Illinois law outlawing digging without calling for yard marking.

[iowamp]

I live 13 miles from Iowa Illinois border. they have enacted a new law that you have to contact authorities 3 days in advance before doing any digging. This includes something so mundane as putting a rod in your yard for a hummingbird feeder. What will this do to metal detecting in Illinois ? Is this the end of metal detecting in Illinois? What about the rest of the country if this spreads to other states. Does this mean you have to contact utilities to mark a permissions yard 3 days in advance of detecting? What do you think?

 

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[robertk]

Is there a limitation on digging depth? Surely they don’t bury utilities in the top 12” of soil in Illinois? The frost line has to be at least twice that…

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I would just do it and plead ignorance of the law since it is new kaw, this gives law time to work out the kinks. I wouldn't be digging with a shovel, but would use a small hand trowel, but I don't think law applies to metal detecting. But then again it is Illinois....

 

[pepperj]

This is a very standard thing everywhere.
Call before you dig 1-800-Dig-....
Basically it's a blanket law to generate more layers of red tape delays.
Standard practice hand dig- no call service needed.
Machine digging, trenching, boring, call to locate.
Digging 8-12 inches isn't going to hit jackcrap.
Happy digging up your recoveries.

 

[ToddsPoint]

I live in a very rural IL county. Who’s going to enforce it?😴 They can come and get me!😝

 

[dowser]

Miss dig is free in Michigan..
Just have them check the area and clear the brush for ya..

 

[ticndig]

Digging 8-12 inches isn't going to hit jackcrap.

As a person who worked for a public utility and dug up yards for almost 30 years I have to disagree, many cable TV and phone cables are just under the sod , then you've got non utility things like sprinkler lines and underground dog fence wire.

 

[Oldrvrrat57]

Been a long time since I've detected a yard in town, the places I hunt electricity and telephones didn't exist! They didn't have cell phones glued to their hands or stuck to the side of their heads!!!

 

[fistfulladirt]

Is there a limitation on digging depth? Surely they don’t bury utilities in the top 12” of soil in Illinois? The frost line has to be at least twice that…

Telephone and CATV drops are typically 6” or shallower.

 

[achanceforgold]

Teach your dog to dig for you.
Mark your spots and then have old rover go to town.
Just tell them there must be an old squirrel bone there or something

 

[jose159]

As a person who worked for a public utility and dug up yards for almost 30 years I have to disagree, many cable TV and phone cables are just under the sod , then you've got non utility things like sprinkler lines and underground dog fence wire.

Yep...I also worked for a public utility for 37 years and have witnessed many natural gas service lines 12 inches and less and I personally have destroyed many cable/telephone lines that were not marked even though the one-call was made

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Wow, some places are way behind the times.

The purpose of a “Call Before You Dig” program is to require all public utility owners to pay a fee to belong to a single locate service.

If a person is building a fence, digging a trench, basically digging anything that could breach a buried utility, they have a “free” service that will come out and mark underground utilities in that area. This prevents you or your contractor from being killed from a high voltage line, natural gas line, water main, ect.

Never once have I equated this program to metal detecting, gardening, or digging shallow holes.

It’s a public benefit.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Depends on where you are. A liability thing. You break it you bought it. The entire it, all the damages. But I don't expect you will electrocute yourself nor blow yourself to bits with a gas line by pulling shallow plugs. How often we hear that?

That being said the service is free. If they fail to mark it then they own it.

I wonder how long it will take before they decide to modify the law so they they don't need to accommodate detectorists.

If a detectorist gets a signal from a line he should be able to recognize it as a long linear line and look in both directions and see where it goes to structures. Why waste time digging that?

There should be little likelihood of harm with careful excavation to see what is the cause.

Might be harder to get permission if the owner will also be faced with different utilities sending there folks around for a few days. Who needs that?

 

[Tesorodeoro]

If a state is just now implementing “call before you dig”, they also may not have had strict rules about installation depths of utilities.

It is a CYA liability reduction program for excavation companies.

Yes they do not always come out and mark.
Unfortunately because of this now some states are requiring the public hold their hand by calling each company listed if they didn’t at least show up and paint “ATT OK” on the street.