Section 760. Definitions

When  used in this article, the following terms
  shall have the following meanings.
    1. "Person" means any individual, firm,  corporation,  association  or
  partnership,   cooperative   association,  joint  venture,  joint  stock
  association, business  trust,  their  lessees,  trustees  or  receivers,
  governmental unit or public authority whether or not incorporated.
    2.  "Excavation"  means  an  operation  for the purpose of movement or
  removal of earth, rock or other materials in or on the ground by use  of
  mechanized  equipment  or  by blasting, and includes, but is not limited
  to, auguring, backfilling, drilling, grading, plowing  in,  pulling  in,
  trenching  and  tunneling; provided, however, that the movement of earth
  by tools manipulated only by human or animal power and  the  tilling  of
  soil for agricultural purposes shall not be deemed excavation.
    3.  "Demolition"  means  the  wrecking,  razing,  rending,  moving  or
  removing of any structure.
    4. "Underground facilities" means pipelines, conduits, ducts,  cables,
  wires,  manholes,  vaults or other such facilities or their attachments,
  which have been installed underground by an operator to provide services
  or materials. Such term shall not include oil  and  gas  production  and
  gathering  pipeline  systems  used  primarily  to  collect  oil  or  gas
  production from wells.
    5. "Excavator" means a person who is engaged in a  trade  or  business
  which  includes  the carrying out of excavation or demolition; provided,
  however, that an individual employed by  an  excavator,  and  having  no
  supervisory  authority,  other  than the routine direction of employees,
  over an excavation or demolition, shall not be deemed an  excavator  for
  the purposes of this article. In construing and enforcing the provisions
  of  this  article,  the  act  of  any employee or agent of any excavator
  acting within the scope of his or  her  official  duties  or  employment
  shall be deemed to be the act of such excavator.
    6.  "Operator"  means a person who operates an underground facility or
  facilities to furnish  any  of  the  following  services  or  materials:
  electricity,  gases,  steam,  liquid  petroleum  products,  telephone or
  telegraph communications,  cable  television,  sewage  removal,  traffic
  control systems, or water.
    7.  "Damage"  means  an  impact  upon  or  removal  of support from an
  underground facility  consequent  to  excavation  or  demolition  which,
  according  to the operating practices of the operator, would necessitate
  repair of such facility, destruction of any underground facility or  its
  protective  coating, housing or other protective device, and impact with
  or severance of an underground facility.
    8. "One-call notification system" means an  organization  among  whose
  purposes  is  establishing  and  carrying out procedures and programs to
  protect  underground  facilities  from  damage  due  to  excavation  and
  demolition including, but not limited to, receiving notices of intent to
  perform  excavation  and demolition, and transmitting the notices to one
  or more of  its  member  operators  of  underground  facilities  in  the
  specified area.
    9. "Local governing body" means a town or city outside the city of New
  York or a county within the city of New York.