Page 8 - Tennessee811

Emergency Locate Changes
Effective July 1
By Graig Ingram
Public Awareness Manager Tennessee811
6 • Tennessee811
2024, Issue 3
You may have seen in last quarter’s issue of the Tennessee 811 Magazine that some updates to the “dig law” take effect July 1. One of the most noticeable updates is a change related to emergency locate requests, and the legislative change will come with some changes in the call center.
We will no longer use the labels “immediate” or “impending” on emergency locates, and the timeframe for locator response will no longer be repeated in the remarks field of the ticket. The good news is, the timeframes for responding to an emergency are
not changing, even though those labels are going away, and the appropriate response time will still be listed in the start date/time fields on the ticket.
The “new” emergency tickets will default to a two-hour response window (like current immediate emergencies) and the caller can still indicate a
later start date and time (like current impending emergencies). The start date/ time fields will reflect either the two- hour response window or the later date and time specified by the excavator.
There’s also a new legal definition for emergencies that’s intended to be more clear about the types of situations that should be viewed as an emergency:
“Emergency means a sudden or unforeseen occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger to life, health, or property; the interruption of utility services requiring repair or restoration; or repairs to transportation facilities that require immediate action.”
If you have questions about the new approach to emergencies, we’re here to help. You can identify the Damage Prevention Liaison for your area at https://www.tenn811.com/liaison.