Dig Safe and excavation law
Before we grind, we have to call Dig Safe. Here's why, what it means for you, and why we don't skip it.
The short version
New Hampshire law (RSA 374:51) requires anyone doing excavation — and grinding a stump out is excavation — to notify Dig Safe at least 72 business hours before they start, and to mark the perimeter of the dig area with white paint. Dig Safe contacts every utility with buried infrastructure on or near the property. Those utilities show up and paint where their gas, water, sewer, cable, or fiber lines run. Then we grind.
We do this for every job. No exceptions for stumps that look obviously far from the house. The law doesn't carve those out, and the buried lines under your yard don't care which stumps are obvious.
The law, in our words
RSA 374:48. Definitions
Defines excavation broadly enough to include stump and root removal. If you're moving earth with a machine to take out wood, the law applies.
Read the full statuteRSA 374:49. Damage prevention system
Sets up the one-call notification system (Dig Safe / NH811). Excavators call one number; the system notifies every utility with buried infrastructure on or near the dig site.
Read the full statuteRSA 374:51. Notice required before excavation
Requires notice 72 business hours before any excavation. Requires the perimeter of the proposed dig area to be marked with white paint, stakes, or other suitable white markings. The mark stays valid for 30 days.
Read the full statuteRSA 374:53. Marking by utilities
After we call in, each utility marks the location of its buried lines on the ground in standard colors so we know where to grind and where not to.
Read the full statuteRSA 374:54. Damage notification
If anything is damaged or even suspected of being damaged during excavation, the excavator has to notify the utility immediately. We have to call before we leave the site.
Read the full statuteRSA 374:55. Penalties
First-violation civil penalty up to $500. Repeat or damage-causing violations carry up to $5,000 in civil penalties and can cost an excavator their authorization to operate.
Read the full statuteWhy we book at least 7 days out
RSA 374:51 II requires us to wait after notifying Dig Safe before we can dig. Our universal one-week lead time covers that wait comfortably and gives a buffer for weekends, holidays, customer premark time, and operator routing. One simple rule for every booking.
Snow and winter marking
White paint on snow-covered ground is invisible. In winter we switch to fluorescent pink marking paint. RSA 374:51 IV requires "suitable" markings, and fluorescent pink is the industry-standard winter substitute that Dig Safe locators expect.
The shape rules don't change: circle the stump and trace the perimeter of any in-scope roots. Only the paint color changes.
If the snow is deep enough that you can't physically locate the stump base to mark it, please don't guess. Pick the free on-site quote path instead — we'll mark from the ground when we're there.
Why we don't make exceptions
We wish we didn't have to call Dig Safe for the stump that looks like it's in the middle of a hayfield, but the law doesn't leave that door open and the consequences of being wrong are large. Hitting a buried gas line is dangerous. Hitting a fiber line is expensive. Either way, the paper trail showing we followed the rules is what protects you, our crew, and our insurance.
Penalties under RSA 374:55 go up to $5,000 per repeat or damage-causing violation, and the state can take an excavator's authorization away. We'd rather call.
What it means for you
- Every booking is at least one week out.
- On the self-mark path: paint the stump and the perimeter of any in-scope roots, text us photos, and we call Dig Safe with your marks.
- On the assessment path: we drive out, paint, measure, and quote before we schedule grind day.
- You may see utility paint or flags appear in your yard a few days before grind day. That's Dig Safe locators doing their work. Don't move the marks.
- The marks last 30 days. If the job slips beyond that, we re-notify Dig Safe.