Extraordinary circumstances:
What’s an excavator to do?
Sunshine 811 members declare extraordinary circumstances when operating conditions make it
impractical to comply with the legal responsibility to locate and mark within the legal time frame.
Before Hurricane Michael roared ashore,
many Sunshine 811 members began declaring
extraordinary circumstances in preparation for
catastrophic damage. Excavators throughout
the Panhandle and other areas are now left
wondering how they are supposed to handle
these situations and if there is a time limit.
How will you know a member has declared?
Callers will be advised of any members
declaring extraordinary circumstances before
your locate request call ends. ITE users will get
a positive response code of 3T. Anyone can see
which members are declaring extraordinary
circumstances at any time by visiting the
Declarations List.
Follow normal procedures as outlined in
Chapter 556, F.S.
Excavators should continue to follow normal
procedures by waiting and checking positive
response. Even though the 3T positive response
code may appear for members, some may
continue to locate, mark and update their
responses while extraordinary circumstances
exist. It’s not an excuse to not wait.
What if the members do not update the 3T
response?
You will treat it the same as a non-response. In
that case, the statute outlines the following:
1. Contact the member directly using the
information on your ticket. If you find any
of the contact information to be incorrect,
please complete the form at this blog post.
2. s.556.105(6)(a) …the excavator may proceed
with the excavation, if the excavator does
so with reasonable care and if detection
equipment or other acceptable means to
locate underground facilities are used.
Hire a private locate company
For additional safety, you may consider hiring a
private locate company to locate and mark your
job site. There are a number of companies that
do private locating that are also Sunshine 811
associate members. Their contact information
is available here.
How long can extraordinary circumstances last?
There is no time limit on extraordinary
circumstances. Following numbers one and two
above is always the standard procedure. With
that said, Hurricane Michael was devastating
in some areas. Our members are working hard
to get facilities back online. We’ll all need to
practice a little patience.
OCTOBER 2018 • DITCHMEN
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