(a) For the purposes of this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510, a NID shall be as defined in §1755.501 and shall contain both a fuseless primary station protector and a modular plug and jack for each conductor pair, up to a maximum of 11 pairs, and shall be provided by the telecommunications company and used by customers.

(b) For the purposes of this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510, BET shall be as defined in §1755.501 and shall contain both primary station protectors and connector terminals for each conductor pair, of 12 or more pairs, and shall be provided by the telecommunications company and used by customers. The primary station protectors may be either fuseless or fused.

(c) The requirements provided in this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510 have been designed to coordinate with the provisions of the ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, and the American National Standards Institute/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (ANSI/IEEE) C2-1997, National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). The National Electrical Code® and NEC® are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association, Inc., Quincy, MA 02269. The ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, and the ANSI/IEEE C2-1997, NESC, are incorporated by reference in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies of ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, are available from NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269-9101, telephone number 1 (800) 344-3555. Copies of ANSI/IEEE C2-1997, NESC, are available from IEEE Service Center, 455 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, telephone number 1 (800) 678-4333. Copies of the ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, and the ANSI/IEEE C2-1997, NESC, are available for inspection during normal business hours at RUS, room 2905, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 1598, Washington, DC 20250-1598, or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal__register/code__of__federal__regulations/ibr__locations.html. Most state and local authorities require that utility construction comply with either the ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, and ANSI/IEEE C2-1997, NESC, or some earlier editions of the ANSI/NFPA 70, NEC®, and ANSI/IEEE C2, NESC. Some authorities have their own more stringent codes which may or may not be embellishments of the ANSI/NFPA 70, NEC®, and ANSI/IEEE C2, NESC.

(d) RUS borrowers shall make certain that all construction financed with RUS loan funds comply with:

(1) The provisions of this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510 and the ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, and ANSI/IEEE C2-1997, NESC codes, or any more stringent local codes; or

(2) The provisions of this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510 with borrower added adjustments to bring construction into compliance with any more stringent local codes.

(e) This section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510 are intended primarily for the installer who will perform the work. It assumes that decisions regarding the selection of grounding electrodes, locations, and types of equipment have been made by the RUS borrower or the engineer delegated by the RUS borrower.

(f) Only a qualified installer as defined in §1755.501 shall be assigned to make installations without advance planning and without direct supervision.

(g) This section and §§1755.504 through 1755.509 contain information which is normally not provided on the construction drawings which are included in §1755.510.

(h) All work shall be conducted in a careful and professional manner. Service wire and cable shall not be trampled on, run over by vehicles, pulled over or around abrasive objects or otherwise subjected to abuse.

(i) When situations not covered by this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510 arise, the RUS borrower or the engineer delegated by the borrower, shall specify the installation procedure to be used. The requirements of paragraph (j) of this section shall be complied with in every installation.

(j) NIDs, BETs, and fused primary station protectors shall be installed and grounded to meet the requirements of the ANSI/NFPA 70-1999, NEC®, or local laws or ordinances, whichever are more stringent.

(k) Battery polarity and conductor identification shall be maintained throughout the system as indicated on construction drawings 815 and 815-1 contained in §1755.510. Color codes and other means of conductor identification of buried and aerial service wires shall conform to the requirements of this section and §§1755.504 through 1755.510.

(l) All materials for which RUS makes acceptance determinations, such as service wires and cables, ground rods, ground rod clamps, etc., used in service entrance installations shall be RUS accepted or RUS technically accepted. Borrowers shall require contractors to obtain the borrower's approval before RUS technically accepted materials are to be used in service entrance installations. Borrower's shall also ensure that the cost of the RUS technically accepted materials are at least 6 percent less than the cost of equivalent RUS accepted materials, as specified in “Buy American” Requirement of the Rural Electrification Act of 1938, as amended (7 U.S.C. 903 note). Materials used in service entrance installations which are of the type which RUS does not make acceptance determinations shall be of a suitable quality for their intended application as determined by the RUS borrower or the engineer delegated by the RUS borrower.

(m) On completion of an installation, borrowers shall require the installer to make all applicable tests required by §§1755.400 through 1755.407, RUS standard for acceptance tests and measurements of telecommunications plant.

[66 FR 43317, Aug. 17, 2001, as amended at 69 FR 18803, Apr. 9, 2004]