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Making Enforcement Work for You
Submitting documentation with the AVR
When submitting the Alleged Violation Report (AVR), which alerts the Mississippi Underground Facilities Board that a possible violation of the dig law has occurred, it is critical to include verifiable documentation.
For example, if you submit an AVR that states your ticket hasn’t been located and provide no documentation, how can that be proven? Or if you submit a photo without some kind of landmark that can be recognized, how can we know the location is the area you requested to be located. Consider this: include in the photo a street sign, a house or something else that can be verified as the location you propose to excavate.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, when you take a photo, date and time stamp it. Most folks use their phone to take photos now and there are many different apps that allow you to date and time stamp photos. It is important to download the apps and learn how to use them.
When a ticket is called in, there is a specific time that it must be located by, unless other mutually agreed upon conditions are met. If it is not located within the specified time, you have the option to submit an AVR. If the AVR includes a photo of the proposed location that can be verified and the photo is date and time stamped so that we can compare it to the original ticket, then the enforcement process has a chance to work.
We’re not guilty of a violation just because somebody says we are. But even if someone is guilty, without proper and verifiable documentation, it can’t be proven. And that’s fair for both sides. So help us reduce damages by helping us reduce violations. That can be done by submitting the AVRs and including date and time stamped photos to prove your point.
2024, Issue 4 Mississippi 811 • 9