said Leavitt. In
addition, he said, the commission and Leavitt could do all
they could to indemnify the county.
The cable company will bury the cable from 48- to
60-inches below the surface, will carry a $75,000 cash bond
to make certain the area the cable is laid in is restored,
and will compact all areas where the cable is laid.
In addition, the company will not open cut asphalt or the
railroad tracks and will not place cable where the high
pressure natural gas line is located.
A preconstruction meeting will be set between the
cable-laying contractor and the county road superintendent
and the road crew committee to discuss the obligations of
the contractor.
The cable company will also have the digging and cable
inspected by not only their own inspector but by one working
for the county road department.
"There will be much less construction along the new
route," said Crawford. The less construction there was the
less problem there would be with digging into cable.
Commissioners imposed the moratorium on Tuesday, Jan. 16,
and it was planned to leave it in place until July 16.
"The moratorium didn't extend to the issuance of digging
permits across county rights-of-way," said Leavitt.
The county still doesn't have a suitable policy or
ordinance governing digging along county roads and needs
time to research and prepare an ordinance dealing with the
problem. In fact, the commission estimated that they still
had six to 12 months work to do before an ordinance would be
ready for signatures.
"We have been concerned that the county road
rights-of-way will fill up with buried cable for many types
of services and then, if we have to widen a road, it will be
at a great expense to Juab County," said Howarth.
"We are looking at our future," said Steele. "Technology
is the future and, while we need to continue working toward
a new policy, we do need to be practical."
In January, commissioners directed Leavitt to send
letters with copies of the signed resolution to all those
who had recently submitted enquiries about laying
fiber-optic cable on the county right-of-way.
The commission, staff, Robert Garrett, road
superintendent, and Leavitt will continue work to formulate
a workable policy and to come up with a definition of what
should and should not be allowed.
Digging by utility companies and by others requires a
permit.
"We must do out planning now before it is too late and
the corridors are full," said Joseph Bernini, commissioner.
"The new route proposed by Sierra Pacific is a solution for
their problem because they will follow a non-congested route
along Meadow Lane."
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