Cable Locating & 811

Call Before You Dig!

Electric power lines, telephone lines, cable TV lines and gas lines can all be buried underground. Anyone planning to dig is strongly urged to call "One Call" at 811 or 1-800-781-7474 for line locations.

The notification center will take the telephone call from the excavator and then notify any owners of underground facilities, such as electrical or telephone companies in the dig area.

The law does not require a homeowner or business to file information regarding private underground facilities on his/her own property with the notification center.

Lake Region owns the lines that carry their product to a metering point. Therefore, there is no fee to locate lines to that point. However, the landowner is responsible for locating their own facilities. The diagram below gives an illustration of when One Call would notify LREA of a cable location request. The fee for locating landowner lines is currently $35.00 for the first 1/2 hour and $72.50 per hour thereafter. Callers must notify the One Call Notification Center of their excavation plans at least 48 hours in advance, excluding weekends and holidays.

Once they are notified, the underground facilities owners must mark the location of their facilities with stakes, flags, paint or other clearly identifiable markings. It's helpful if the excavator marks the exact site with white paint or flags.

If you do not call the notification center, you will be liable for any damage you may cause to underground facilities. The law also provides for emergency excavations and for circumstances in which a facility is damaged.

The diagram below illustrates two different instances of when One Call would or would not notify LREA of a cable location. If you have any questions, contact Tim Gaikowski or visit the South Dakota One Call website.