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What is not Marked

The pipelines and utilities who belong to Louisiana 811 take your safety seriously, and they do their best to mark their lines quickly and accurately whenever you call us. But they can’t mark what they don’t know about.

A builder can hire any number of professionals to install service lines throughout a property. The utilities have no record of where these service lines are located because they didn’t install them. That’s why buried lines usually are marked only up to the meter or to the beginning of the service line. Or, in some jurisdictions, only to the nearest electrical transformer.

Also, some operators of underground facilities are not Louisiana 811 members. Examples include municipal water and sewer services in some smaller towns. If they don’t belong, we don’t have the information we need to notify them about planned excavations, and their lines won’t be marked unless you contact the operators directly.

When in doubt, call a plumber or an electrician to help you locate buried service lines before you dig. It can prevent costly damages and it might save your life. 

ETM

Excavator Ticket Management® (ETM) is an online archive of an excavator’s Louisiana 811 locate request tickets. The ETM product allows the excavator to view and manage their historical and current locate request tickets. To access ETM you can register or log in to your NextGen account using the ticketing link below.

Next Gen

NextGen is our internet ticketing software designed to let you file a locate request online. To learn more about ITIC you can visit our LOCATE REQUEST page. To register or log in to your NextGen account, click on the ticketing link below.

Private Utility Locators

Free Training

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Excavator Frequently Asked Questions

Listed below are some of the most frequently asked questions about safe digging. If you have a question or concern that's not addressed below, please contact your Louisiana 811 liaison. For more information, reference Louisiana Dig Law.

  • What is the law pertaining to excavators and contractors?

    By law, anyone planning any mechanized digging or excavating work in Louisiana must notify Louisiana 811 by calling 811 or 1-800-272-3020 or going to our website laonecall.com at least two business days prior to the project’s start date. Excavators and contractors can enter digging notifications via our online locate request entry system, once trained. Louisiana 811 accepts calls Monday thru Friday, excluding holidays, for normal locate requests. Damage and emergency locate requests may be called in 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For a complete list of the legal holidays, click here. Locate requests made after 6:00 p.m. are considered the next business day.

  • After I submit my request, how long do I have to wait to excavate?

    Once we receive your excavation request, our member owners/operators have two business days to mark their lines. By law, you may not perform any excavation work during this time. The graphic below illustrates the two business day waiting period. Click the graphic to enlarge.

    Waiting Period Graphic

  • Can I submit my excavation request online?

    Yes! Excavators and contractors can access our Web-based locate request entry system, NextGen. You will be required to provide the same type and amount of information online as you would over the phone. Prior training is required to use the system. Training sessions are available on request.

  • Is positive response required by law?

    Yes. Should an underground utility or facility operator determine that its underground facilities are not in conflict with the location of the request or determine that its underground facilities are not fully marked for locating purposes, a notification shall be sent to the excavator prior to the mark-by-time. A notification (electronic) to the regional notification center that generated the location request shall suffice for compliance with this section as it pertains to positive response.

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Tolerance Zones

Excavators should observe a "Tolerance Zone" when digging close to a service line. The width of the Tolerance Zone is specified by law. The width of the facility (service line or pipeline, etc.) as marked plus at least 18 inches, or 450mm, measured horizontally from each side of the facility. See illustration.

Any excavation within a Tolerance Zone should be performed with non-powered hand tools or a non-invasive method until the marked facility is exposed.

Tolerance Zone Graphic

Paint or flag color indicator

Property owners and excavators should use white markings to define the entire area where excavation will occur. Include a wide safety buffer when marking the area.

 

Property Owners/Excavators mark area of Proposed Excavation

One Call member utilities will use the color codes listed below when marking underground utilities where excavation will take place.

 

Electric 
 

Temporary Survey Markings 
 

Gas, Oil, Steam, Propane 
 

Communication, CATV, Fiber 
 

Water 
 

Reclaimed Water, Irrigation 
 

Sewer