Before a fence post, a mailbox or a pool goes in, Massachusetts requires notice to Dig Safe, by phone or online. The state’s rule on notice of an excavation is 220 CMR 99.04. Dig Safe System, the notification center, says no digging project is too small to notify it first.
The clock
220 CMR 99.04 says notice of an excavation goes to the Dig Safe Center at least 72 hours before the work starts, not counting weekends and legal holidays, and not more than 30 days before. A ticket is valid for 30 calendar days from the date of notification under 220 CMR 99.07. Dig Safe’s own pages say the same for Massachusetts and add that you shouldn’t request a mark out for work that’s further off.
Who has to call
Property owners and professional contractors are both required by law to notify Dig Safe before disturbing the surface of the earth on public or private property, according to its How It Works page. The regulation defines an excavator as any person or legal entity, public or private, proposing to engage or engaging in excavation. Dig Safe also notes that some state laws don’t say whether the owner or the contractor should call, and recommends the contractor make the call. If you hire someone, ask who is placing the request.
What happens after the call
The steps on Dig Safe’s site: premark the dig area with white paint, stakes or flags; submit the request online or by calling 811; wait the required time; then check the ticket for the list of utilities that were notified. Dig Safe itself is a notification center and doesn’t mark lines. The member utilities, or the contract locators they use, respond and mark their own lines. If you haven’t received marks or a response by your start date, Dig Safe says to call 811 right away. Under M.G.L. c. 82, § 40, the standard colors are red for electric, yellow for gas and oil, orange for communications, blue for water, green for sewer and drain lines, and white for the premark.
Digging near a marked line
Within 18 inches of a marked underground utility line, Dig Safe says, the facility has to be exposed by hand digging or by vacuum excavation equipment, and mechanized equipment inside that tolerance zone is considered unsafe and prohibited by state law. M.G.L. c. 82, § 40C separately calls for non-mechanical means, as necessary, when digging in close proximity to a facility that is being exposed, and it doesn’t name a distance. The excavator is responsible for maintaining the marks. If they’re obliterated, you can request remarking, and the company then has 24 hours from the request to remark.
Lines a ticket doesn’t reach
Member utilities mark the lines they own or maintain, and Dig Safe says they aren’t responsible for marking private lines. Its examples of private lines are sprinkler systems, gas lines to a pool, grill or fire pit, and electric lines to a detached garage or outside lighting, and it says you’d hire a private locating company for those. Lines owned by entities exempt from Dig Safe membership, like municipalities, are your responsibility to chase directly.
If you skip the call
M.G.L. c. 82, § 40C says that digging without the required notice, where the excavation damages a pipe, main, wire or conduit, is prima facie evidence in any legal or administrative proceeding that the damage was caused by the negligence of the person who dug. Under M.G.L. c. 82, § 40E, a person or company found by the Department of Public Utilities, after a hearing, to have violated any provision of § 40A through § 40E is fined $1,000 for a first offense and $5,000 to $10,000 for any later offense within 12 consecutive months. The same section says nothing in it requires a residential property owner to forfeit a penal sum for failing to premark an excavation on that owner’s residential property, and it lets the department require a Dig Safe training program instead of a fine for a first offense. Local permit rules for digging stay in place under M.G.L. c. 82, § 40D.
If a line is damaged
Stop work immediately. Call 911 if the damage causes a gas release, contact the affected utility directly, and don’t backfill until a utility representative gives permission. That’s the guidance on Dig Safe’s site.
Planning a yard project?
Thinking about a fence or a pool on a house you’re buying? Ask me. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.
Questions
Common questions
Do I have to call Dig Safe before digging on my own property in Massachusetts?
Dig Safe's FAQ says yes: state and federal law require anyone who digs, professionals and property owners alike, to notify Dig Safe before digging on public or private property. Its home page also says no digging project is too small, and lists a fence, a mailbox and a swimming pool as examples.
How far ahead do I have to notify Dig Safe?
