The Soft Trencher was used to dig utility trenches in the 300 area of the Hanford Nuclear site during January and February of 1995. Regulations at Hanford prohibit the use of conventional backhoes or hydraulic excavators within 5 feet of a known buried utility. This means returning to hand digging that is extremely slow, costly, and still not completely non-damaging. The Soft Trencher, however, was considered by Hanford safety engineers as non-contacting, and hence, was allowed to dig in areas where the presence of underground utility lines had been marked.