Frequently Asked Questions

The content of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and the answers thereto, are intended only to provide insight regarding Commission Staff's current approach to a given issue. The purpose of FAQs is to facilitate communications with industry and other stakeholders. Nothing in these FAQs, or the answers thereto, should be construed to represent interpretations or otherwise alter the intent of the rule.

FAQ Topics

If I call for a meet on site, why do I have to wait five days after I make the call before I am allowed to begin digging? Why can't locators mark when we meet so I can begin work the next day? If I request a meet on site, what is my legal start date?

While notice may be provided in accordance with K.S.A. 66-1804, that notice is technically incomplete for a meet on site because it does not give an accurate description of the excavation site. Similar to the whitelining requirements in the statute, the operator has two working days to meet with the excavator, and two working days beginning the day after that meeting to complete the marking of the excavation site. An excavator may be required to wait four working days past the date of the call to begin excavating. However, if the excavator has received responses (facility locates or all-clears) from all facility operators that were notified of the request for a meet on site, digging could start before the four working day time period has elapsed. Often, locators will provide locates at the time of the meet, but they are not required to do so.

If I request a meet on site, do I have to keep records of the meet? What kind of documentation should I keep about a meet on site?

The current law does not require records of the meet to be kept. As a mutual benefit, and to eliminate any misunderstanding, we strongly encourage the excavator to keep a record of who attended a meet on site and what was discussed. This record should be signed by the excavator and the locator indicating their understanding of marking instructions. Staff is in the process of preparing regulations that will make record keeping by the party that proposed the meet to be a requirement.

Is an operator required to attend a meet on site?

Staff believes an operator is required to attend a meet on site as long as reasonable accommodations can be made to coordinate schedules between the two parties. As an alternative, the operator may request the excavator to whiteline the proposed excavation site if a meeting can not be arranged.

Can the operator request the excavator to whiteline a site? Does whitelining impact the length of time to locate the ticket? Do I have to whiteline the exact route or area that I want to excavate?

If the excavator does not give a clear description of the excavation site, the operator may request the excavator to whiteline the excavation site. Whitelining is accomplished by outlining the area in which locates are requested with white flags or white paint. It is recommended the whitelined area include enough of the surrounding area to allow all utilities in the area to be located in the event that minor modifications of excavating path occurs. The marks should be spaced close enough together that the locator can easily distinguish the area to be marked. If an operator requests the excavator to whiteline an area, the operator is allowed two additional working days after the whitelining is complete to provide the locates. It must be stressed that an operator can only request whitelining if the excavator does not provide a clearly understood description of the excavation site.

Do I have to hand dig within the tolerance zone?

The statute requires the excavator to use reasonable care when digging within the tolerance zone. In the industry, hand digging is typically considered to be a means of reasonable care. Other methods of reasonable care such as vacuum excavation may be more appropriate is some cases. Mechanical excavation in the tolerance zone is allowable as long as the excavator takes extra precautions, (such as a spotter), to avoid damage to the buried facility.

How do you calculate the tolerance zone?

The tolerance zone is defined as the horizontal distance of 24 inches from either side of the outside dimensions of the buried facility. Therefore, the minimum distance of the tolerance zone would be 48 inches or 4 feet across.

How do utilities mark the tolerance zone?

Operators generally mark the utility with a series of flags or paint marks placed directly over the buried utility. From the surface marks, the excavator will infer the tolerance zone is 24 inches from either side of the mark. KCC Staff is in the process of preparing regulations that more fully define marking requirements. We recommend that all operators with buried facilities greater than 8" inform the excavator of the outside diameter of the facility in addition to providing a mark of its horizontal location.

I made the call to 1-800-DIG-SAFE. Markings were placed. I hit a facility and was then told about the tolerance zone. How could I find this information before I caused a damage?

Using reasonable care within the tolerance zone has been part of the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act since its inception in 1993. We encourage all excavators to be familiar with their obligations under the law. Kansas One Call Inc. sponsors educational meetings across the state on an annual basis to help educate excavators and the public on the law's requirements.

My ticket was marked but I was not able to find the facility my excavation was crossing within the tolerance zone as marked. I consider it to be too dangerous to proceed without finding the facility. What do I do now? If we pothole the entire zone and don't find anything do we have to keep looking until we do or can we go ahead and dig?

