Try this....

Here is a link that might be useful: one call system

Here on the West Coast we have been blitzed with educational information from the main Power and Energy Supplier ( Pacific Gas and Electric ) via the newspapers, TV and radio to call a Free phone number before you dig in order for them to come out and flag the location of your underground electrical and gas lines. ( Irrigation lines are not included )

Whomever is doing the digging or who is incharge of the project is responsible for calling The Underground Service Alert - 1-800- TUSA.

So if you hired a licensed contractor to install some constructed element and he omitted the step of calling into the Power Company and he hit a live line, it is his responsibility .

If you are a homeowner and you hired an unlicensed day worker or a gardener and you asked them to dig a few holes for your new rose bushes or whatever then you are responsible because you are acting as your own project manager .

I imagine one could really get nit- pickety with regards to whom holds responsibilty when there are no codes or laws documented ( see recent posts on code compliance and who needs a designer ) as to who is responsible for calling in for a site investigation.

But here in the heavily legislated West, our codes are well documented as to whom is going to be held responsible .

Leslie,
In Texas, it is law that the contractor/person doing excavating have the utilites located 48 hours (2 working days) prior to the commencement of work. If you have multiple contractors doing excavation work, each one needs to call for locations of the buried utilites and get a transmittal number for each contractor. Once the 48 hour waiting period is up, the excavating contractor can begin his work. If there are utilities which were not located by the utility companies and those lines are damaged, the contractor is not held at fault for those damages.
It has been my experience in my part of Texas that some utility companyies are better than others about locating their facilities. It seems as if the more dangerous the utility line, the more likely they are to locate said utility. (Gas and electric) Telecom lines such as cable and phone lines are many times not located by these companies' and are buried VERY shallow.
It really puts us as irrigation contractors in a bind. Call to have the lines located only to have selective compliance on the utility companies' part. We cut phone and cable "drops" routinely even when hand trenching because they were not located. This leads to a highly annoyed-off client. Especially when the cable company tells you they can't be there for 3 working days and the Superbowl is in 1 working day. It's cheaper for the cable company to send a tech out to fix the occasional cut drop than it is to locate them all.
Irrigation lines, sewer and water lines can be located with an as-built plan provided by the installing contractor. If no as built plan is available, you're on your own. Dig softly and carry a big stick.
Diatribe over!
Here in Texas, you can call TESS (Texas Excavating Safety System) at 800/344-8377 for free participating utility locations. Your milage may vary.
Good luck!

All Wet
Texas Licensed Irrigator since 1984

Here is a link that might be useful: Dig TESS

Wow, great info, y'all... just what I needed to know... y'all are the greatest... thanks a bunch...