AL-01-2026

Challenges and Impacts to the Damage Prevention Industry

Date:

June 26, 2026

Purpose:

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is issuing this Alert Notice regarding compliance to the state’s excavation One-Call laws, Minn. State Statute 216D.

Guidance Pertains to the Following Codes:

1. Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 1 Notice required; contents.
2. Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 1b On-site meet.
3. Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 3 Locating underground facility; operator.
4. Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 4 Locating underground facility; excavator or land surveyor.
5. Minn. State Statute 216D.05 Precautions to avoid damage.

Scope:

Cities and communities throughout Minnesota are experiencing a high volume of broadband installations, mainly in the form of fiber optic telecommunication facilities. While the expansion of high-speed internet accessibility benefits homeowners, businesses, health care and public safety, the exponential rate of broadband installation has severe impacts to the damage prevention industry. Broadband installers are required to contact Gopher State One Call to submit an excavation notification, commonly known as a locate ticket request. As the need for broadband installations exponentially increases, the number of locate tickets thusly increases. Because of the increasing ticket volume, in addition to the footage of excavation involved with each ticket, the ability for facility (utility) operators to successfully locate and mark their facilities on-time and thoroughly is being negatively impacted.

OPS recommends broadband telecommunication facility operators to lead discussions between their installers (excavators) and other facility operators along with their underground line locate technicians to identify best practices so that facilities can be located on time and accurately while minimizing excavation delays to the installers. Most importantly, public safety should be emphasized as the overall goal.

OPS Comments:

Tickets involving broadband installations rapidly increasing

Upon review of overall ticket volumes dating back to 2022, the monthly ticket volumes have not vastly increased. What has increased and continues to increase is the amount of tickets involving fiber optic installation. The percentage of tickets for fiber optic installation has increased as follows: 13% in 2022, 14.5% in 2023, 17.8% in 2024 and 18% in 2025. Additionally, the scope of excavation distance is impacting the locator technicans’ ability to respond to tickets on time and thoroughly. For example, a drill crew’s ticket may include a 4,000-foot bore. However, the individual ability to locate 4,000-feet equates to 8,000-feet of walking steps considering that the technician has to travel on foot 4,000-feet one direction and then 4,000-feet back to pick up their locate equipment and hook up to another facility for the next locate. If an individual locate technician has to complete locates on this ticket plus several other tickets within a 2-day plus timeframe, the technician’s ability to succeed will be challenged. Additionally, utility operators choose to partner with contract vendor locate companies who locate more than one utility for a given locate ticket request(s).

Meet (project) tickets

Pursuant to Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 1b. On-site meet.

(a) An on-site meet may be requested for any excavation at the discretion of the excavator. The meet request must include the entire geographic area of the proposed excavation and the specific location of the meet.

(b) Unless otherwise agreed to between an excavator and operator, an on-site meet is required for:
(1) an excavation notice that involves excavation of one mile or more in length; or
(2) any combination of notices provided for adjacent geographic sections that, when combined, meet or exceed the minimum excavation length under clause (1).

(c) The excavator must provide a precise geographic area of the proposed excavation and use markings as specified under section 216D.05, clause (2).

(d) An affected operator must (1) attend the on-site meet at the proposed date and time, or (2) contact the excavator before the meet and (i) reschedule the meet for a mutually agreed date and time, or (ii) reach an agreement with the excavator that a meet is not required. At the meet, the operator and the excavator must reach an agreement on any subsequent planned meets or further communication.

(e) The on-site meet date and time must occur at least 48 hours after the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The excavation start time must be at least 48 hours after the proposed meet date and time specified on the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

(f) The excavator and the operator must submit documentation of each on-site meet to the notification center, in the manner specified by the notification center. The documentation must include:
(1) the date and time of the meet;
(2) the names, company affiliations, and contact information of the attendees of each meet;
(3) a diagram, sketch, or description of the precise excavation locations, dates, and times; and
(4) the agreed schedule of any future on-site meets or communications.

Minn. State Statute 216D.04 Subd. 1b(1) specifies the use of an on-site meet for any excavation, one mile or greater in length. OPS recommends the use of on-site meets for smaller excavations. The use of on-site meets in lieu of normal tickets allows for the creation of an agreed schedule in which utility locates take place. The agreements between the involved parties ensure the successful completion of utility locates. The agreements require documentation as noted in item (4) as underlined.

White marking

Pursuant to Minn. State Statute 216D.05 paragraphs (a) and (b):

(a) An excavator must:
(1) plan the excavation to avoid damage to and minimize interference with underground facilities in and near the construction area;
(2) for proposed excavations, use (i) white markings or black markings in wintery conditions, or (ii) electronic marking as provided in paragraph (b);

(b) An excavator may use electronic marking under paragraph (a), clause (2), if:
(1) the marking provides at least as much proposed excavation information as equivalent physical markings; and
(2) electronic marking used prior to January 1, 2026, is accompanied by equivalent physical markings as provided under paragraph (a), clause (2).

Minn. State Staute 216D.05 requires all excavators to comply with the white marking law to identify its proposed excavation areas and routes. White marking on-site or electronically allows the locate technician to visually identify where they need to focus their utility locating efforts, especially for lengthy bore routes and complex excavation areas.