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Preparing For Excavation

All Minnesota excavators, including homeowners and farmers, are responsible for submitting a ticket to notify GSOC of their proposed excavations.

It is important that all facilities be marked or cleared prior to excavating. There are several ways to check the status of your ticket once it has been submitted:

  1. Using the link in your confirmation email from GSOC after submitting a ticket.
  2. Log into ITIC using the GSOC App.
  3. Using GSOC’s positive response system, Search & Status. This can be accessed from any web browser.

The excavator must inspect and support all exposed facilities and is required to contact the facility owner if:

  • Equipment comes in physical contact with an underground facility. Even if there is no noticeable damage, you must stop the excavation and contact the facility owner.
  • Damage occurs, which could include the pulling or kinking of the facility or damage to the protective coating, covering, or tracer wire. The excavator is required to immediately contact the affected facility operator if damage occurs. 
More About Damages

A new ticket is required if your excavation area expands beyond the original area outlined.

Protecting and Maintaining Markings

The excavator is responsible for reasonably protecting and preserving locate markings until they are no longer required for proper and safe excavation near the underground facilities.

If the excavator has reason to believe locate markings are obliterated, obscured, missing, or incorrect, the excavator must:

  • Notify the facility operator to refresh or remark the locate area; or
  • Contact GSOC to update a valid ticket

Excavating Within a Tolerance Zone

Excavators are required to maintain a minimum horizontal (side-to-side) clearance of 2 feet (24”) between an unexposed facility and the cutting edge or point of any power-operated excavating or earthmoving equipment.

For example: if the markings indicate a 20” pipe is buried, the Hand Dig Tolerance Zone is 68” wide (24” + 20” + 24”). If excavation is required within the Hand Dig Tolerance Zone, the excavation must be performed very carefully.

Consider the use of vacuum excavation or hand tools.

The excavator is also responsible for excavating without damage to the facility or undermining the lateral support. Excavators are reminded that the depth of an underground facility may vary due to installation practices, changes in grade, frost, erosion and other variables. Therefore, any depth readings given by a locator, if given at all, are only an estimation of the depth of the facility and the excavator is still responsible for safely exposing the facility without damage.

Hand Dig With Care

Minnesota Law requires the use of hand tools (or vacuum excavation) when excavation takes place within the Tolerance Zone.

Although hand tools are exempt from the requirement to contact GSOC, it is highly recommended to have underground facilities marked even when using hand tools. The use of hand tools may pose a threat to you and others. GSOC accepts all locate requests from excavators who plan on using only hand tools. 

Use care when excavating within this “Hand-Dig Tolerance Zone.” Respect the marks to protect yourself and the integrity of underground facilities.

Damage can occur to underground facilities when working with metal objects that are pounded or screwed into the ground, even by hand. For example, tent stakes, anchor bolts, form pins, metal probes, survey stakes, hand augers, political signs and many other objects use sharp metal ends capable of damaging underground facilities.

In addition, underground facilities may be present on a farm or agricultural property that are not located by underground facility operators. These private facilities must be located by either the owner of the property or the party conducting the excavation.

Agricultural Excavation

Extra precautions should be taken when excavating on a farm or in other agricultural settings. A GSOC ticket is required for any excavation, which occurs when the soil is disturbed by any mechanical, hydraulic, or explosive means.

Two narrow exceptions may apply in agricultural settings that carve out situations.

  1. Plowing, cultivating, planting, harvesting, and similar operations in connection with growing crops, trees, and shrubs, unless any of these activities disturbs the soil to a depth of 18 inches or more.
  2. The planting of windbreaks, shelterbelts, and tree plantations, unless any of these activities disturbs the soil to a depth of 18 inches or more.

In an agricultural setting, if you are conducting the following types of work, you are required to contact GSOC:

  • Fencing
  • Well drilling
  • Burying a wire, pipe, or anything else
  • Digging a foundation
  • Setting a pole
  • Cultivating, plowing or any field activity to a depth of greater than 18”
  • Installing drain tile
  • Installing or extending a farm tap
  • Any contouring, grading, or changing of the land
  • Installing soil monitoring probes to a depth greater than 18”