Locators
Whether you are a contract locator locating for several utilities or an employee of a utility whose job description requires you to locate a specific utility, we here at Mississippi 811 appreciate the very difficult job you have to do. We know that every locate is not short grass or smooth parking lots, but that every locate is important. We want you to know that the law defines different types of tickets and that your response time is affected by the type of ticket you receive.
Ticket Types
“Mark” shall mean the use of stakes, paint or other clearly identifiable materials to show the field location of underground facilities in accordance with the current color code standard of the American Public Works Association, or the uncovering or exposing of underground facilities so that the excavator may readily see the location of same, or the pointing out to the excavator of certain aboveground facilities such as, but not limited to, manhole covers, valve boxes and pipe and cable risers, which indicate the location of underground facilities.
Please Note: According to MS state law, locators have 2 working-days to mark underground utilities for all ticket types, with the exception of Design, No Response, Unmarked and Cancel Request tickets. The law does not specify a different time frame in which Emergency or Short Notice tickets are to be marked.
Normal – Locate Request submitted no less than 2 and not more than 10 working days prior to excavation. Required response time is 2 working days.
MS State Law: under section 77-13-9 Every person owning or operating underground utility lines or underground facilities shall, upon receiving advance notice of the commencement of excavation, in accordance with Section 77-13-7, make an investigation, and may report through the use of the PRIS the status of the work performed, within two (2) working days from the time notice is provided in accordance with this chapter to the Mississippi 811, Inc., to determine the approximate location of its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation, and shall either: (a) mark the approximate location of underground utility lines and underground facilities in or near the area of the excavation, so as to enable the person engaged in excavation work to locate the lines and facilities in advance of and during the excavation work; (b) advise in writing or by telephone or electronic means that it has no underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area; or (c) advise in writing or by telephone or electronic means that it can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation. If an operator can locate its underground utility lines or underground facilities in the excavation area only by excavation and has given proper notice of such, that operator shall be allowed a reasonable amount of additional time, not to exceed two (2) additional working days, to mark the approximate location of the underground utility lines or underground facilities.
Emergency – Locate Request involving danger to life, health or property or a customer service outage. Required response time is 2 working days.
MS State Law: “Emergency excavation” shall mean excavation at times of emergency involving danger to life, health or property or a customer service outage.
Short Notice – A Locate Request where the excavator has requested that lines be marked sooner than 2 working days. A Short Notice Request is only a request and is not binding or mandated by law. Required response time is 2 working days.
No Response – A Request sent to any utility owner or operators that failed to respond to the previous locate request within 2 working days. Required response time is 4 hours.
MS State Law: When an excavator, upon arriving at an excavation site, sees evidence of unmarked underground utility lines or underground facilities or encounters an unmarked underground utility line or underground facility on an excavation site after excavation has commenced where notice of intent has been made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, that excavator must immediately contact Mississippi 811, Inc. All operator(s) thus notified must contact the excavator within four (4) hours and inform the excavator of any of their known underground facilities, active or abandoned, at the site of the excavation.
Cancel Request – A Request sent to inform utility owner or operators that the excavator has reported that the excavation previously reported will no longer be taking place and that underground utilities no longer need to be marked.
Unmarked – A Request sent when a utility owner or operator has responded to the previous locate request submitted by the excavator. However, the excavator has reported that there are still unmarked utilities within the reported excavation site that may belong to the utility owner or operator. This could be due to the locator’s failure to mark part of the reported excavation site or due to the excavator finding an unmarked utility (active or abandoned) while excavating. Required response time is 4 hours.
MS State Law: When an excavator, upon arriving at an excavation site, sees evidence of unmarked underground utility lines or underground facilities or encounters an unmarked underground utility line or underground facility on an excavation site after excavation has commenced where notice of intent has been made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, that excavator must immediately contact Mississippi 811, Inc. All operator(s) thus notified must contact the excavator within four (4) hours and inform the excavator of any of their known underground facilities, active or abandoned, at the site of the excavation.
Design – A Locate Request submitted by a professional service in preparation for bidding, preconstruction engineering, or other advance planning efforts that do not involve excavation. Required response time is 7 working days.
MS State Law: “Design Information Request” means a notification made to Mississippi 811, Inc., by a person providing professional services and making a request in preparation for bidding, preconstruction engineering, or other advance planning efforts that do not involve excavation. A design information services request may not be used for excavation purposes. Upon receiving a design information request, the utility owner or operator shall within seven (7) working days from the time notice is provided in accordance with this chapter to Mississippi 811, Inc., respond by one (1) of the following methods: (a) marking the approximate location of its underground utility lines and underground facilities in the area in accordance with subsection (1) of this section; (b) providing to the person making the design information request the best available description of its underground utility lines and underground facilities in the area which may include drawings or other records maintained by the utility owner or operator; or (c) allowing the person making the design information request or any other authorized person to inspect or copy the drawings or other records for all underground utility lines and utility facilities in the area.
