Page 6 - MS811

In the past two weeks, I reached out to an excavator who had an Alleged Violation Report (AVR) submitted against him for not contacting Mississippi 811 before digging and he told me, “I was only digging up some bushes with a backhoe and was digging less than 4 or 5 inches deep. Why would I need to call in that situation?”
Of course, there are some obvious answers you’ve already thought of while reading this introduction. “It’s the law; so you don’t get another citation, which may involve a civil penalty; some utility lines are less than 4 or 5 inches deep, sometimes even gas lines; and to avoid utility claims.”
So, below as listed in the Mississippi
Dig Law and in Mississippi’s Excavation Manual are the times you should contact Mississippi 811.
When to contact MS811
Any excavation that takes place with use of mechanical equipment or non- mechanical equipment (auger, backhoe, post hole digger, etc.).
Dig Law states: The term “excavate” shall mean any operation in which earth, rock or other material or mass of material
on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means,
With these exceptions:
(i) the tilling of the soil less than twenty- four (24) inches in depth for agricultural purposes; or
(ii) an operation in which earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced to a depth of less than twelve (12) inches on private property by the property owner without the use of mechanical excavating equipment.
(iii) an operation in which earth, rock or other material or mass of material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced without the use of mechanical excavating equipment to a depth of less than twelve (12) inches on private property by an excavator who is not the property owner, except when such excavation is in a clearly marked underground facility right-of-way; or
When to Contact Mississippi 811
4 • Mississippi 811
2024, Issue 4