If no facility has been found in the tolerance zone and you have potholed to 1 foot below your intended excavation depth across the entire tolerance zone, it is reasonable to believe there is no facility present at that site that will conflict with your planned excavation. However, we would encourage the excavator to contact the operator that marked the surface, to inform them that no buried facilities were found. If surface facilities such as transformers or pedestals are in the area, waiting on additional assistance from the operator would be prudent.

How would I know there was an exempt facility in the area of my planned excavation?

KUUDPA does not require the excavator to contact exempt facilities. However, the excavator may incur legal liabilities if an exempt facility is damaged. We encourage all excavators to call the exempt facilities that may be in the area of the planned excavation site. Typically this includes water and sewer utilities. It also includes buried facilities associated with oil and gas production.

Do water and sewer utilities have to mark their facilities? Why aren't water companies required to be members of One-Call?

KUUDPA only requires operators of facilities listed in the law to provide locates. Water and sewer utilities are not listed in the definition of facility. Therefore, water and sewer utilities are not required by law to provide locates. However, many water and sewer utilities participate voluntarily in the One Call process and are notified by calling Kansas One Call. Others, if notified by the excavator, will provide locates upon request.

Does an exempt facility have to locate their facility within the same guidelines used by the covered facilities?

Requirements for exempt facilities are not addressed by KUUDPA.

If someone refuses to mark water and/or sewer facilities, may I still excavate and what will happen to me if I cause a damage to one of them?

KUUDPA places no requirements on excavators regarding exempt facilities. Any civil action taken by the operator of the damaged facility is not addressed by KUUDPA.

Does the utility operator have to mark customer-owned facilities downstream of the customer’s meter?

KUUDPA requires the operator to mark all facilities that they own OR operate (emphasis added). If the customer owned facility is operated by the utility, locates by the utility are required. Kansas regulation K.A.R. 82-11-8 et seq. establishes the operator of natural gas facilities serving single family residences as the responsible party for maintaining the customer piping up to the building wall. Therefore, the operator of the facility serving natural gas customers is required to perform locates. The law does not address what party will be required to pay for the locating service.

Do oil and gas operators have to mark their facilities?

Facilities used in oil and gas production that are located on unplatted land or are located outside of the corporate limits of a city are exempt from the requirement to provide locates.

Do excavators working in oil and gas operations have to call for locates before they dig?

Any operation related to exploration and production of crude oil or natural gas is not considered excavation. Therefore, excavators performing this type of work are exempt from the requirement to request locates under KUUDPA. For their own safety, we strongly encourage all excavators to call before digging.

If I move the facility or break a tracer wire, do I have to call the utility to report a damage?

Yes. Any damage, even as minor as a scratch or a broken tracer wire, requires the excavator to notify the operator of that utility.

If locates are inaccurate and a damage occurs, how do I prove to the utility that any damage that happens was not the excavator’s fault?

We recommend excavators get into the routine of taking pictures of the excavation site prior to beginning to dig. A digital camera works best for this purpose because you can simply erase any pictures at the end of the job if no damage happens. If a damage occurs, additional pictures should be taken that show a permanent reference mark in the picture that can be related to distance between the locate marks and the damage. As part of your damage investigation, you should interview the excavator and construct a timeline of events. Record all information available including the name of all personnel that respond to repair the damage or locate the facility.

If I hit a facility that was unmarked or the marks were inaccurate, can I sue for downtime? Who's going to get billed for this?

KUUDPA does not address ability to collect civil damages other than to state that the excavator will not be responsible for damages caused by failure of the operator to correctly mark the location of its facilities.

If I cause a gas line to leak or cut an electric line, what do I need to do besides call 9-1-1?

If a gas is escaping or an electrical line is penetrated, the excavator is required to notify emergency personnel, notify the operator, and take reasonable steps to minimize hazards to persons and property until either the operator's personnel or emergency first responders arrive on scene. Examples of reasonable steps would be to keep traffic clear of the area where the damage occurred or to evacuate the public in the area.

How soon does an operator have to respond to repair a damage?

KUUDPA requires the operator to immediately dispatch personnel to the location to provide the necessary repair of the damage. The response time obviously depends on the severity of the damage and the availability of personnel to respond.

Can I continue working after I have damaged an underground facility?

