Page 10 - Mississippi 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 4

AVR – Alleged Violation Reporting
By now, most folks have either heard about or found the AVR (Alleged Violation Report) form at www. msdamageprevention.com.
Some have asked, “When should I submit an AVR or when should I report someone who is violating the dig law?” To this question there is no right or wrong answer. From the earliest days of working to include enforcement (education and/or civil penalties) the idea of enforcement was promoted
as a last resort. The hope was that stakeholders would continue to try
to resolve issues in the field as they
had done in the past and if resolution was not possible, enforcement was an additional step to be used to encourage behavioral change.
The AVR is an access point to the Enforcement Board. If you feel that the enforcement process will help
you do a better job of protecting your underground infrastructure, then submit an AVR. Here are a few things to remember when submitting one.
You will notice a red asterisk beside some of the requested information. This means that that field is a required field. While the other information is not required to fill out the form, it will assist in investigating or locating the alleged violation.
You should know the ten steps below to successfully submit an AVR:
I. The form requires you to enter your name and contact information including your email address and phone number. There will likely be questions regarding the alleged violations and without
being able to contact you, it would be impossible to continue the investigation.
II. The form then directs you to enter the person or company that committed
the alleged violation, along with contact information of the alleged violator if known.
III. Below the address fields of the alleged violator are six (6) types of alleged violations under the heading of “Type of Alleged Violation.” As this is a required field, you must check one of the boxes listed below.
1. Excavating without a one call ticket
2. Excavating early
3. Mechanical excavating within the marks
4. Failure to locate (meaning failure to mark, paint or flag)
5. Did not locate within the required time
6. Other (include below)
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8 • Mississippi 811 2021, Issue 4