My simple stump removal job just got a little more interesting after OneCall showed up. Just for curiosity, who gets the shovel, and who just yanks the stump? Here's a link to the pic: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...42291252.70043.302739266501573&type=3&theater
That sucks. First of all I would spot the line on either side of the stump to verify the locate. Depending on where the line actually is and the depth, use a shovel or carefully remove it with a mini. Did you start to remove the stump before the line was located or was the tree blown over? If the tree was blown over, I would document it before I removed the stump in case their was damage to the line/conduit/casing.
The tree was blown over by Hurricane Sandy. The owner had the tree cut off and hauled away by a tree service immediately after the storm, and waited on the stump. I wound up digging it by hand to see if I had wiring wrapped up in it, and took the hatchet to the roots. I slowly lifted it with a skidloader / grapple (lifting isn't digging, right ? 10 minute job took 2 hours. Nice thing was that I had two other homeowners stop out to get quotes on cleaning up their stumps. I guess it all works out in the end.
Sometimes a grinder cane be really handy in such situations. When you grind, you can remove the entire upper portion, and leave as much as you need to in the ground. For instance that line was 12" down, you just take a stump grinder and just grind it low enough to be able to sprinkle a little dirt and seed over top and done. No hand digging stumps out. Bad part about grinders is that there is no brushing utilities, if you hit, they are cut.
If it's a drop, then it was no big deal if we cut them. That is if we were in an area with a lot of trees. Ma Bell guy would hand out a few of the gooey tubes and crimps. Tell us to fix it. Gas lines, fiber optics and the main phone cables are a different story Then there is the occasional supply line to the house. We had one job that the gas company stayed on site, they would dig the main line up and at the house where the meter was located. Turn or crimp the line as we went thru. They would install a new line to the house. Usually by pushing a plastic line thru the old iron pipe. It was a nice bonus not to worry about a gas line or hand dig to locate them.
I would push the stump out by whats left of the trunk and have my attorney argue that I wasn't even excavating.:drinkup
Funny, that had crossed my mind as well.