Gopher State One Call

Before starting spring projects, remember to call before you dig.

You may be planning a summer project now, such as building a deck or planting trees or shrubs. They’re great summertime projects, but your rural electric Cooperative urges you to be careful. Many sites are on top of underground utility lines. Cutting an underground cable or pipeline can be very dangerous and costly, so call Gopher State One Call before you dig. It’s the law!

Gopher State One Call is the clearinghouse to determine the location of all underground utility lines in Minnesota. After you call Gopher State, they notify underground utility operators with facilities in the area. Locators are dispatched to mark where these underground cables and pipelines are located.

But this all takes time, so be sure to call Gopher State One Call at 1-800-252-1166 at least 48 hours before you dig, excluding week-ends, holidays and emergencies. Calls are taken between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Gopher State One Call will ask specific questions, so please have the following information available when you call:

• Type of work to be done.
• Location of the work site, including township, range, section and quarter section coordinates. This is the property’s legal description.
• Estimated time needed to complete work. Property owners should understand their full responsibility when digging.
• The property owner or excavating company is responsible for calling before work is to be done so that locators can mark their company’s utilities.
• The property owner is responsible for hiring a locator and paying for locating costs if the underground wires are on the property owner’s side of the electric meter, such as secondary wires running to a house or buildings.

Remember, call 1-800-252-1166 before putting one shovel in the ground!