Lawmakers move to improve marking for buried utility lines [Video]

ST PAUL, Minn. — There’s a new effort at the State Capitol to help contractors avoid hitting buried utility lines while digging on construction projects.

The legislation, House File 2717, would modernize the way buried pipelines and cables are marked and identified, to give those on site a better real-time knowledge of potential subterranean surprises.

“Current state statute is based on outdated technology and processes for marking and mapping underground infrastructure,” Laura Ziegler of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota told reporters Wednesday.

“There have not been significant updates in almost 40 years. This often leaves contractors and project owners in the dark.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Larry Craft of St. Louis Park and Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin, would require utilities to do geospatial mapping of new buried cables and pipelines, so that information can be made available at …