July 17, 2009
BUSINESS PROCESS FOR UTILITY CERTIFICATION
Purpose:
It is critical that existing utilities (both private and public) are identified early in the development
of a project and any required modifications, relocations, or replacements are accounted for in the
project budget, construction documents, and schedule. By certifying that the existing utilities
have been taken into account, the M-NCPPC will avoid delays and cost overruns as the project is
implemented. Note that Park Permit applicants are responsible for all existing utility certifications
for work on Park property.
Facility Planning Stage:
1. Site information gathering phase: the Project Manager (PM) should identify available
information for the presence of on-site or off-site utilities at the project site. The PM
should consult with Alchemy records for the site and PDD Survey Chief (Kenny Becraft) to
provide any known existing utilities information for the site. The PM should also
coordinate with the Park Manager to understand what facilities exist on the site, are
currently in use, or are abandoned.
2. Scope of work phase: the RFP for consultant services should require the consultant to
contact all public utility companies or agencies to request utility record information for the
site and investigate what private utilities may exist on the site. Copies of this information
should be forwarded to the PM and documented on the design plans. The RFP should
include a requirement for the services of an underground utility locator if needed, to
identify any utilities that might affect the design. The PM should not request that the PDD
Survey Unit perform this service, as there will be a potential for liability to the Commission,
unless the project is an in-house design. For an in-house design, the PM is responsible for
identifying utility information and may request in-house survey assistance.
3. Start of Facility Planning: the consultant, or PM for in-house designs, should send the
utility record request letters (Attachment C) to all of the public utility companies or
agencies in the area and must require written confirmation of the existence or nonexistence of the respective agency utilities in proximity to the project site (a list for
Montgomery County utility agencies is compiled – see Attachment A).
4. 30% -50% through Facility Planning: when the extent of utility impact is determined, the
design consultant or PM shall contact all of the utility companies that maintain facilities
which are determined to be in conflict with the proposed construction and request input
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regarding how the conflict can be avoided or minimized. PM should also provide a set of
plans to Central Maintenance (Arnold Ramsammy) for on-site utility verification. If it is
determined that the utility must be relocated, the PM/design consultant must request
from the utility company a cost estimate and general timeframe for relocation of the
affected utilities. The PM/design consultant must also request “prior right information”
for the utility, which includes any recorded easement rights on Commission property or
adjacent Montgomery County or State Right-of-Way. This information will help M-NCPPC
determine who is responsible for the relocation costs.
5. Final Facility Plan stage: the consultant or PM shall produce a Utility Survey and Relocation
Certification (USRC) including all appropriate utility documentation and costs (including
contact information) and incorporate the USRC in the Facility Plan report for future use
during Detailed Design.
Detailed Design Stage:
1. Start of Detailed Design: if there is a significant time lag between the facility planning
stage and detailed design stage the consultant or PM (for an in-house design) must confirm
that there is no change to the USRC for location or existence of utilities that were identified
and documented during Facility Planning, include any information for utilities that have
since been installed, and verify that the USRC information is still valid.
2. RFP for Detailed Design: the PM should consider whether additional investigations (test
pits, underground utility locator, etc.) may be needed to complete the design.
3. Early in the Detailed Design: the PM should re-establish contact with any affected utility
company to understand the requirements for design, construction, and timing of
relocations or modifications.
4. 70% through Detailed Design: the PM must send a letter (can be a form letter) to all the
utility companies who were identified to be in conflict with the design of the project
asking those utility companies to start their relocation design and provide us with updated
costs and schedule to complete their work. This request should include a project
construction schedule and the date by when M-NCPPC expects their utilities to be
relocated. The Construction Manager should be involved with all relocation efforts in
order to understand the coordination requirements and timing of the work.
5. Completion of Detailed Design: the PM or design consultant along with the Construction
Manager must continue to coordinate the relocation design with the affected utility
companies up to completion of final design work. The contract documents must clearly
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identify the location of all the existing utilities, their relocation design, future temporary or
permanent relocations, the responsible party who will be relocating the utilities, and if any
of these utilities are to be relocated by the Commission’s contractor. The design plans and
contract documents must include exiting utilities to remain, utilities to be relocated, and
appropriate bid items for test pits and all applicable relocation work.
6. Contract Documents stage: a Utility Survey and Relocation Certificate (USRC) must be
prepared with the signature of the PM or design consultant in coordination with the
Construction Manger and must be included in the contract documents for bid. The USRC
statement shall include all the efforts documented to locate and coordinate utility work in
proximity to the project site for on-site and off-site utilities. The USRC shall also include a
list of all utility agencies that were contacted during the design of the project and include
those that indicated that no conflict existed or result from the project. A copy of the USRC
(a template will be provided in CADD – see Attachment B) must be signed by the PM or
design consultant and included on the title sheet of the final plans. In addition, standard
notes for utility locations on Park property must be included on the plans (see Attachment
B).
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