New Jersey Natural Gas Encourages Customers To Be Partners in Safety, Always Call 811 Before You Dig

Wall, N.J. – With this April marking the 11^th Annual National Safe Digging Month, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is reminding New Jerseyans to keep themselves and their communities safe by calling 811prior to any excavation. 

Having all underground utilities properly marked is not only a free service, it’s the law.  Failing to do so can result in careless digging, disrupting vital services, property damage, repair costs, fines and even injuries. 

According to the Common Ground Alliance, every nine minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.

“With spring here, and home and business owners eager to start outdoor projects in earnest, we strongly encourage everyone to call 811, no matter the size of the project” said Craig Lynch, senior vice president of Energy Delivery, at New Jersey Natural Gas. “It is critical for our customers to remember that the leading cause of pipeline impacts is third party damage, which can put people and homes at risk. Anyone doing work can keep themselves and their communities safe by simply calling 811 – not only is it free, it’s also the law.”

Dialing 811 will connect you to New Jersey One Call, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of the intent to dig. Professional locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate locations of underground utilities with flags, paint or both. Yellow indicates a natural gas line. 

During National Safe Digging Month, and throughout the year, NJNG encourages homeowners to take the following steps before beginning to dig:

• Always call 811 at least three, but not more than 10, business days prior to the start of digging, regardless of the depth of the dig or your familiarity with the property.
• Before digging, confirm a markout has taken place. Yellow indicates the presence of underground natural gas lines.
• Respect all markings. Maintain the markouts until no longer necessary and move the location of your project if it is near utility line markings. Take a photo of the markout because inclement weather may wash away painted markings.
• Dig with care – hand dig within two feet of the outer wall of the underground facility.

For more information about 811 and safe digging practices, visit nj1-call.org or the My Safety section of njng.com. In the event of damage to a natural gas pipeline immediately call 911 followed by a call to NJNG at 800-GAS-LEAK (427-5325).

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and renewable energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

• New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains over 7,400 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve more than half a million customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Middlesex and Burlington counties.
• NJR Clean Energy Ventures is a leading renewable energy company that invests in, owns and operates residential and commercial solar projects with a total capacity in excess of 250 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low carbon solutions.
• NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
• NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its 50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility, as well as its 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.
• NJR Home Services provides service contracts, as well as heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes and businesses throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve^® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project^® and The Sunlight Advantage^®.

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