KUUDPA does not restrict you from continuing with the excavation. If electric or gas lines are hit, the excavator is required to call emergency personnel and take appropriate action to protect persons and property and minimize hazards. However, if one damage occurred because of inaccurate marks, chances are good that another one may happen in the same area. Therefore, any additional work being done before the operator has the opportunity to respond should be done with extreme caution.

What is a rebuttable presumption of negligence and how is it applied?

We do not know of any cases in civil court where the rebuttable presumption of negligence has been applied as it relates to underground utility damages. Rebuttable presumption of negligence is a legal term. Black’s Law Dictionary defines rebuttable presumption as “a presumption, which may be rebutted by evidence, otherwise called a disputable presumption. A species of legal presumption, which holds good until evidence contrary to it is produced.” Further the definition of presumption states in part “by which finding of a basic fact gives rise to existence of presumed fact until presumption is rebutted.” The current law provides the violator the opportunity to prove, through evidence, that they were not guilty of such damages. In more simple terms if a situation exists it is presumed the actions leading to the situation occurred, these actions are presumed to be proven facts unless they can be rebutted by actual evidence.

If I have a situation that is an emergency as defined in the statute, but I think it will be alright until morning and I will work it then, how would I call a locate request in? I won’t need this marked until 8:00AM tomorrow. How soon does the utility have to provide locates for an emergency request?

The operator is required to make a reasonable effort to provide locates within two hours of receiving the call or before the excavation is scheduled to begin, whichever is greater. In other words, if the excavation is not scheduled to begin until the next morning after the call, the proposed work would still be an emergency but the operator would have more than two hours to provide locates.

In an emergency, do I have to call for locates?

No. KUUDPA does not require an excavator to wait for locates if a true emergency exists as long as explosives are not being used for the excavation. However, the excavator must give notice to the operator that he is or has performed an excavation as soon as possible.

Why do some companies call in emergency locates if they are getting a phone split ready for a new service?

There have been instances in which an excavator considered new service to be a customer outage. However, the definition of emergency clearly states that the term only applies to a loss of an existing service, not to service being established for the first time.

What do I need to tell an excavator if I call with an all-clear message?

The operator is required to notify the excavator if it has no facility conflicts in the area described as the excavation site. It is the operator's option to determine how this is to be accomplished. We recommend the operator include the ticket reference number in any message that is delivered to the excavator.

What is the obligation of the operator in notifying the excavator of a cleared ticket?

The law states that an "all clear notification" is required. We interpret this requirement to mean the operator must make a reasonable attempt to notify the excavator using the information the excavator provided in his request for locates. We consider a phone message, fax, email, etc as acceptable means of providing notification. If the phone message is unable to reach a representative of the excavator, we consider two attempts to be an acceptable effort to reach the excavator. If the operator is unsuccessful in contacting the excavator directly, the operator should keep records to indicate an attempt was made.

If I am told by one-call that five utilities have facilities in my excavation area and I only see markings from three, and I have not been notified the other two are clear in some fashion, what am I supposed to do? If the facility owner doesn't call me to tell me the area is clear, can I still go ahead and dig?

If you have not received a response from all operators listed on the locate request, you must not begin excavating until the required locate time has passed. If the remaining operators have not provided locates or a notice of all clear by the scheduled excavation start date, KUUDPA allows you to begin excavating using caution to avoid any facilities that may have not been located.

Who should I call if I don’t have marks after waiting 2 full working days?

We suggest you inform the call center of the name of the operator that has not provided response in an attempt to get locates before you begin to dig. The law expressly states that an excavator may begin to dig if he has waited the required amount of time and that as long as he digs carefully, he will not be held liable for any damages resulting from contact with a facility that was not marked or was incorrectly marked.

How does the term "reasonable care” apply to trenchless excavation such as horizontal directional drilling?

We define trenchless excavation as any excavation method in which the excavator can not visually observe the cutting edge of the digging tool. Trenchless excavation includes HDD as well as cable plowing and cuts made with a rock saw. Reasonable care during trenchless excavation requires the excavator to determine the depth of the existing facility when the excavation path enters the tolerance zone of an existing facility. The only accurate means of determining depth is to uncover or "pothole" the existing facility to insure that the proposed excavation will not damage it. The depth of the observation hole is recommended to be one foot deeper than the proposed excavation path or one foot below the existing facility. The observation hole should be left open until all phases of the trenchless excavation are complete.