220 CMR 99.04 says at least 72 hours before the excavation begins, not counting weekends and legal holidays, and not more than 30 days before.
Does Dig Safe mark the lines?
No. It's a notification center and doesn't mark lines, according to Dig Safe. It notifies the member utilities, who send their own technicians or contract locators to mark their lines.
What if I dig close to the marks?
Within 18 inches of a marked underground utility line you have to expose the facility by hand digging or vacuum excavation, and mechanized equipment inside that zone is prohibited by state law, Dig Safe says.
Will private lines on my property be marked?
Not by the member utilities. Dig Safe says they mark only the lines they own or maintain, and that a private locating company is needed for private lines such as sprinklers, gas lines to a pool, grill or fire pit, and electric lines to a detached garage or outdoor lighting.
What if I damage a line?
Stop the work immediately and call 911 if the damage causes a gas release. Then contact the affected utility directly, and don't backfill until a utility representative gives permission. That's Dig Safe's guidance.
Sources
- 220 CMR 99.04(1), Excavation Notification: 'Notice of an excavation shall be tendered to the Dig Safe Center at least 72 hours, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, but not more than 30 days prior to the commencement of an excavation.'
- M.G.L. c. 82, § 40A (Excavations; notice): 'No excavator installing a new facility or an addition to an existing facility or the relay or repair of an existing facility shall, except in an emergency, make an excavation, in any public or private way, any company right-of-way or easement or any public or privately owned land or way, unless at least 72 hours, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays but not more than 30 days before the proposed excavation is to be made, such excavator has premarked not more than 500 feet of the proposed excavation and given an initial notice to the system.'
- Dig Safe System, Inc., How It Works, Step 3: 'State law requires you to wait the full advance notice requirement of 72 hours in MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT - not including weekends or holidays.' FAQ: 'In Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, state law requires a minimum notification of 72 hours, not including weekends and legal holidays.'
- Dig Safe FAQ, Does my ticket expire?: 'Your digging project must start within 30 days from the day your ticket is issued, or the ticket expires. This is why you should not request a mark out unless you expect the work to take place within 30 days. In MA, NH and VT, tickets are valid for 30 days.' How It Works: 'Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont: Tickets expire 30 days from the date of issue.'
- M.G.L. c. 82, § 40, definitions: 'Safety zone', a zone designated on the surface by the use of standard color-coded markings which contains the width of the facilities plus not more than 18 inches on each side.
- M.G.L. c. 82, § 40C: 'After a company has designated the location of its facilities at the location in accordance with section 40B, the excavator shall be responsible for maintaining the designation markings at such locations, unless such excavator requests remarking at the location due to the obliteration, destruction or other removal of such markings. The company shall then remark such location within 24 hours following receipt of such request.'
- M.G.L. c. 82, § 40E: 'Any person or company found by the department of public utilities, after a hearing, to have violated any provision of sections 40A to 40E, inclusive, shall be fined $1,000 for the first offense and not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000 for any subsequent offense within 12 consecutive months as set forth by the rules of said department'.
- Dig Safe home page: 'Whether you plan to install a swimming pool, basketball hoop, mailbox, or a fence on your own property, no digging project is too small to notify Dig Safe first.' 'This is a free service for anyone to use.' 'Note: Dig Safe is a notification center and does not mark lines.'
- 220 CMR 99.02, Definitions: 'Excavator. Any person or legal entity, public or private including, but not limited to, a company or state or local government body, proposing to engage or engaging in Excavation.'
- M.G.L. c. 82, § 40D: 'Nothing in this section shall affect or impair local ordinances or by-laws requiring a permit to be obtained before excavation in a public way or on private property'.
- 220 CMR 99.07, Excavation procedures: 'A Dig Safe ticket shall be valid for 30 calendar days from the date of notification to the Dig Safe Center, as long as the markings remain clear and discernible.'
Written by Diana Yeji Kim — REALTOR® at eXp Realty, serving Greater Boston in English, Korean, and Japanese.
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