This is from the 2014 Mike.....
300.50 Underground Installations.
(A) General. Underground conductors shall be identified for the voltage and conditions under which they are installed. Direct-burial cables shall comply with the provisions of 310.10(F). Underground cables shall be installed in accordance with 300.50(A)(1), (A)(2), or (A)(3), and the installation shall meet the depth requirements of Table 300.50.
Table 300.50? Minimum Covera Requirements
General Notes:
1. Lesser depths shall be permitted where cables and conductors rise for terminations or splices or where access is otherwise required.
2. Where solid rock prevents compliance with the cover depths specified in this table, the wiring shall be installed in a metal or nonmetallic raceway permitted for direct burial. The raceways shall be covered by a minimum of 50 mm (2 in.) of concrete extending down to rock.
3. In industrial establishments, where conditions of maintenance and supervision ensure that qualified persons will service the installation, the minimum cover requirements, for other than rigid metal conduit and intermediate metal conduit, shall be permitted to be reduced 150 mm (6 in.) for each 50 mm (2 in.) of concrete or equivalent placed entirely within the trench over the underground installation.
Specific Footnotes:
a Cover is defined as the shortest distance in millimeters (inches) measured between a point on the top surface of any direct-buried conductor, cable, conduit, or other raceway and the top surface of finished grade, concrete, or similar cover.
b Underground direct-buried cables that are not encased or protected by concrete and are buried 750 mm (30 in.) or more below grade shall have their location identified by a warning ribbon that is placed in the trench at least 300 mm (12 in.) above the cables.
c Listed by a qualified testing agency as suitable for direct burial without encasement. All other nonmetallic systems shall require 50 mm (2 in.) of concrete or equivalent above conduit in addition to the table depth.
d The slab shall extend a minimum of 150 mm (6 in.) beyond the underground installation, and a warning ribbon or other effective means suitable for the conditions shall be placed above the underground installation.
(1) Shielded Cables and Nonshielded Cables in Metal-Sheathed Cable Assemblies. Underground cables, including nonshielded, Type MC and moisture-impervious metal sheath cables, shall have those sheaths grounded through an effective grounding path meeting the requirements of 250.4(A)(5) or (B)(4). They shall be direct buried or installed in raceways identified for the use.
(2) Industrial Establishments. In industrial establishments, where conditions of maintenance and supervision ensure that only qualified persons service the installed cable, nonshielded single-conductor cables with insulation types up to 2000 volts that are listed for direct burial shall be permitted to be directly buried.
(3) Other Nonshielded Cables. Other nonshielded cables not covered in 300.50(A)(1) or (A)(2) shall be installed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, or rigid nonmetallic conduit encased in not less than 75 mm (3 in.) of concrete.
(B) Wet Locations. The interior of enclosures or raceways installed underground shall be considered to be a wet location. Insulated conductors and cables installed in these enclosures or raceways in underground installations shall be listed for use in wet locations and shall comply with 310.10(C). Any connections or splices in an underground installation shall be approved for wet locations.
(C) Protection from Damage. Conductors emerging from the ground shall be enclosed in listed raceways. Raceways installed on poles shall be of rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, RTRC-XW, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, or equivalent, extending from the minimum cover depth specified in Table 300.50 to a point 2.5 m (8 ft) above finished grade. Conductors entering a building shall be protected by an approved enclosure or raceway from the minimum cover depth to the point of entrance. Where direct-buried conductors, raceways, or cables are subject to movement by settlement or frost, they shall be installed to prevent damage to the enclosed conductors or to the equipment connected to the raceways. Metallic enclosures shall be grounded.
(D) Splices. Direct burial cables shall be permitted to be spliced or tapped without the use of splice boxes, provided they are installed using materials suitable for the application. The taps and splices shall be watertight and protected from mechanical damage. Where cables are shielded, the shielding shall be continuous across the splice or tap.
Exception' At splices of an engineered cabling system, metallic shields of direct-buried single-conductor cables with maintained spacing between phases shall be permitted to be interrupted and overlapped. Where shields are interrupted and overlapped, each shield section shall be grounded at one point.
(E) Backfill. Backfill containing large rocks, paving materials, cinders, large or sharply angular substances, or corrosive materials shall not be placed in an excavation where materials can damage or contribute to the corrosion of raceways, cables, or other substructures or where it may prevent adequate compaction of fill.
Protection in the form of granular or selected material or suitable sleeves shall be provided to prevent physical damage to the raceway or cable.
(F) Raceway Seal. Where a raceway enters from an underground system, the end within the building shall be sealed with an identified compound so as to prevent the entrance of moisture or gases, or it shall be so arranged to prevent moisture from contacting live parts.
