Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 77 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS (§§ 77-1-1 — 77-NEW-NEW-004) › Chapter 13 - REGULATION OF EXCAVATIONS NEAR UNDERGROUND UTILITY FACILITIES (§§ 77-13-1 — 77-13-37) › Section 77-13-5 - Excavator's investigation of site; notice to utility of planned excavation

(1)
In addition to complying with all other applicable regulations and requirements of federal, state, county and municipal authorities, no person shall engage in excavation of any kind, before meeting the notification requirements of this chapter. Under this chapter the excavator shall:
(a)
Inform himself/herself of the presence and location of any underground utility lines and underground facilities in or near the area where excavation is to be conducted;
(b)
Plan and conduct the excavation to avoid or minimize interference with or damage to underground utility lines and underground facilities in or near the excavation area; maintain a clearance between any underground utility line or underground facility and the cutting edge or point of any mechanical excavating equipment, taking into account the known limit of control of such cutting edge or point, as may be reasonably necessary to avoid damage to such facility; and provide such support for underground utility lines or underground facilities in and near the excavation area, including during any backfilling operations, as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of such facilities.
(c)
Except as provided in Section
77-13-11
, before beginning any excavation, other than an impending emergency as defined in Section
77-13-3
, provide not less than three (3) and not more than ten (10) working days' advance written, electronic or telephonic notice of the commencement, extent, location and duration of the excavation work to Mississippi 811, Incorporated, so that Mississippi 811, Incorporated, operator(s) may locate and mark the location of underground utility lines and underground facilities in the excavation area. The advance written, electronic or telephonic notice required by this subsection shall not be required where a qualified operator using reasonable care so as to protect himself and any underground facility that may be in the area, uses a hand-powered probe rod to locate that operator's underground facilities for the purpose of underground facility mapping.
The written, electronic or telephonic notice required by this paragraph (c) shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the person filing the notice of intent, the person responsible for the excavation, the starting date, anticipated duration, type of excavation to be conducted, the location of the proposed excavation, which is limited to an area the excavator reasonably believes may be completed within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date and time the locate request ticket is processed or entered into the Mississippi 811, Inc., system and does not include any area in which the excavator has already completed the excavation work, and whether or not explosives are to be used.
In addition to all other violations of this chapter, providing advanced written notification required by this paragraph (c) where the proposed excavation location could not reasonably be completed within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date and time the locate request ticket is processed or entered into the Mississippi 811, Inc., system or where the proposed excavation location includes any area in which the excavator has already completed the excavation work shall constitute violations of this chapter.
Prior to providing the advance notice to Mississippi 811, Inc., as required by this subsection 1(c), the excavator shall pre-mark the approximate boundary of the proposed excavation area with white paint, flags or stakes. Where an excavator pre-marks the proposed excavation area with a single stake or other single-point indicator, that excavator represents that the proposed excavation area does not exceed fifty (50) feet in any direction from the pre-mark. Pre-marking of the proposed excavation area with white paint, flags or stakes shall not be required if the area can be defined in the advance written, electronic or telephonic notice by a street address, lot and block number, distance from a driveway or street intersection, or by other geographical descriptions more specifically described in the rules and regulations adopted by the Board.
(d)
Provide advance written, electronic or telephonic notice of the commencement, extent, location and duration of the excavation work to Mississippi 811, Incorporated, for excavations required due to an impending emergency, that includes an excavation start time that is not less than twelve (12) hours from the time of notices provided between 8:00 p.m. and 11:59 a.m., and not sooner than 8:00 a.m., on the next calendar day for notices provided between 12:00 p.m. and 7:59 p.m., so that Mississippi 811, Incorporated, operators may locate and mark the location of underground utility lines and underground facilities in the excavation area.
In addition to the written, electronic or telephonic notice information required in subsection (1)(c) of this section, the excavator shall also provide contact information for a person readily available to discuss the impending emergency excavation with operators.
(2)
The markings provided by operators and the locate request number shall only be valid for a period of fourteen (14) calendar days from the date and time the locate request ticket is processed or entered into the system by Mississippi 811, Incorporated. The person responsible for the excavation project shall renew the notification with Mississippi 811, Incorporated, at least three (3) and not more than four (4) working days prior to this expiration date and shall continue to renew such notification in the same manner throughout the duration of the excavation. Such renewal notice shall be valid for a period of fourteen (14) calendar days from the date and time the renewal locate request is processed or entered into the system by Mississippi 811, Incorporated. The proposed excavation location on a renewal locate request ticket shall not include any area in which the excavator has already completed the excavation work. In addition to all other violations of this chapter, renewing a locate request ticket that includes any area within the proposed excavation location in which the excavator has already completed the excavation work shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(3)
Compliance with the notice requirements of this section shall not be required of:
(a)
persons plowing less than twenty-four (24) inches in depth for agricultural purposes;
(b)
persons who are moving or otherwise displacing, by hand, earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground at a depth of less than twelve (12) inches on property they own; and
(c)
persons, other than the property owner, who are moving or otherwise displacing, by hand, earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground at a depth of less than twelve (12) inches, except when such excavation is in a clearly marked underground facility right-of-way.
(4)
A person may make a written, electronic or telephonic design information request to Mississippi 811, Incorporated, so that owners and operators of utilities may locate underground utility lines and underground facilities in the design information area. The design information request shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request, the type of project planned, and a description of the area to be located with sufficient particularity to enable the utility owner or operator to ascertain the precise tract or parcel of land involved.
(5)
(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, the procedures and requirements set forth in this subsection (5) shall apply on the site of any excavation involving trenchless excavation, including directional boring, where the approximate location of underground utility lines or underground facilities has been marked in compliance with Section
77-13-9
.
(b)
The excavator shall not use power-driven equipment for trenchless excavation, including directional boring, across or within the marked approximate location of underground utility lines or underground facilities unless, when reasonably practical, the excavator exposes the planned trenchless excavation path by a noninvasive method such as hand digging, pot holing when practical, soft digging, vacuum methods, use of pressurized air or water, or pneumatic hand tools and then carefully and prudently monitors the horizontal and vertical location of the trenchless excavation device in a manner calculated to enable the device to be visually observed by the excavator as it crosses the entire width of the marked approximate location of the underground facilities.
(c)
For trenchless excavations, including directional boring, parallel to the marked approximate location of underground utility lines or underground facilities, the excavator shall, when reasonably practical, use a noninvasive method such as hand digging, pot holing when practical, soft digging, vacuum methods, use of pressurized air or water, or pneumatic hand tools to identify the actual location of the underground utility facility at careful and prudent intervals.
Laws, 1985, ch. 494, § 3; Laws, 1997, ch. 483, § 2; reenacted without change, Laws, 1999, ch. 302, § 3; Laws, 2008, ch. 497, § 2, eff. 7/1/2008.
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 333, SB 2603,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 428, SB 2102,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2016, ch. 490, SB 2755, 9, eff. 7/1/2016.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 309, HB 881, 2, eff. 7/1/2015.