In today’s world, we rely on an extensive network of underground pipes and cables to provide us with water, fuel, power, internet, and other services. The Montana Dig Law (Montana Code Annotated 2015 69-4-5) was put in place to protect this infrastructure, as well as to prevent injury to people working around it. Specifically, the law details steps to be taken to prevent damage to people and underground facilities while excavating. This law defines excavation as “an operation in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved, removed, or otherwise displaced by means or use of any tools, equipment, or explosives.” These activities are all daily chores on a farm or ranch, except, perhaps, the explosives.
You may be thinking, “I’ve been here most of my life; I know where everything is.” This may be true, or you might at least have a good idea where everything is. For the fields you farm, you might say “I’ve been farming this field for 20 years, I don’t go deep enough to hit that pipeline.” If you continue with identical tilling practices, it’s true, chances are you won’t hit that pipeline, but if you do any deeper tilling, you should locate lines. In addition, farming over the years may have changed things around an underground utility. Practices such as field leveling, for one, can have a major affect on the depth of a pipeline or other utility. Take special precaution whenever breaking up new ground or plowing.
People ask all the time, “Aren’t underground utilities required by law to be a certain distance in the ground?” The answer is, “No – not all of them.” The only underground utilities required by law to be a certain depth are interstate transmission pipelines, which are required to be at least four feet below grade. The clincher is that the required depth is at the time of installation. Over time, erosion, landscaping, and farming can affect the depth of soil. So even for those that were originally buried deeper, you can’t be sure how deep they are today.
In addition to farming, fencing projects are commonly overlooked as requiring location of underground utilities. Anytime you are fencing, it's important to know what is in the ground before driving a post or augering a post hole. You may think you don’t have time or that there isn’t anything out there. On other hand, how long will it take if you hit something, someone gets hurt, or you lose services? Why take the chance? Calling for location services could save money and, most importantly, it could save a one’s life.
The ‘Call Before You Dig’ or ‘One-Call’ system is a free service. Dial 8-1-1 to contact the Montana811 call center and provide details of the work location. The call center notifies all utilities in your area and within two full business days, lines will be marked and digging can be done safely.
One word of caution though, private underground lines are not located through the free service at Montana811. These utilities include any underground lines you have installed from the electric meter in the middle of the yard to the barn, shed, or even your house. This would also apply to a water line feeding a livestock tank on your land. Most utility companies will only locate their underground service lines up to the meter. After the meter, it is considered the responsibility of the property owner. Contact your local utility company, or ask the locator when they arrive, if they will locate the private underground lines past the meter. Some rural electric companies will provide this service. Also, please keep in mind that most high-pressure pipeline operators require that they are there while doing any work around their infrastructure, so make sure to contact them prior to working around their pipeline.
Don’t forget about the communications lines. This includes old copper lines and new fiber optic lines that serve local households. It also includes major trunk lines that serve large communities or transfer communications from one end of the county to another. Repair on fiber optics can be costly, and it is an expense you definitely don’t want.
Please keep in mind that this article was written in early 2017. At the time, there were efforts pending to update the Montana Dig Law to clarify questions and meet compliance issues brought by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrations (PHMSA), an organization that oversees highpressure transmission pipelines. They have recently notified excavators in Montana that if they do not comply with the onecall requirements and damage a natural gas or hazardous liquid pipeline, they can be subject to federal enforcement action. Those enforcement actions could include civil penalties, not to exceed $205,638, for each violation for each day the violation continues but may not exceed $2,056,380 total.
For more information regarding underground facilities and your responsibilities, go to www.Montana811.org or call Clint Kalfell at 406-442-3070.