Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
RE: Changes to “Iowa One Call Law” Effective July 1, 2014
Q: Will I need to acquire new software or system updates to access and utilize the Electronic Positive Response System (EPRS)?
A: No. The EPRS is a web-based system accessible via any computer or electronic device with Internet connectivity. The link to the EPRS will be accessible via www.iowaonecall.com
Q: Can I interface my current ticket management system with the new EPRS so that I can easily transfer batches of tickets to Iowa One Call?
A: Yes. Files are submitted through the use of FTP (file transfer protocol). Operators and/or their contract locate company will open an FTP connection to the EPRS and transfer one or more files containing ticket status information. The files will be processed by the system, leaving a results file to be downloaded at the user’s discretion.
Please note that this process is not automatically available to operators and locators because some set-up by Iowa One Call personnel is required. Once this setup has been completed, a login and password will be assigned to use this function. This password is independent. For more information on how to set up and use the FTP, please visit www.iowaonecall.com
Q: Can I notify Iowa One Call with ticket status information via other methods besides the EPRS?
A: No. Operators are required to use the EPRS to notify Iowa One Call of the locating and marking status for all of the operator’s locate tickets. The intent of the law is to provide a single, consistent “ticket status system” to convey the locating and marking status of all locate tickets to the excavator. The EPRS is accessible electronically via any computer, or electronic devices with Internet connectivity.
Q: What if I submit my ticket status information via the EPRS after the 48-hour timeline has expired, even though I completed the locating and marking process within the allotted 48-hour period?
A: Because the EPRS will be the official standard for tracking and documenting ticket status information, it will be very important that operators/locators submit ticket status information via the EPRS prior to the expiration of the 48-hour period. Locators and other personnel will be able to access the Internet and the EPRS from their vehicles in most locations throughout Iowa, by utilizing a simple USB cellular adaptor in conjunction with most Laptops, “NetBooks,” Android tablets or other mobile “smart devices.”
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Q: Can underground facility operators continue to call excavators to inform them that the proposed area of excavation is “clear” (no conflict)?
A: Yes. Operators can continue their routine communications with excavators, including “clearing” tickets. The operator will still be required to use the EPRS to notify Iowa One Call that the area of proposed excavation is clear. A nice benefit of clearing tickets via the EPRS is that locators will no longer have to arrive at the area of proposed excavation to physically mark the area as cleared. Locators may continue to use physical markings to clear a site, but doing so will not supplant the operator’s legal requirement to use the EPRS to notify Iowa One Call of the ticket status.
Q: Can I send excavators an email notifying them of the ticket status, including “cleared” tickets?
A: No. The intent of the law is to provide a single, consistent “ticket status system” to convey the locating and marking status of all locate tickets to the excavator. In order to prevent confusion and unnecessary duplication, the EPRS is the only system that operators should use to electronically transmit ticket status information. Operators can continue to engage in communications with excavators and to contact excavators as necessary, but the statusing of tickets will be implemented via the EPRS only.
Q: What if I make a locate request to Iowa One Call, but I have not white-lined the area of proposed excavation; will Iowa One Call still process my locate request?
A: Yes. Iowa One Call will ask the excavator whether the proposed area of excavation has been white-lined and may inform the excavator that the new law requires that the proposed area of excavation be white-lined (with exceptions), but the locate request will be processed regardless. It will be up to the operator/locator to decide whether the proposed area of excavation requires white lining. For more information about “white-lining,” and the exceptions provided in the new law, please refer to Chapter 480, Iowa Code, or visit www.iowaonecall.com
Q: The new law provides an exception to the “white-lining requirement” provided that it (white lining) can be shown to be impractical; so what is considered impractical and who decides what is impractical?
A: While the scope of and/or conditions of a project, or extenuating circumstances thereof, may make it impractical to white-line some planned excavations, the excavator must still provide the underground facility operator/locator with clear and adequate information from which the locator can clearly determine the location of the proposed area of excavation. A “Joint meet” preconstruction meeting, or other methods of communications agreed upon by the operator/locator and the excavator may provide adequate alternatives to white-lining. Ultimately, it will be up to the operator/locator to decide if the proposed area of excavation has been clearly and adequately defined.
Q: What is “electronic white-lining” and does Iowa One Call support it?
