Are you considering new landscaping at your
home? Planning on a new deck? Building a new house? Or maybe you
have some digging you need to do on the farm? If you answered "yes"
to these questions, read on because according to Illinois law,
anyone planning an outdoor project that requires any type of
excavation, regardless of depth, must contact J.U.L.I.E. first!
WHAT IS JULIE?
JULIE, Inc. (Joint
Utility Locating Information for Excavators), also known as the
“Illinois One-Call System", is a not-for-profit corporation that
provides contractors, homeowners, and others who may be disturbing
the earth, with a FREE service for locating and marking of
underground utility facilities. The toll-free telephone number is 1-800-892-0123.
JULIE is
not a utility. It does not own facilities or
locate underground facilities. JULIE serves as a message service
center for utilities, taking information about planned excavations
and distributing this information to its utility membership. It is
then the responsibility of each utility to mark the location of
their underground facilities at the excavation site.
NECESSARY INFO FOR EACH CALL
According to state law, the person actually doing the digging is
required to make the call to JULIE with the locate request
information at least 48 hours (two working days, excludes weekends
and holidays) in advance of the start of excavation. If a
contractor is doing the work for you, suggest that they make the
call to JULIE for their protection.
Illinois
law also requires you start your project within 14 days from
your call to JULIE. If the markings become unclear at any time
before or during your project, call JULIE to have the markings
refreshed within an additional 48 hours.
If
possible, mark the area where you will be digging with white paint
or flags. This will help the utility locator properly identify your
project area.
Do not
call JULIE on Saturday or Sunday for a project to be marked on the
same weekend. Member companies only respond to emergencies on these
days--not routine projects.
When you
call, be prepared to give the JULIE operator the following
information:
-
Your name, address, and a phone number at
which you can be reached, a fax or pager number. (This is
essential in case the utility has questions. Delays may occur if
the utility locator is unable to contact you.);
-
The county and city OR county and
unincorporated township name where you will be digging. (If you
are digging in an unincorporated area be prepared to give the
operator directions, such as 2 miles southeast of Paris,
IL);
-
The location at which the excavation will
take place, which may include but not be limited to, address,
cross street (within 1/4 mile), subdivision name, etc.;
-
The start date and time of the planned
excavation;
-
The type and extent (size of excavation
area) of the work involved, including if white paint, flags
and/or stakes were used to outline the proposed excavation area;
and
-
Section and quarter-section numbers from
your plat of survey if available
What
Happens After the Call
Within
two working days of your call to JULIE, a representative from each
member utility company will mark the location of their underground
facilities with paint and/or flags at the excavation site. The
utilities are only required to mark the facilities that they own,
not privately installed lines.
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