Excavation and trenching - Montana

Montana is under federal OSHA jurisdiction which covers most private sector workers within the state. State and local government workers are not covered by federal OSHA.

Underground Facilities

In Montana, before beginning an excavation, an excavator must give notice, through a notification center, to all owners of underground facilities in the area of the proposed excavation. The owners then must locate and mark their underground facilities to prevent damage, interruption of service, or injury to excavation workers. The rules governing excavations near underground facilities are found at 69-4-501 – 69-4-530, MCA.

Adjoining owner’s right to lateral and subjacent support

Each contiguous landowner is entitled to the lateral and subjacent support that the owner’s land receives from the adjoining land, subject to the right of the owner of the adjoining land to make proper and usual excavations on the adjoining land for the purposes of construction, taking reasonable precautions to sustain the land of the other and giving reasonable notice of the intention to make the excavations.