Why become a member?
If you operate an underground facility in the state of Missouri, you are required by law to become a member of Missouri 811. An underground facility can be a power company, a gas company, a telephone cooperative, or water service lines. (See “Underground Facility Safety and Damage Prevention Act”, RSMO Chapter 319.010 – 319.050 for more information.)
Consequences of a hit to utilities include:
- Loss of life / Personal injury
- Environmental contamination
- Explosion, fire, flood, or toxic gas escape
- Evacuation of a residential area
- Disruption of essential services
- Lawsuits / Medical costs / Legal costs
- Fines / Jail terms
By joining the Missouri 811 you become part of an efficient safety team reducing the risk of loss of life, personal injury, environmental damage, and disruption of service.
Missouri 811 has more than 1,500 members across Missouri including municipalities, electric, gas, telecommunications, water and other utility systems.
Benefits of becoming a member
- Reduced risk of accidents, injury, environmental or facility damage and downtime, as well as improved safety and lower litigation and compensation costs.
- The opportunity to standardize methods and procedures with respect to information required from the excavator, field markings of locations, control zones, locate slips and damage report forms resulting in a reduction to the facility owner’s clerical costs for obtaining information from excavators.
- Advance notice of planned excavation activity allowing facility owners sufficient time to efficiently schedule locators, to make arrangements to have locates completed or drawings sent and gives the excavator a better idea of when the locates will be completed.
- Providing facility owners with the opportunity to come together to increase the effectiveness of public awareness and advertising programs thereby increasing public awareness of the inherent dangers of disturbing the ground.
- Improved relationships between the digging community and the owners and operators of buried facilities.
- Co-operation among the various owners and operators of buried facilities as they work towards the achievement of common goals.
Ticket Types
Routine Ticket
This is a regular locate request. Utilities must respond within 3 working days.
Emergency Ticket
Only to be requested when the situation meets the legal definition of an emergency. Utilities must respond in 2 hours.
Dig Up Ticket
Excavators are legally required to only notify Missouri 811 when damage to facilities has occurred. If damage involves pipeline or natural gas facilities, both 911 and the affected utility must also be notified.
No Response Ticket
To be requested when one or more utilities fail to respond to the original locate request. If notification is made before 2 pm, the marking shall be completed that working day. If the notification is made after 2 pm, the marking is to be completed no later than 10 am the next working day.
Renewal Ticket
To be used when previous marks are not visible and need to be remarked due to weather or construction. This is also required if excavation has not started within 10 business days. Utilities must respond within 3 working days.
Incorrect Locate Ticket
Ticket type to be requested when markings at the dig site are mismarked, out of the area described or at the wrong address. Utilities must respond within 2 hours.
Design Tickets
Knowing what utilities are involved in the planning states of a project is an important aspect of damage prevention. Individuals involved in planning a project should use one of the two types of “Design” tickets available. Excavation cannot take place on either type of design ticket. A routine locate request must be placed before beginning work.
Preliminary Design Ticket
The “Preliminary Design” ticket identifies all members within a given area. A list of contacts and phone numbers are made available to the requestor. No locate request is transmitted to member utilities. A routine locate request must be placed before beginning work.
Design Ticket
The second type of Design ticket will generate an actual locate request allowing a (5) working day response time by the member utilities notified. A routine locate request must be placed before beginning work.