Clearing land near power lines and utilities starts before any machine moves: file a Texas811 notice before mechanized digging of 16 inches or more, request City of Frisco locates separately when work is in City right-of-way under a City permit, keep everything at least 10 feet from overhead high-voltage lines, and leave trimming near energized lines to the utility.
This guide from Homestead Land Clearing explains what each rule covers and which parts of a clearing job actually put lines at risk. Utility conflict is one of the trade’s standard failure modes: unmarked lines, old service runs and overhead wires. Planning for them is part of the scope, not an extra.
Which parts of clearing reach buried lines
Not every clearing step is excavation. Cutting brush at the surface, mowing and felling trees do not disturb soil. The steps that go into the ground are the ones to plan around:
- Grubbing, which pulls stumps and roots and leaves holes. See clearing vs grubbing.
- Stump extraction, which lifts the root ball out.
- Stump grinding below grade, which can go deeper than people expect. The stump grinding vs removal guide compares the two.
- Mulcher work that contacts the soil, which can happen on uneven ground.
- Silt fence installation, which trenches the fabric into the soil.
Old trees and old lines are often neighbors. Service lines were run along fence rows and between trees, and roots grow around pipes. That is why a stump next to a meter, a pole, a valve box or a fence corner deserves a second look.
Texas811 and Chapter 251
Texas Utilities Code Chapter 251 defines excavation as using mechanized equipment, including grading, ripping, scraping, trenching and boring, to disturb soil to a depth of 16 inches or more. An excavator must notify a notification center, Texas811, no earlier than 14 days and no later than 48 hours before the work, not counting weekends and holidays. Under the statute’s timing, a notice given on a Saturday allows work to start Tuesday at 11:59 a.m.
The law also requires the notification center to warn callers that water, slurry and sewage facilities may not receive the notice. Some of the lines most likely to cross a residential lot are the ones least likely to be marked through 811 alone.
Locate marks show approximate positions, so careful digging near the marks still matters. Keep the ticket number with the job file, and if the work stretches past the ticket’s life or moves to new areas, update the notice.
Frisco locates its own lines separately
The City of Frisco states that its line locates are not part of the 811 One Call process. The City locates its lines in right-of-way and easements only for contractors who hold an active right-of-way, TxDOT or irrigation permit, and only when they are digging deeper than 18 inches. Frisco does not locate on private property, and a right-of-way permit is required for any work in City right-of-way or easements.
In practice, a clearing job inside Frisco that reaches into a City easement needs both: the 811 notice for other utilities and the City permit and locate for City water and sewer. The Frisco tree removal permit guide covers the tree side of the same address check.
Private lines nobody will mark
Anything installed on the owner’s side of a meter is usually the owner’s to find: sprinkler lines, landscape lighting, a power run to a barn or well pump, a septic line, a gas line to an outbuilding. On older acreage there may be abandoned lines nobody remembers. The approved process starts with walking the property for what is buried or overhead, which is the moment to bring any plats, as-built drawings or receipts for past work. Where records are missing, a private locating service or hand work near suspected lines is the safer path.
Overhead power lines
Overhead lines are a different hazard. A falling tree, a raised boom or a long limb in a loader bucket can reach a line from well outside the trunk’s position. Oncor’s guidance is to stay, and keep materials, at least 10 feet away from overhead high-voltage lines, and to contact Oncor before work that would come closer.
Trimming or removing trees that touch or lean into energized lines is utility work, not land clearing. Oncor offers a Make Ready trim request for vegetation near high-voltage lines, and research on that program found that the cut material is left for the owner, so plan for chipping or haul-off. Oncor also states that its transmission easements typically give it the right to remove trees and other obstructions. The easement guide explains how that splits responsibility.
Which utility to call
Electric service around Frisco is not all one company. The Town of Prosper lists Oncor, CoServ and Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative as electric providers. Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative serves rural Grayson and Collin County, and CoServ serves several North Texas counties with a service center in Prosper. Address-level territories were not verified for this guide; the name on your electric bill or the pole tags tells you whom to call.
What this means for commercial and development sites
On larger sites the stakes rise. Commercial land clearing often runs along existing road frontage, with franchised utilities in the right-of-way and new utility corridors planned through the cleared area. Clearing limits should be drawn so that grubbing stops short of existing lines, and so the utility contractor who follows is not hunting for stumps in a trench line. Where clearing is done ahead of a builder, the clearing land to build a house guide covers the handoff.
What a scope should say about utilities
A written scope, before a price, should answer these:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who files the Texas811 notice, and when? | Statute timing is 48 hours to 14 days ahead, excluding weekends and holidays |
| Are City of Frisco locates needed? | Only for permitted work in City right-of-way or easements deeper than 18 inches |
| Which stumps are near known or suspected lines? | Those may need grinding instead of pulling, or hand work |
| How close will work come to overhead lines? | Inside 10 feet of high-voltage lines, contact the utility first (Oncor) |
| Who handles private lines? | 811 and the City do not mark them |
The quote checklist guide puts utilities alongside the other scope lines, and lot clearing explains how a residential job is scoped.
To plan a site with utilities in play, contact Homestead Land Clearing.