OT (maybe not): New national 811 "call before you dig" system debuts this week
- From: "txstateends@xxxxxxxxxxx" <txstateends@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 29 Apr 2007 10:38:44 -0700
Road projects many times do have a digging component, and we all know
of times where somebody dug where they shouldn't have. Now, a unified
solution (hopefully).....
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/042907/new_7396528.shtml
Could you dig it? Dial 811
Number will help prevent line cuts
By Karen Smith Welch
karen.welch@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before digging yourself into a potentially hazardous hole, call 811.
The national "Call Before You Dig" number set up by the Federal
Communications Commission will be launched to the public Tuesday.
The new 811 number is designed to eliminate confusion caused by
multiple call lines across the country, helping to prevent deaths,
injuries and service outages caused when professional excavators and
do-it-yourselfers accidentally hit underground utility lines.
At least 50 people died in 2005 due to unintentional line strikes,
said Brittany Feinson, a spokeswoman for the 811 Call Before You Dig
campaign.
Nearly 700,000 unintentional underground strikes occur a year - or
almost one every 45 seconds.
Under Texas law, anyone who plans to use mechanized equipment to dig a
hole 16 inches deep or deeper must call utility companies 48 hours in
advance so they can send crews to mark locations of underground lines.
But it's a good idea to call before you dig by whatever means, said
Lee Marrs, president of the Texas Excavation Safety System, one of
three call-center companies that receive such calls in Texas.
"From the legal standpoint, you could dig a hole 50 feet deep with a
shovel and that would not be defined as an excavation," Marrs said.
"But not every line is deep. You could easily hit a cable line, phone
line or gas line just by putting one shovel's depth into the ground."
Utility companies contract with one of three call centers - Texas
Excavation Safety System, Lonestar Notification Center and Texas One
Call System - doing business in the state. Those centers receive calls
from excavators and notify the appropriate utility companies, Marrs
said.
The law requires the centers to share the requests they receive with
the other centers to ensure all appropriate utilities are notified in
each case.
The hope is that 811 will increase the likelihood that people will
call, he said.
"That's the idea behind the whole thing, and they have launched a
campaign to give it the same sort of exposure as seat belts and forest
fires (prevention), that sort of thing."
The National Call Before You Dig campaign - including an informational
www.call811.com Web site - is supported by the Common Ground Alliance,
a utilities industry group, Feinson said.
Until 811, people digging in Texas could call any of the three
companies' hotlines. Those numbers will remain in place, and the call
centers will receive equal shares of the 811 calls, he said.
The 811 number became active earlier this month, giving call centers
time to work out bugs in the system before the hotline's nationwide
launch on Tuesday, Marrs said.
Call 811
The law:
** Anyone using mechanized equipment to dig a hole 16 inches deep or
deeper must call their utility companies to have underground utility
lines on the property marked to prevent unintentional line strikes.
** Calls must be made at least 48 hours, but not more than 14 days, in
advance of the excavation.
** Property should not be marked more than 48 hours in advance because
weather and other factors can shift the flags or markings.
** Calling can prevent unintended injuries, property damage, utility
service outages to the entire neighborhood, and potential fines and
repair costs.
How to call:
** A new nationwide number - 811 - will be launched Tuesday that
professional and do-it-yourself excavators can use to ask utilities to
send crews to mark underground utility lines in the project area.
** 811 calls from Texas will be routed to one of three call centers in
the state, Texas Excavation Safety System, Lonestar Notification
Center, and Texas One Call System.
Safety tips:
** When digging, make sure to always dig around the marks, not on
them. Some utility lines may be buried at a shallow depth, and an
unintended shovel thrust can bring potentially dangerous and/or costly
consequences.
** Time, erosion or root structure growth can shift the locations of
your utility lines, so call each time you are planning a digging job.
** Keep a record of all underground lines outside the scope of the
utilities' responsibility, such as landscape lighting wires or
irrigation systems.
** Activities such as chisel plowing, terracing, digging or driving a
new fence post in a new location are prime examples of excavations
that require notification. Fence repair in an existing location,
unless driving the post deeper, is one example of a job that does not
require a call to 811.
** More tips are available at www.call811.com.
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