Can I start excavating before the waiting period has expired if all utilities notified by the call center have given positive response?

The law requires the excavator to not excavate until he has determined the location of all underground facilities in the proposed area of excavation. This determination is made by requesting locates and allowing the utility operators 2 working days to perform the locates. Once all operators that were notified by the call center have responded to the request by locating their facilities or providing an "all clear" we believe the excavator has satisfied his obligation under the law and can begin excavating.

I am told I have to hand-dig in the tolerance zone. Does this mean I have to use a shovel to dig the width of the tolerance zone to the depth I am burying my project?

Excavating in the tolerance zone must be done using "reasonable care" That is, taking additional precautions to avoid damage to the buried facility. One method of reasonable care would be to uncover the existing facility in order to visually observe that your excavation will not damage it. If your excavation is only 24 inches deep and you have dug with reasonable care to a depth of 24 inches, you have satisfied this requirement. If your excavation is planned for 4 feet deep and you have uncovered the existing facility at 18 inches, then you can take steps to support and avoid damaging the facility while you continue with excavation.

If I am excavating parallel to a marked facility, how far apart can I pothole to show I am using reasonable care?

If you are excavating parallel to a marked facility and are working within the tolerance zone of the marked facility you must use reasonable care at all times. Visually observing or potholing the existing facility is one method of reasonable care. When deciding on the distance between potholes, consideration should be given to how close the excavation path will be to the locate marks and how accurate the marks are proven to be by potholing.

Will the utility locator provide me with a depth for their facility?

KUUDPA does not require the operator to provide the depth of the facility. The only requirement is that the operator provide the horizontal location within the 24 inch tolerance zone.

What training plans are available for trenchless operations, in particular horizontal drilling.

There are many recognized training programs for trenchless operations. One source is provide by the Mid-America Regional Council, (MARC), in the Kansas City area and can be accessed at http://www.marc.org/damprev/DamagePrev.htm

When working in and around multiple facilities do I need to uncover and identify each one?

If your excavation path will be deeper than the existing facilities, it will be necessary to uncover each one. If you are using a trenchless method of excavating, visual identification will be necessary to determine the existing facility is clear of the proposed excavation path.

What is the advantage to a pre-engineered project or a permitted project?

A pre-engineered or permitted project allows the excavator to avoid the requirement to update locate requests every 15 calendar days. If the excavator wishes to use this option, he must develop construction drawings that note all existing facilities within the project area. Any change orders that occur during the project must also be checked against the facility location to avoid conflicts with existing facilities.

When should I get updates for a ticket?

The law sets the life of a locate request at 15 calendar days after the excavation scheduled start date. If the excavation requires additional time, you may request an update of the locate request. Remember to give the locator two full working days to complete the update. Also note the law restricts an excavator from repeated updates of a locate ticket. The excavator should plan the size of the locate request in such a manner that the proposed excavation could reasonably be expected to be completed within 15 calendar days.

Is there a limit on when a pre-engineered project will start? Often they are months or even years after the original meeting.

There is no limit on the start date of a pre-engineered project. If the excavator chooses to use the pre-engineered project option, he must have accurate information on the location of existing facilities on the project drawings. If the information he has received is out of date, the information must be corrected prior to beginning a pre-engineered project. Alternatively, the excavator may request locates for short sections of the project that he can complete within 15 calendar days.

When is the start of the ticket life?

The 15 calendar day ticket life begins on the scheduled excavation start date that is given by the excavator when he notifies the call center of his intent to excavate.

In 66-1804 of the statute, it says that the provisions of this act shall not apply to preengineered or permitted projects. It then goes on to say that excavators shall be required to give notification in accordance with this section prior to starting to excavate. This is confusing. Will you explain this to me?

Pre-engineereed and permitted projects require the excavator or the project manager to develop accurate maps of existing facilities that will be located in the project area. Prior to beginning the project, the law still requires the excavator to make a locate request for one final verification of existing facilities. It also notifies the operator that the project is beginning so they can monitor the safety of their facilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ Topics

Meet on Site Requests:

Whitelining Requests:

Tolerance Zone:

Facilities Exempt from Participation In KUUDPA:

Damage to Facilities:

Emergency Locates:

Positive Response:

Reasonable Care:

Ticket Life: