# Didn't know it was the law



## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Evidently in Ohio by law you have to call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service before you dig. I had called the gas company and they told me I had to call those people, so I did a few minutes ago. There will be someone from all the utilities out here within 48 hours to mark any underground lines. I have my fingers crossed that only the gas line is out there and isn't where I want my garden. Guess I'll know soon. Oh and the service is free which really made me happy. 

Nomad


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## machinistmike (Oct 16, 2011)

food for thought, here in my neck of the woods we are also required to call before digging but not all companies take part in the "call before you dig" program. I know that a few phone companies refuse to pay for the line location service so the service doesn't mark their lines. I had to call a couple phone companies on top of the dig rite folks to come mark their lines. The worst part is the non-participating companies will be out to mark their lines in "a couple weeks" after I talked to them. The best part is they never showed up to mark their lines yet were here in a matter of hours after their line became 2.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

machinistmike said:


> food for thought, here in my neck of the woods we are also required to call before digging but not all companies take part in the "call before you dig" program. I know that a few phone companies refuse to pay for the line location service so the service doesn't mark their lines. I had to call a couple phone companies on top of the dig rite folks to come mark their lines. The worst part is the non-participating companies will be out to mark their lines in "a couple weeks" after I talked to them. The best part is they never showed up to mark their lines yet were here in a matter of hours after their line became 2.


I did my part and followed the law, and the lady said the utilities would do theirs. They have been warned, so if I have someone till up the yard and hit a line they didn't mark, it's on them. I'm pretty sure there is only the gas line, and I know about where it runs.

Nomad


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

if they use a metal tracer on the line you should be able to mark it with a metal detector. best to call before you dig! even then they may not get it right. buddy called and got a transcontinental data transmission line marked and then hit it were it was not supposed to be (only a hundred foot mistake!). they wanted him to pay and eventualy admited it was their mistake. owed him a fair bit of lawyer money as well.


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

It's the law here in Missouri too.


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## hillbillygal (Jan 16, 2008)

Dh called the 800# for TN before he started digging up our front yard. We don't have underground gas lines but there are two water lines going through our yard. They sent out a couple of guys from the water company to mark the lines. After they left, dh was fussing because I didn't find out how deep the lines were but I told him their scientific equipment was a dowsing rod. He gave us an idea of where the lines were and told us if we hit the city line, to give them a call and they'd come back to repair it. They said if we hit the private mountain water line (For some reason when it was installed, they took a shortcut and ran diagonally through our yard before the house we live in was built:grumble that ran through there, we were on our own.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

It's a nice free service. Used it last year and they flagged all my utilities before I had concrete poured.


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

Even here in the South, the lines aren't usually close enough to the surface to hit with a tiller. When we had our phone lines marked before DH did some trenching, we found that it went right through my broccoli patch.


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## FarmersDaughter (Jul 8, 2008)

For most (maybe all?) states, if you dial 811 on your phone it will connect you with your local call center to schedule the marking of all utilities before you dig. Here's a website that explains the 811 program, as well as providing state-specific websites and additional phone numbers.

State Specific Information | Call 811 - Know what's below


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

How deep are you tilling to have to worry about Utilities?


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I called to have everything marked found I had planted an Apple Tree over Phone Line many years before. :smack

big rockpile


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

None of those lines should be so close to the surface as to have to worry about them at all, unless you're going to use a subsoiler


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

mnn2501 said:


> How deep are you tilling to have to worry about Utilities?


To respond to all the folks who asked how deep I was tilling....I don't know. Whatever normal tilling depth is I suppose. I will hire it done. Based on the size I'll be able to have it will take 10 minutes. But back to the question...the guy from the gas company who was here a couple weeks ago said it could be as shallow as 4" or as deep as 24". 4" seems a bit shallow, but he should know what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure it is a straight line from the meter to the house, but I'll feel better after they mark it.

Nomad


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Nomad, surely you know that you call the (800) lines before you dig - a foundation, a swimming pool, a drain or something like that? But for a garden?!? Ummmmm no. To plant a tree? No. To plant flowers? No.

Most electric, water, gas lines are buried at least 3' deep. If you are digging down that deep for a garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . you probably shouldn't be planting a garden.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Michael W. Smith said:


> Nomad, surely you know that you call the (800) lines before you dig - a foundation, a swimming pool, a drain or something like that? But for a garden?!? Ummmmm no. To plant a tree? No. To plant flowers? No.
> 
> Most electric, water, gas lines are buried at least 3' deep. If you are digging down that deep for a garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . you probably shouldn't be planting a garden.


I believe the gas guy. I told the person on the phone why I wanted to know and they didn't seem to care why. Better safe than sorry. I have the line insured if it starts to leak, but I'd rather not hit it if I can avoid it. And the law doesn't say why either. It just says you must call before you dig. I am planting a tree also. I forgot about that.

Nomad


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

AFTER we called, we hit the phone line 4" under the ground when we were tilling our garden. It wasn't marked. I don't think the guy really did his job. He was out there for 2min we checked where he marked and didn't find anything.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Michael W. Smith said:


> Nomad, surely you know that you call the (800) lines before you dig - a foundation, a swimming pool, a drain or something like that? But for a garden?!? Ummmmm no. To plant a tree? No. To plant flowers? No.
> 
> Most electric, water, gas lines are buried at least 3' deep. If you are digging down that deep for a garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . you probably shouldn't be planting a garden.


My Gas,Electric,Coax for Satellite and Phone would be lucky to be a Foot deep.

big rockpile


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

I know that one of the phone lines across the yard is just a few inches down. When we had the water line drilled and pulled in under the creek, I called Miss Utility in WV. The phone company and a couple of gas companies marked their buried lines. The drilling crew severed a fiber optic line which wasn't where it was supposed to be. Because it was marked incorrectly we did not have to pay for the repair. We also found a 3" gas line that had not been marked. Luckily the drill didn't cut into that.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Mom's cable line was laid ON the ground, never buried. When she hit it with the mower she cut cable for 3 or 4 houses. 

Time Warner laid cable across our other property, 3 inches deep. It's been pretty easy to pull out by hand. They had to run the lines overhead with the electric line because they didn't do the line deep enough or on township property.

Since Time Warner moved their lines there are no underground utilities in this area except the individual sewer and well hook-ups.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Nomad said:


> Evidently in Ohio by law you have to call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service before you dig. I had called the gas company and they told me I had to call those people, so I did a few minutes ago. There will be someone from all the utilities out here within 48 hours to mark any underground lines. I have my fingers crossed that only the gas line is out there and isn't where I want my garden. Guess I'll know soon. Oh and the service is free which really made me happy.
> 
> Nomad


In IL you have to call JULIE. If not, and you break something, you've gotta pay. If you call them and you break a pipe, they pay. Unfortunately they're not tons of help out here. We've got a propane tank and a well.


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

> 4" seems a bit shallow


 Ya it does!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Link to the law:
The Law | Ohio Utilities Protection Service

(H) "Excavation" means the use of tools, powered equipment, or explosives to move earth, rock, or other materials in order to penetrate or bore or drill into the earth, or to demolish any structure whether or not it is intended that the demolition will disturb the earth. "Excavation" includes such agricultural operations as the installation of drain tile, but excludes agricultural operations such as tilling that do not penetrate the earth to a depth of more than twelve inches. "Excavation" excludes any activity by a governmental entity which does not penetrate the earth to a depth of more than twelve inches. "Excavation" excludes any underground mining operations that do not involve disturbance to the earth's surface

There's a part in there that says if the excavator is the property owner they don't have to call.

(a) If the owner of the property is the excavator, this section does not apply unless the excavation is planned for an area where a utility easement is located or a public right-of-way

But then if you do hit the line it's your fault. If they mark it and you hit it far away from their mark you shouldn't be at fault unless they tell you the mark may not be accurate. 

Better off to just guestimate with a metal detector, after contacting the gas company.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

Michael W. Smith said:


> Nomad, surely you know that you call the (800) lines before you dig - a foundation, a swimming pool, a drain or something like that? But for a garden?!? Ummmmm no. To plant a tree? No. To plant flowers? No.
> 
> Most electric, water, gas lines are buried at least 3' deep. If you are digging down that deep for a garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . you probably shouldn't be planting a garden.


i have major natural gas line running thru my property, most places its 3' deep but not every where, some places i dont even think its 2'. they were talking about putting another bigger one alongside it and were only going to bury it at 2'.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

Michael W. Smith said:


> Most electric, water, gas lines are buried at least 3' deep.


"Most" might be buried 3' deep, but it's the ones that aren't that are a problem! Phone lines are usually just a few inches down.


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## Jan in CO (May 10, 2002)

Nomad, something the phone rep here told hubby when they marked the lines was to take a picture of where he put the flags for future reference. In a couple years, you'll forget exactly where all those lines run


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## salmonslayer (Jan 4, 2009)

We just had this done a couple days ago since we are in the middle of doing some fencing and in general all the utilities people said their stuff was 3 foot deep or more but the phone guy said it could be as shallow as a foot. Unfortunately, the phone line runs parallel to where we want to put the fence and we were told that where they mark is good for 2 feet on either side; i.e., if we dig 2 feet or more outside of where they mark we are okay, if we dig inside that 2 foot marking we will be liable if we hit anything. 

The phone guy said that realistically his markings were pretty accurate so we should be okay but it sure seems like the phone company buries stuff right in the way.

Digg Right is a great program and they were out in 2 days and have always been friendly.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Jan in CO said:


> Nomad, something the phone rep here told hubby when they marked the lines was to take a picture of where he put the flags for future reference. In a couple years, you'll forget exactly where all those lines run


Great idea. I will do that.

Nomad


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Well, I guess you learn something everyday. In MY experience - here in PA, most people just automatically bury stuff 2' or more.

The majority of phones lines in our area are all overhead, so really the only buried lines you have to worry about are natural gas, water, or drain lines. If you dont' bury your water lines at least 3' deep, you run the risk of them freezing in the winter.

But, now that you mention it, I do have an old gas line going through my woods that some is buried but some is actually just layed on top of the ground.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Bearfootfarm said:


> None of those lines should be so close to the surface as to have to worry about them at all, unless you're going to use a subsoiler


Should be and is aint always the same. I have repaired phone lines, gas lines and water lines all of which "shoulda been" well below plow depth.


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