Some time ago, we saw the creation of the “KLIM” ("Kabels en Leidingen Informatie Meldpunt" or Cable and Pipe Information Notification Office) at federal level and the KLIP ("Kabel en Leidingen Informatie Portaal" or Cable and Pipe Information Portal) at Flemish level; now the Brussels-Capital Region has introduced its own rules in the form of its ordinance of 26 July 2013 on access to and exchange of information on underground cables, pipes and conduits.
Inspiration has been sought in part in the Flemish Order of 14 March 2008 on the disclosure and exchange of information on underground cables and pipes. The rules’ aim is to set up a web application and depositary of geographical information on cables, pipes and conduits in order to prevent excavation damage and also to avoid direct and indirect environmental harm caused by damage to cables, pipes and conduits. Cables, pipes and conduits means any underground infrastructure for the transit, transport, transmission or distribution of substances in solid, fluid or gaseous form, energy or information.
Operators of underground infrastructure are obliged to notify information on their cables, pipes and conduits (the zones where their installations are located) and amend the information via a system yet to be designated, which will be administered by a body that is yet to be identified. Whenever construction activity is planned on a site, the zone of the building site should in principle be entered into the system. The request for information on the location of cables, pipes and conduits must be made no earlier than 40 working days before work starts on site. Exceptions are provided for in the case of acts of God, urgent necessity on grounds of public safety or continuity in public services, exclusively manual works, or building sites on land used for agricultural purposes or private land for domestic works, provided the depth of the site does not exceed 50 cm.
The system then automatically sends just the relevant operators an electronic warning about the request for information. They provide the applicant with the information needed to locate all the installations present in the zone in question. The applicant has to wait until he has received the requested information before embarking on the works on site. Breach of these obligations carries fines. The advantage of the system is that the applicant only has to refer to the system and only cable, pipe and conduit operators that have installations in the relevant zone require to answer.The date when the ordinance comes into force still has to be set.