A: Electronic white-lining” is an electronic program, system, or user interface, that provides the user with the necessary tools (software/program) to clearly and adequately define and describe a geographic area via a computer interface (e.g.: “Google maps” and other software programs designed to accurately map a geographic area). The typical electronic white-lining” program allows the user to plot and select a geographic area by “drawing” a polygon around the desired area, and by providing other supportive information. Currently, Iowa One Call provides excavators the option to utilize the ITIC online ticketing system, which does provide the user with tools to define and describe the proposed area of excavation. Iowa One Call is in the process of developing a new interactive system that utilizes a broader and more effective range of tools designed to define and describe the proposed area of excavation, including an enhanced electronic white-lining system.
Q: How do I white-line the proposed area of a large or extended excavation?
A: Don’t think of white-lining as taking a can of white spray paint and painting a line around the entire radius of the planned excavation. For an excavation that is physically long in distance (e.g.: installation of an underground facility, installation of drainage tile, grading a roadway, or trenching long excavations, etc…), an excavator might place a white stake (e.g.: a wood stake painted white) at the beginning of the proposed excavation, then place another white stake, or multiple white stakes, near the middle of the excavation, and then place another white stake at the end of the excavation. Additionally, the excavator should provide clear and adequate information in conjunction with “white-lining” techniques so that the locator can effectively and efficiently determine where the area of proposed excavation is located.
Q: The new law states that excavation can begin prior to the expiration of the forty-eight hour period as long as all of the locating and marking has been completed; how will I know when the locating and marking has been completed?
A: As soon as Iowa One Call receives the ticket status from all of the operators/locators – or at the end of the forty-eight hour period, whichever comes first - the EPRS will email or FAX the excavator the ticket status information.
Q: How will excavators receive the ticket status information?
A: Excavators will be required to provide Iowa One Call with either an email address or a FAX number where the EPRS will send the ticket status information.
Q: The new law states that excavation cannot occur within twenty-five feet of an underground natural gas transmission pipeline unless there is a representative of the pipeline present. How will I know if there is a natural gas transmission pipeline within my proposed excavation area, and how do I schedule a standby with the pipeline representative?
A: Once the operator of an underground natural gas transmission pipeline receives a locate notice from Iowa One Call, the operator shall, within the forty-eight hour period, notify Iowa One Call, via the EPRS, that a standby is required. The excavator will receive this information via the EPRS once all of the operators have completed the required locating and marking, or at the end of the forty-eight hour period – whichever comes first. Typically, the operator will contact the excavator to coordinate the standby.
Q: Will excavators receive individual ticket status information for each of the operators/locators listed on a ticket?
A: No. The excavator will receive one notice via the EPRS with the status of all of the operators listed on the ticket. This notice is sent to the excavator once all of the operators have responded, or at the end of the forty-eight hour period – whichever comes first.
Q: The new law states that a locate ticket is good for twenty calendar days from the date the notice, as made by the excavator, is received by the Iowa One Call notification center, but the new law also states that notices for locate requests received by the IOC notification center after 5:00 p.m. won’t be processed until 8:00 a.m. the next business day. How does one law impact the other?
A: Locate requests (“tickets”) are processed and then transmitted to the operator immediately (real time). Tickets are time-coded at the time of processing. Tickets received by the notification center after 5:00 p.m. will be time-coded as if received at 8:00 a.m. the next business day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays). Tickets received before 5:00 p.m. during normal business days will be time-coded with that day’s date/time. This will affect the time in which excavation can commence (excavation start time). This will not, however, affect the 20 calendar day “life of a ticket” (which will expire at the end of twenty calendar days from the date of the original notice).
Note: The number of days that an excavation can occur during the “twenty-day ticket” will be less than twenty calendar days – by either forty-eight hours (2-days), or even more depending on whether the forty-eight hour period includes Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays.
Q: What if an operator decides not to status their tickets via the EPRS?
A: The Iowa One Call EPRS will be the official record for ticket status. If an operator does not submit the status of a ticket via the EPRS, then it will appear as if the operator did not response to the Iowa One Call locate notice.
Q: What if the operator/locator is running a little behind schedule and will miss the 48 hour deadline by a few hours, but calls the excavator, who says “That’s okay, I don’t plan to start digging until tomorrow afternoon.” How should this situation be handled under the new positive response requirements?
A: In this event, at the time the operatoruses the Electronic Positive Response System to notify Iowa One Call (within the forty-eight hour period), the operator will select the appropriate Status Code to “status” the ticket. In this event, the operator would select the Status Code that states Agreed to Marking Schedule: (“the locating and marking shall be completed as agreed by the operator and the excavator”).
If you have additional questions, please refer to the Iowa One Call website at www.iowaonecall.com, or contact Iowa One Call directly via:
The Iowa One Call Help Desk at 563-884-7762
Iowa One Call Administrative office at 515-278-8700
Thank you.
Dig Safe!
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