Facility Operator

Facility Operators follow the APWA (American Public Works Association) standard to mark the locations of their underground facilities. The following colors are used:

RED – Electric Power Lines, Cables, Conduit and Lighting Cables
YELLOW – Gas, Oil, Steam, Petroleum or Gaseous Materials
ORANGE – Communication, Alarm or Signal Lines, Cables or Conduit
BLUE – Potable Water
PURPLE – Reclaimed Water, Irrigation and Slurry Lines
GREEN – Sewers and Drain Lines
WHITE – Proposed Excavation
PINK – Temporary Survey Markings

Locate Requests are NOT created after hours by Blue Stakes. If an emergency excavation needs to be completed after hours, you will need to contact each facility operator directly to request the area be marked or have them clear the area. To obtain a list of the impacted facilities use our Utility Contact Lookup link: https://ucl.bluestakes.org/. This is also accessible by clicking on the Utility Contact Lookup icon from within our Mobile App.

Enter the location information, use the tools provided to indicate the location on the map, and select “Emergency After Hours.” A popup will then provide a contact list of the numbers for the specific member facility operators that would need to be contacted directly after hours.

See General FAQ #14 for information about after-hours emergencies.

The facility operator/locator should communicate the delay with the excavator through an email, phone call, or both. The facility operator/locator may additionally post information on our Electronic Positive Response (EPR) system. Currently, participation in EPR is voluntary. To check the responses for your requests, go to: https://www.bluestakes.org/epr/. This is also accessible by clicking on the Positive Response icon or EPR Lookup icon from within our Mobile App. 

It is important to reach out to the excavator making the requests directly and express your concerns about these excessive requests for markings, where work appears to be complete.

Blue Stakes currently has over 600 participating facility operators. There are large and small companies including gas, power, communications, water, sewer, municipalities, and more. Each participating member facility operator should ensure the facility lines that they own and maintain are located and marked within the described areas on Locate Request Tickets. Some of these member facility operators hire third party locating companies to do their required locating and marking on their behalf. 

A list of participating facility operators can be found here: Blue Stakes Members 

To facilitate safety and damage prevention, effective May 1, 2024, Utah State Law requires excavators to submit a No Response Notice (NRSP) on the current locate request if the excavator is aware of or observes indications of a facility that was not marked in the work area covered by a current locate request. The excavator is required to submit the NRSP notice to Blue Stakes before they can start digging and provide which facility operator(s) or facility type(s) have not responded or marked. Blue Stakes will only send the NRSP notice to those member facility operators/facility types indicated by the excavator. Facility Operators are required to respond and/or mark their facilities within 4 business hours of the NRSP notice. With the addition of this new NRSP ticket revision type, the 2nd Notice (2NDR) ticket revision type has been eliminated.

• Administrative Contact (CONT): The Administrative Contact serves as the primary representative and decision-maker for your company. This individual is responsible for handling official communications, managing and authorizing administrative processes and additional contacts, and ensuring effective communication with Blue Stakes of Utah 811.
• Alternate Contact (ALTR): The Alternate Contact acts as a secondary representative for your company, stepping in for the Administrative Contact when they are unavailable. This individual is responsible for assisting with or taking over the management of official communications, administrative processes, and ensuring that there is no disruption in communication with Blue Stakes of Utah 811 in the absence of the primary Administrative Contact.
• Billing (BILL): The Billing Contact serves as the individual responsible for processing Blue Stakes of Utah 811 monthly billing invoices. This individual is also contacted for any payment-related questions or past due notices. Blue Stakes’ preferred method of delivering billing invoices is by email. Association members receiving a limited number of notifications each month may be billed quarterly, semiannually, or annually.
• Receiver – Primary (RCVR): The Receiver Contact serves as the individual responsible for receiving locate request notifications from Blue Stakes of Utah 811. This individual manages incoming notifications, coordinates with the appropriate contacts for follow-up actions, and ensures markings are accurate and complete in compliance with the Utah State Law – Damage to Underground Facilities Act.
• Damages (DAMG): The Damages Contact serves as the individual responsible for receiving information related to damages caused to your underground facilities during excavation.
• Daytime Emergencies (AHRS): This is optional and can be set up for an individual to receive a phone call (Voice Callout) or text message notification (Supplemental SMS) for any emergency requests submitted during the workday. Please be aware there are additional fees for this option. These fees can be found here: https://www.bluestakes.org/pdfs/MembershipFeeMatrix2025.pdf
• After-Hours Emergency (EMER): The After-Hours Emergency Contact serves as the individual that will be responsible for receiving requests related to after-hours emergencies that occur outside of Blue Stakes of Utah 811 normal business hours of Monday-Friday / 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. / excluding holidays recognized by the Association. These requests are received directly from a person requesting the information, not from Blue Stakes.
• Engineering – Design (ENGR): The Engineering Contact serves as the individual or entity that will be responsible for receiving requests related to providing information on your underground facilities for non-excavation activities (i.e.: planning & design requests). These requests are received directly from a person requesting the information, not from Blue Stakes.
• Technology Data (DATA): The Data Contact is responsible for managing and overseeing the technical aspects of data exchange between your company and Blue Stakes of Utah 811. This individual ensures the accurate submission, maintenance, and integrity of data related to requests, records, and other system-related information. They serve as the primary point of contact for any issues or inquiries related to data handling, ensuring that all necessary data is processed in a timely and accurate manner.