Tennessee Code Title 65. Public Utilities and Carriers § 65-31-109

(a) Compliance with the notice requirements of § 65-31-106 is not required of any person responsible for emergency excavation or demolition, for repair or restoration of service or to ameliorate an imminent danger to life, health, or property; provided, that such person gives, as soon as practicable, oral notice of the emergency excavation or demolition to each operator having underground utilities located in the area or to a one-call service provided for in § 65-31-107, that serves an operator, where such excavation or demolition is to be performed and requests emergency assistance from each operator so identified in locating and providing immediate protection to the operator's underground utilities. “Emergency” means an imminent danger to life, health, or property, whenever there is a substantial likelihood that loss of life, health or property will result before the procedures under §§ 65-31-106 and 65-31-108 can be fully complied with.

(b) Any excavator providing a misrepresentation of an emergency excavation as stated in subsection (a), or an “impending emergency,” as defined in § 65-31-102, shall be subject to the penalties stated in § 65-31-112.

(c) For the purposes of this section, repair or replacement of an existing traffic control device at its existing location and existing depth shall be considered an emergency, and compliance with the notice requirements of this section and § 65-31-106 shall not be required of any local or state government responding to the emergency repair or replacement of a traffic control device.