Lady Justice
AUSTIN - While Texas counties can supervise the installation of utilities along public roads, they can’t impose permit requirements, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton
Last November, Caldwell County submitted an opinion request to the Office of the Attorney General, seeking clarification on whether a utility may bury a cable along the right-of-way of a county road without first seeking a permit.
“Certain utilities, and specifically AT&T, have taken the position that (Texas Code 181.082) allows them to install their cables without either getting a permit from the County or meeting the County regulations for burying utilities in the right of way,” the opinion request states.
“As a result, because the County is not involved in the installation of buried cables along the right-of-way, when County road crews are upgrading or improving roads they often… cut these buried cables which then must be repaired.”
Caldwell County, which is rapidly growing, stated that it has no means to estimate and budget the expense of repairing cut cables, and that placing the burden on the county would be an inconvenience to taxpayers.
The county also asked that if it can’t require permits, can it specify and enforce a minimum depth requirement for burying cables. And in the case that neither a permit or minimum depth requirement can be enforced, the county sought to know which party bears the cost for the cable repair.
On Sept. 15, Paxton issued an opinion stating the county is not authorized to impose the permit, records show.
“While Chapter 181 of the Texas Utilities Code authorizes counties to supervise the installation or designate the appropriate location of certain utility facilities in the rights-of-way for public roads, this chapter does not authorize a county to impose permitting or minimum-depth requirements on a telephone or telegraph corporation that buries cable in a county road right-of-way,” the opinion states.
“A county would not be liable for the costs to repair and rebury a telephone or telegraph corporation’s cable, under the Texas Tort Claims Act, unless property damage is proximately caused by the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of a county employee and it arises from the operation or use of motor-driven vehicles or equipment. That determination, however, is a fact question beyond the scope of this opinion.”
Opinion No. KP-0499
