Virginia Law

A. Any person, as defined in § 56-265.15 of the Code of Virginia, submitting a locate request shall clearly describe the limits of the proposed excavation or demolition with sufficient detail to enable the operators to ascertain the location of the proposed excavation. The specific location of the proposed excavation or demolition may include:

1. GPS coordinates taken at a single point where work is planned or GPS coordinates taken to delineate a line, multi-segment line, or polygon. When providing a single point, line, or multi-segment line, the person providing notice shall include an area measured in feet from the coordinates that describe the work area. If a polygon is used, the proposed work area shall be inside the polygon. GPS nomenclatures used for providing coordinates to the notification center shall be as approved by the advisory committee.

2. White lining to delineate the area where excavation will take place. For single point excavation, the area shall be marked using dots, dashes, or white flags to show the operators the area of excavation. If utility markings are desired outside a white lined area, the excavator shall provide clear instructions, to include the distance in feet outside the white lined area, to the notification center. For continuous excavations, such as trenching and boring, the excavator shall mark the center line of excavation by the use of dots or dashes. The excavation width, in feet, shall be indicated on either side of the center line in legible figures or noted in the marking instructions given to the notification center.

3. White lining performed by electronic means using aerial imagery. White lining performed by electronic means shall follow the same requirements as listed in subdivision 2 of this subsection.

4. A reference to the two nearest intersecting streets, if available, or driving directions.

B. In the event that a proposed excavation or demolition is planned at a single address at which there is no more than one structure, the area of proposed excavation or demolition may, if geographically feasible, be described by dividing the parcel or property into four quadrants from the perspective of facing the front of the property using the center of the structure as the center point of the four quadrants. If no structure exists on the property, the center of the parcel or property will be used as the center point of the four quadrants. These four quadrants shall be referred to as Front Left, Front Right, Rear Left, and Rear Right. If the proposed area consists only of Front Left and Front Right quadrants, the term "Front" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Rear Left and Rear Right quadrants, the term "Rear" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Front Left and Rear Left quadrants, the term "Left Side" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation consists only of Front Right and Rear Right quadrants, the term "Right Side" shall be sufficient. If the proposed area of excavation includes three out of the four quadrants, the entire property may be used for the proposed excavation or demolition.

C. If the locate request does not contain specific location information, the notification center shall suspend the issuance of the locate request until specific location information is obtained, except in the case of excavations or demolitions performed during an emergency, as defined in § 56-265.15 of the Code of Virginia. The notification center shall issue the emergency notices with as much information as is available to it.

D. The area covered under each locate request shall not exceed 1/3 of a mile. Locate requests with areas of proposed excavation located on parcels defined within the existing notification center mapping data and having one or more sides that is 1/3 of a mile or longer shall not automatically exceed the area covered by a single locate request.