A Guide To Safe Excavation Practices in …

1 1 Excavator ManualA Guide To safe Excavation Practices inMassachusetts, maine , New Hampshire, rhode Island and VermontDig safe System, s Smart. It s Free. It s the Law. 1-888-DIG-SAFEor 8111-888-DIG-SAFEor :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 11 Table of Regulatory is Dig safe ?..3 Call Before You is Excavation ?..5 Guide to Marking Proposed the Required the to Utility With After To Take If You and Leak Recognition and Perfect Dig safe Permits Online with at a Request Coding System for Facility :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 22 PrefaceThe purpose of this document is to provide you with a basicunderstanding of your responsibilities as set forth in the DigSafe law of your state concerning safe Excavation practicesand the protection of underground document is not intended as a legal reference.

2 It does not contain the complete text of the Dig safe Law, and is not intended to be a Guide for dealing with specific utility companies or may download copies of this manual at , as well as complete copies of the state laws and rules for MA, ME, NH, RI and Regulatory AgenciesThe following state agencies regulate and enforce the Dig safe Law. massachusetts Department of Public UtilitiesOne South Station, Boston, MA 02201617-305-3500, maine Public Utilities Commission242 State Street - 18 State House StationAugusta, maine 04333-0018 207-287-3831, New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission21 South Fruit St, Suite 10, Concord, NH 03301-2429603-271-2431, rhode Island Public Utilities & Carriers89 Jefferson Blvd, Warwick, RI 02885401-941-4500, Vermont Department of Public Service112 State St.

3 - Drawer 20, Montpelier, VT 05620-2601802-828-2811, :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 33 What is Dig safe ?Dig safe is a call center, serving as a link between you theexcavator, and member utility companies. We are a private,not-for-profit organization established to collect informationabout your upcoming Excavation project and notify the appro-priate member utilities in the area of Excavation . The utilitiesmark the location of their lines, or use sub contracted privatelocating companies to mark their lines. This is a free servicefor anyone to use. Note: Dig safe is a call center and doesnot mark lines!Hours of OperationDig safe is open from Monday through Friday from 6:00am to 6:00pm for both regular and emergency locate ticket entry for non-emergency work is available 24 hours a day.

4 During off hours, weekends and holidays, Dig safe s off hours call center processes only emergencylocate requests. See page 9 for a list of observed Center OperationAfter you have given all of the appropriate information to a Dig safe Customer Service Representative (CSR), he or shewill repeat the information back to you. Please listen carefullyto verify its down the list of member utilities notified for the mark-out request so you may verify their response on the job will be given an eleven digit Dig safe confirmation number, or ticket number. Please keep this number for your , not all utilities and municipalities are required bylaw to participate in the Dig safe system.

5 It is your responsi-bility to notify any non-member facility owners :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 44 Call Before You is the law! must give advance notice of at least 48 businesshours in Vermont, and at least 72 business hours inMassachusetts, maine , New Hampshire and rhode Island(Excluding weekends and holidays). massachusetts and maine , you must call regardless ofwhere the Excavation is. In New Hampshire, rhode Islandand Vermont, you must call when working within 100 feetof underground utility facilities, including private must call for most earth penetrating activities, evensmall jobs. See the definition of Excavation on page t rely on old marks or faulty out the area that you plan to excavate with whitepaint, flags or stakes.

6 Include the name or initials of your company.* state regulators inspect an Excavation site or inves-tigate a damage prevention incident, they will check to seeif you have a valid Dig safe the Locate Request Form so that you will knowwhat information you need when calling Dig safe . (See page 24.) an emergency, notify Dig safe at 888-DIG- safe or 811 with the location of the emergency Excavation as soon as possible. An emergency is a sudden or unexpected occurrence whichposes a threat to public safety, life, health, property or essential utility :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 2/12/10 2:18 PM 55 What is Excavation ? massachusetts : Excavation means an operation for the purpose of movement or removal of earth, rock or the materials in the ground including, but not limited to, digging, blasting,auguring, backfilling, test boring, drilling, pile driving, grading,plowing in, hammering, pulling in, jacking in, trenching, tunnel-ing and demolition of structures, excluding Excavation by toolsmanipulated only by human power for gardening purposes anduse of blasting for quarrying purposes.

7 (Chapter 82, Section 20) maine : Excavation means any operation in which earth, rock or other material below the ground is moved or otherwisedisplaced, by means of power tools, power equipment or explosives and including grading, trenching, digging, ditching,drilling, auguring, tunneling, scraping and cable or pipe driving,except tilling of soil and gardening or displacement of earth,rock or other material for agricultural purposes. (Title 23, MRSA 3360-A)New Hampshire: Excavate , excavating , or Excavation means any operation conducted on private property or in a public way, right-of-way, easement, public street, or other pub-lic place, in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved, removed, or otherwise displaced by means of anytools, equipment, or explosive, and includes but is not limited todrilling, grading, boring, milling, trenching, tunneling, scraping,tree and root removal, cable or pipe plowing, fence or sign postinstallation, pile driving, wrecking, razing, rending or movingany structure or mass material but does not include the tillingof soil for agricultural purposes.

8 Landscaping and maintenanceor residential property performed with non-mechanized equip-ment, landscaping activities performed with mechanized equip-ment that are intended to cut vegetation, including lawn edging,Continued on the next :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 66 What is Excavation ? - Continuedaeration and de-thatching, excavations permitted or grandfa-thered under RSA 155-E, or replacement of department-of-transportation-installed delineator posts in the same location.(RSA 374, Section 48) rhode Island: Excavation means an operation for the pur-pose of movement or removal of earth, rock or other materialsin or on the ground, or otherwise disturbing the subsurface ofthe earth, by the use of powered or mechanized equipment,including but not limited to digging, blasting, auguring, back filling, test boring, drilling, pile driving, grading, plowing in,hammering, pulling in, trenching, and tunneling; excluding themovement of earth by tools manipulated only by human or animal power and the tilling of soil for agricultural purposes.

9 (Chapter , Section 39-1)Vermont: Excavation activities means activities involving the removal of earth, rock or other materials in the ground, disturbing the subsurface of the earth, or the demolition of anystructure, by the discharge of explosives or the use of poweredor mechanized equipment, including but not limited to digging,trenching, blasting, boring, drilling, hammering, post driving,wrecking, razing, or tunneling, within 100 feet of an under-ground utility facility. Excavation activities shall not include the tilling of the soil for agricultural purposes, routine homegardening with hand tools outside easement areas and publicrights-of-way, activities relating to routine public highway maintenance, or the use of hand tools by a company, or thecompany s agent or a contractor working under the agent sdirection, to locate or service the company s facilities, providedthe company has a written damage prevention program.

10 (VSA Title 30, Chapter 86)72310_DGS :DGS Excavator Manual JUL09 8/3/09 10:06 AM 77 Guide to Marking Proposed ExcavationsThe following is only a guideline. Refer to the currentCommon Ground Alliance (CGA) Best Practices for completedetails at These illustrations are examples of how excavators should premark the area of proposed Excavation . Use white markingproducts (paint, flags, stakes, whiskers or combination) toidentify the Excavation site. Using florescent pink is recom-mended to premark on snowy Point Excavation MarkingsPremark the proposed area of Excavation by using: a continu-ous line, dots marking a radius or arc, dashes marking thefour corners of a project, or dashes outlining the excavationproject.