Dig this: Gopher State One Call must employ electronic notice to excavators

Be it before planting a tree, starting a garden or planning a larger-scale excavation, Minnesotans have, since 1988, been directed to contact Gopher State One Call to establish where utility pipes, wires or cables may lie before they put a shovel in the ground.

Gopher State One Call is a central notification center that contacts the operators of underground utility facilities in the area and requests that, within a certain period, they mark the location of their facilities in the area of a proposed excavation or planned survey with paint or ?ags or determine the work area is clear.

Sponsored by Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) and Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin), a new law will require underground utility facility operators to provide an electronic notice to the notification center regarding the status of its marking of utilities in the excavation area. It will also require the notification center to provide that electronic notice to the excavator or land surveyor. This portion of the law takes effect Aug. 1, 2026.

Kraft compared it to being able to track a package on a delivery service’s website, as those requesting information to safely dig can follow the activity online.

Operators will also be required to provide up-to-date contact information to the notification center as soon as practicable after a change, and at least quarterly. This takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

HF4233/SF4339*/CH112

SF4339* / HF4233 / CH112